Want your voice heard? Just holler! Students have a larger say than they think

As ASB co-clubs commissioner, I have learned that only a minority of students know the amount of power they have in student-affiliated affairs. While ASB does conduct votes on various events and issues, its votes are based on what it hears from students in the classroom and their experiences as upperclassmen.

The ASB meets every Monday at lunch and bi-weekly at 6 p.m. with the class officers of each grade. At lunch meetings, students, parents and teachers are encouraged to present their ideas, concerns and desires to the ASB. No matter the topic, ASB discusses what was presented as a group and conducts a formal vote to make a decision. If the ASB officers cannot reach a conclusion within the lunch meeting, the ASB secretary places the item on the night agenda so that they can receive further input from the class officers before voting again.

Everyone is welcome to attend the night meetings. These feature multiple open discussions regarding upcoming events, recapping past events and planning schoolwide activities. All important issues are on the table, and the meetings run for approximately 45 minutes. If people want to give their own input, they simply raise their hands and wait for an ASB officer to call on them.

Throughout first semester, a few students did attend these meetings to tell ASB what they wanted to see happen in the near future.

Junior Nidhi Jain, for example, is passionate about the world of technology and wished to start a Girls Who Code group on campus. However, she did not want to apply to become an official club, since this group would meet after school and receive all funding and resources from a national level organization. Thus, last September, Jain contacted an ASB officer and was instructed to appear at an ASB Monday lunch meeting. There, she presented her idea, and it was approved shortly after with computer science teacher Judi Heher as the adviser.

One student appeared before ASB in November, saying that he wanted to see more murals on the building walls. ASB has now set up an application system for student artists who wish to paint the murals to present their artistic designs and is currently choosing winners. Another student wanted dividers between the urinals in the boys’ bathrooms. ASB officers immediately brought this issue to the attention of school activities director Rebeca Marshburn and principal Paul Robinson, but as it turns out, dividers between public school urinals are prohibited due to a state law.

Back when ASB announced it had over $280,000 in its account last fall, the officers contemplated for weeks on how to spend the money in the best ways possible. With students’ best interests in mind, the ASB decided to open up the discussion to the attendees of the night meeting. Many class officers mentioned several clubs on campus that could use small amounts of the money for effective purposes.

After careful deliberation, the ASB set up a grant system in which any group or organization on campus can apply for a grant up to $500. The application required the groups to state the reason for a grant and how they plan to spend the money. So far, grants have been issued to several groups: the journalism program received a new camera, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club for competition preparation material, History Bowl team new buzzers and Robotics an improved PrideBot.

At the least, if students are unable or unwilling to attend any of the meetings, they can simply open Facebook to message or email an ASB officer to share an idea or express a concern. Student leadership at the school is also open to anybody who applies and is willing to do the work. And above all, no voice ever goes unheard, so long as it is voiced.