Criticizing ASB is easy; doing the work of ASB is not

It is impossible to please everyone, something the eight members of ASB have been quick to learn. Whether it be because of the use of the  “thanksasb” hashtag or just student critiques of school events, many students do not seem to appreciate their student leaders.

The ASB this year consists of president Aakash Thumaty, vice president Nihar Agrawal, secretary Spring Ma, treasurer Mitali Shanbhag, board representative Kanaai Shah, head commissioner Luke Salin, and head clubs commissioners Allison Lin and Meera Rachamallu.

They have meetings every Monday at lunch, hold meetings every other Monday night, attend leadership meetings Tuesdays and Thursdays at lunch, oversee clubs and commissions, represent the students at district board meetings and with the administration and decide on student of the month — tasks that are not easily completed. To further the difficulty of these tasks, ASB must run many of its decisions through the administration for final approval, and at times, they are turned down and forced to return to the drawing board.

Each spring only a few people run for school leadership positions at the school, and since the number of students willing to participate ASB is limited, the student body needs to respect the volunteers even more so than if there were a plethora waiting in line. Students who sign up for this position in recent years have been signing up for a load of work and a whole lot of grief, but these students sign up anyway because they are passionate about the school and improving it — a trait that should warrant respect and cooperation rather than petty criticism.

As a school, Saratoga High is incredibly lucky for the leadership we have and the events they plan and host. Lynbrook High’s ASB canceled its winter formal dance this year due to lack of attendance in previous years. The main purpose was to give underclassmen a formal dance, but only 26 attended last year. Some schools such as Wilcox and Homestead did not even hold Homecoming dances this year. Saratoga’s one canceled Sadies dance is not a major issue and is not something that ASB is responsible for.

Rather than knock ASB, students need to contribute ideas and get involved if they have a suggestion for how something should be run or improved. Criticizing doesn’t provide anything positive unless a solution is also proposed. Students need to speak up or get involved if they believe they could do a better job. Above all, they need to be grateful to the eight students who are trying to create a memorable high school experience for all of us.