ASB and Leadership aim to create more inclusive student culture

By using social media and organizing school-wide events, this year’s ASB and Leadership class are trying to improve the school’s atmosphere and create a greater sense of unity.

To start, the ASB officers created the Saratoga High School 2015-2016 Facebook group to share news with all students and get student input. Just last month, the ASB officers released a poll asking the students how they want to see ASB’s funds spent.

“We really want to help better the school by using the funds we have effectively for school improvements,” said senior Aakash Thumaty, the ASB president. “In addition, we want to satisfy the students by listening directly to what they want.”

With a substantial amount of student feedback, the ASB officers are still deciding how to use the money.

In addition to allowing students to give their opinions, ASB vice president Nihar Agrawal said the Facebook group has also helped publicize school events such as the Senior Homecoming Barbeque fundraiser on Oct. 11.

ASB officers have also started posting meeting minutes on the Facebook group to promote transparency.

While ASB’s focus this year is to get more student input, Leadership wants to create a more friendly student culture at the school and build upon the movement to promote school unity and relieve student stress, said Ingrid Pan, one of the leaders of the group.

She added that breaking out of comfort zones and pursuing passions will be the driving messages in the annual Speak Up For Change Week, which is scheduled for Martin Luther King Jr. week in January.

“A big part of the problem [that Speak Up For Change Week will address] is not doing things because you love what you do, but because you're doing it for the grade or because of pressure,” Pan said. “Instead of talking more about stress and grades, we hope to take a positive route and get students to find something they are passionate about.”

Last year, at the Speak Up for Change assembly, students raised their hands to acknowledge similar struggles and difficulties. Senior Nina Nelson, also a head of the Leadership group, said that this year, the assembly will have a similar version of that activity called “Challenge Day.”

Nelson added that Leadership’s overarching mottos this year are “one team, one dream” and “strength in numbers.”

These mottos are promoting the fact that students are not alone, she explained. According to Nelson, students are “caved in on their own academic goals” and that they do not know the similar challenges that others may face.

“A lot of our events are focused mainly on de-stressing our student body,” Nelson said. “Our goal is for students to not feel so alone and inwardly stressed about their academic and even social life, but to help people get through it together.”