See the current state of student leadership

By Luis Derla

With lunch in hand, and paperwork in the other, several students slowly trickle into the student government classroom. Each of them hold responsibilities for the betterment of the school. What is to be decided in this room by these people will come to fruition months into the future, so these decisions and tasks bear significant weight. Settling down into their seats, the agenda ranges from sports team purchases, field trip forms, and the next big event, Night Rally. Resources and logistics aside, it’s up to them to make all of this happen.

The student government is essentially the “Executive Council”, which is composed of Arroyo Student Body (ASB) leaders, who represent the entire school, and the various commissioners who specialize in things such as culture, staff appreciation, music, and rally events. Each class year, from freshmen to seniors, have their own class presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries that administer their particular areas, and are also included in this council.

The Executive Council is the brain of official school events, and they are in charge of setting calendars, shuffling bureaucratic paperwork, and regulating campus finances through approval. The Leadership program acts as the hands of this brain. ASB Vice President Ronald Nguyen provides us with insight on the matter.

“My role in school is to help plan Leadership activities, whether spirit weeks, rallies, or events such as Homecoming and Winter Ball. All that, I help plan. On top of all that, I also help with the budget program. So all the spending you guys do, whether it be sports spending or classroom spending, they go through the [Executive Council].” Nguyen said.

The class officers are in charge of their own separate initiatives from the school. They head their respective class committees; in those committees, planning and action is done for class year backdrops, decorations, and skits for events such as Homecoming and Night Rally. However, ASB President Janelle Pasqual says that all officers work towards the same goal.

“The [Executive Council] is just these roles that everyone needs to be into to run a [functional] government for planning events. So we have the secretary, president, vice president, and stuff like that.” Pasqual said.

The presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries are chosen by popular vote in an end-of-the-year election. The ASB Executive Officer, Treasurer, and commissioners are appointed by the activity director. The Activities Director, Jennifer Rodriguez (AKA JRod), is the official head of the Executive Council, and she convenes it together for maximum student outreach.

“At the end of the school year, after [the] Night Rally towards April [or] May, we send out election forms; if you’d like to run for any position, you have to go to the meeting which

JRod has in her classroom. She explains every position, and from there you can grab [three] sheets of paper. One of them [requests] a letter of recommendation, the other is an application form, and the other form, and the other is more information aout the program.” Nguyen said.

To ensure that word is spread out, the council utilizes several forms of communication. The ASB President or Vice President are usually the ones who speak out the announcements; The ASB Executive Officer is responsible for anything involving social media.

“A lot of it is through our social media and announcements. The majority of announcements for events come through our announcement [speaker] first. That’s where most people hear about it. Mostly they kind of talk over it, that’s [why] we also post a lot on social media. Our social media is our really close number-two for everything.” Ngyuen said.

Though the Executive Council encourages all kinds of feedback, ranging from praises to constructive criticisms, there is currently no formal method of measuring student satisfaction with the student government’s performance except word-of-mouth and personal anecdotes.

“I guess just by asking students, having feedback awnd everything [is] just a good thing, that we would have to know that they are getting what they want. I mean, it’s good to have feedback from students constantly after our events [and] during the year to see what they want, and not just us having to guess events they actually want.” Pascual said.

Sophomore Rylan Alcantara is an active member of the school, and has previously volunteered for various school events such as Homecoming. He perceives the current bureaucratic system as satisfactory, and feels represented by it. However, he does wish for more innovation.

“I think that Leadership should continue trying to find innovative and new ways to help the community, such as… the decorations for Lunar New Year; there’s been repetition with the Chinese lanterns. ” Alcantara said.

Despite this, he perceives the current bureaucratic system as satisfactory, and feels represented by it. He deems that the leadership has led the school through tough times, and he respects its efforts.

“I think my interests are represented because I think the student body as a whole feels a need for connection; for the idea of looking at things positively, especially in dark days. We’ve had the pandemic and the news… It’s in the minds of the [council] and they’re trying their best.” Alcantara continued.

All-in-all, the student government looks towards the future. With the end of school approaching, new elections will begins soon,; new officers will replace the old, and its ideals and goals will continue on.

“My dream has always been to increase the school spirit we have, also to bring more fun and comfortability to our campus. [Our] goal is to hear more of your voices.” Nguyen said.