As the seniors disappear from their classes, the other grades get ready to fill their place in the community. Every club, sports team, or production needs leaders, and juniors and sophomores usually take up the call to assume these positions at the end of the year. But we also need leaders for the community as a whole – those who can rise up and represent the interests of the Upper School student body in the administration. They’re also given the near impossible task of planning Homecoming and uniting the Upper School into a diverse but cohesive whole. These everyday heroes go by many names, from President to Press Secretary, but they’re all elected tomorrow.

Commitment, responsibility, loyalty, and creativity are all traits Ms. Kelly looks for in a Student Government representative. They must be committed to making sure everyone feels like their voice is being heard, not just their friends or grade. Hopefully, the two tickets running for president and vice president this year can live up to these goals. Junior Nicole Pollak is running on a ticket with sophomore Emily Kanter. Nicole is committed to bringing all the grades together. “I think the high school is a little bit disconnected,” she said. “There are a lot of changes that are made and things that happen behind the scenes that students don’t know about. I want to bring more attention and transparency to those issues and make everyone involved in running the school.”

Corey Altman is also running on a ticket with Corey Friedman. Nicknamed C squared, their posters have already been tacked up on many teachers doors. He has concrete ideas to improve the school. “One thing that I’m aiming to do is make community service easier and more fun for students so that at the end of the year they don’t have issues with Ms. Sennett. I also want to make Country Day’s atmosphere a more comfortable, homey feel. I have a lot of ideas for that but one of the things we’re trying to do is make laptop chargers more accessible. You could just rent them out from the library, and if you didn’t bring them back you’d be billed. That way everyone could always be prepared for class.”

But in the debate between Coley and Corey, the significance of the new positions introduced this year can be lost. This year, students have the option of serving the community as PR Director or Programs Director, on the grade or Student Government level. These new positions were created to replace Treasurer and Secretary, as their formal responsibilities were relatively nonexistent. Instead of taking notes or keeping track of class sums, officers were usually tasked with helping to coordinate events or network with other students. These new positions clarify their roles.

But as new officers are elected, others leave the school. When Ms. Kelly was asked which president had served best, she was quick to say Jackie Lash. “She is the epitome of Student Government. She thinks of everybody. She cares about the administration and the students. She cares about making things happen, and not just for herself but for everyone.” When asked whether she’d accomplished her goals, Jackie said simply, “I hope I made an impact.” Her advice for her next successor? “There’s no such thing as planning ‘too’ far in advance. Even though we started planning for homecoming right when the school year started, we still could have used some more time. I also encourage my successor to create an even bigger bridge between the students and faculty as there still exists a lack of transparency.” With only a little over a week before her graduation, Jackie is still trying to better the school.