Controversy surrounds this year’s student council elections as some seniors have considered the voting unjust.
Candidates were given the week of August 30th to promote and advertise their campaign. During this week, a variety of creative and colorful posters filled the hallways and campaign videos were shared around. Treats and foods were handed out during lunches to those who had voted for a certain candidate. Yet, some have deemed this as a bribe or forced vote.
“I just feel like it was forced, and they were low-key doing a lot like giving out food just to bribe people to vote for them,” senior Stephann Francois said.
A first election was held on August 30th from 8 am to 12 pm on Schoology to decide class officers. However, the voting poll was believed to be faulty as the poll was rumored to be open for middle school students and teachers.
“First round of voting wasn’t fair if everyone was allowed to vote the first time. I think a re-vote was necessary,” senior Godric Rivera said.
Due to the faulty election poll, another round of voting was sent out on September 3rd only this time the polls were open for less than an hour. Many seniors have expressed feelings of annoyance to the outcome of the election as many were no longer on campus because of OJT (on the job training).
“Honestly no, coming from someone who has OJT and only saw the votes due to a notification on my phone I feel like it’s unfair. You aren’t allowed to use your phones at school and a lot of iPads have WiFi issues. It was unfair for the candidates and the student body no matter who won or lost,” senior Carlee Johnson said.
Senior Keilah Tillman believes the election is based more on a popularity aspect rather than someone who will positively affect the school community.
“Most of the people who ran were well known. It’s not people who would do anything for school. It’s more people who are popular and who would do more for their friends,” Tillman said.
In earlier election years candidates were able to share a speech during lunch periods to inform the student body of their goals and plans if elected. Many of the seniors who were not able to vote wished this year’s candidates were given the same option. This way the elections were not entirely based on popularity.
“I don’t think it was fair. First of all, they didn’t even let us know they were gonna do re-elections, so nobody was prepared to make another vote. They should’ve specified that certain people couldn’t vote in the first election. It was a lot of miscommunications,” senior Valorie George said.
Despite the talk surrounding the elections, this year’s senior class president Isabella Hemenway is determined to make an efficacious influence this school year. When asked about her plans as president, Hemenway expressed her excitement to connect to the students and implement more school spirit through organized school events.
“My first major goal is definitely getting everyone involved with stuff like especially clubs and volunteering maybe at games. My number one goal is to get the school more known, not just inside but on the outside world. We have potential as a school we just need to be seen,” Hemenway said.
