Every year, all 9th,10th, and 11th grade students can run for class president and representatives for the student government, known as Forum. For the upcoming 2024-25 school year, five rising sophomores, nine rising juniors, and three rising seniors ran for a spot on Forum. One of the upcoming junior class presidents, Cole Eckes said, “I’d love to see more student involvement and student ideas. Students should be a part of the projects alongside Forum so students can have the most impact.”
So far Forum has created opportunities for blood drives, Defend the Den, and Staff of the Month, led by Eckes. Another benefit of Forum is accepting ideas for new clubs, like Spanish Language Club, Spanish Speaking Cultures Club, Fiber Arts Club, Bouldering Club, Management Consulting Club, Women in Business Club, and numerous others. Even the posters one encounters throughout the school year promoting events are created by Forum members.
Shoumili Tarafder, a representative for the class of 2026, said, “I anticipate getting support for ideas either by peers or by the administration will be difficult. I’ve heard that a lot of proposals have been brought to Forum, but didn’t get passed due to lack of support or lack of importance. I’m sure this problem will arise again, but I’d like to try my best in whatever power I have to make sure important initiatives that echo the student’s concerns are prioritized.”
The upcoming sophomore representative, Madhav Kumar, said in his running speech “I asked the class of 2027 how many people feel like they’ve been heard and many said ‘no’, one said ‘yes’.”
Students can attend Forum meetings without being a member of Forum. Involving oneself as a student can help directly involve your input to the Forum. Some of the important upcoming changes for the Blake school include reopening the locker rooms and changing the sign-in options so it’s not just on an iPad. Cole Eckes adds that increased disposal options would be a benefit to decreasing the amount of trash which increases respect for the space.
Tarafder said “One of the main initiatives I had in mind when choosing to run for Forum is clarifying/reforming the extensions policy surrounding religious holidays, sports events, and sick days.” Tarafder argues that there isn’t a set rule of extensions that a student is allowed to use for all their classes, but many teachers tend to use a two-day extension per semester. However, a two-day extension is too broad and should be modified and extended to accommodate the students based on their circumstances.
Some tips from Kumar for upcoming individuals running for next year’s class president or a representative spot are: provide a solution that people believe in, aim for the 2-minute mark because no one will listen after that, and campaign yourself before the election speech to get their vote.
