STD-COUNC

Through the course of my daily activities, it has come to my attention that many students at RHS find membership in student council to be a laughable occupation. Most students will probably find humor in the notion that by joining student council you can “make a difference.” Furthermore, I think the common opinion among many students is that all student council does is plan silly activities for the enjoyment of the spirited few. Naturally, as a student council member, I would want to come to the defense of student council; unfortunately I’ve had trouble escaping the reality that most of those preceding stereotypes are quite true. To be honest, the vast majority of student council’s responsibilities involve the planning of homecoming, winterfest, spring week, and various weekly activities; while very little time is spent making permanent changes for the betterment of our school. Despite all the reasonable criticisms that I’ve heard about student council, I believe that becoming a student council member is an extremely beneficial endeavor.
By becoming a part of student council you undertake the responsibility of serving a large body of people. Sure most of the responsibilities relate to some sort of expendable lunch-time activity, but those things are important to some people, and they count on student council to make these things happen. In this way student council members learn responsibility and discipline.
Perhaps one of the best aspects of joining student council is discussing issues at meetings. Even if the issue is as trivial as choosing a theme for homecoming, the chance to practice delivering your point of view to a group of peers is priceless at this time in our lives. I’ve found that in student council, students consistantly disagree on the issues that come before them; but they learn to present their opinions in a convincing, organized manner, and collaborate together to make decisions that they feel will best satisfy the most people. These, I believe, are extremely valuable skills to learn in today’s society.
This year the student council did infact face situations in which they stepped up against, or at least tried to work with, administration in order to protect the student body. When the Pirate Pit was taken away from basketball games, the matter came before student council. There were valid reasons for the administrations actions but the student council fought to get the Pit back for the last few games. Another example of student council action is when a few students caused trouble during B-95's lunchtime performance a couple months ago. The administration was close to punishing the entire student body, but student council discussions were enough to repel such a consequence.
I’m not going to claim that student council members are of huge importance or that by joining student council you will beable to make much of a difference in our school. Mostly student council is for those who would enjoy planning student activities. But also I think student council provides a worthwhile experience for those want to establish themselves as leaders and positive thinkers in our world today.