Student council elections in need of reforms

When it comes time for student council elections, it’s not surprising to see countless students gathering signatures for application packets and flashy campaign posters taped around the campus. While this publicity may be necessary to ensure a candidate’s success it does not guarantee that a worthy candidate be elected. Fortunately, a simple solution exists: using the MAP program’s technology to revive campaign speeches.

Regardless of his or her leadership capabilities and commitment to the school, a popular candidate is likely to win. Without the implementation of speeches, which test candidate’s mettle, dedicated and qualified candidates may be marginalized because of their lack of name recognition.

The MAP building is equipped with the video production capabilities and it’s students the skills in digital media to facilitate the reintroduction campaign speeches, which could be broadcast in a similar fashion as the video announcements are on Friday mornings. In this way, students and teachers could view the speeches with minimal classroom interruption, as the assemblies in the past were.

This correlation between the ASB and the MAP program will utilize the media arts resources that the school has heavily invested in while allowing the rest of the school to glean further insight into who their student council members are, what they do and how they intend to carry out their plans.

Campaign speeches existed for many years, but were eventually discontinued due to the lack of interest and the difficulty of scheduling a school-wide assembly. However, the past few years have shown a increasing number of students eager to participate in government. The school’s new technological capabilities are the perfect medium for reviving an old and important tradition.

By implementing speeches into student council elections, students will have a preview of each candidate’s goals for the school, providing a more personal light to each student who is running. Students are then encouraged to vote based on the candidate’s plans and intentions for the school rather than the candidate whose name they know.

Bringing back speeches into the elections system would narrow down the list of candidates to those who are competent public speakers, an essential quality in an elected student leader. Communication skills especially the ability to articulate reasonable goals for the school are quintessential leadership skills. Student leaders lacking oratory skills may find it difficult to implement their ideas, no matter how effective they may be.

The main goal of the ASB is to ensure the betterment of the school through stellar leadership skills. The integration of speeches can reveal each candidate’s aptness in public speaking and his or her personal goals for the school year.

Although no system is perfect, the revival of campaign speeches is a step closer to making sure that the most qualified candidate will be fairly elected to serve the school. Ultimately, the goal of democratic elections are to ensure that the best candidates for the school find their way into office. The best way to accomplish that is to bring back the stump.