With the new year in motion, Student Council is working hard to pass new proposals that will benefit both the School and the student body. Through regular Wednesday Zoom meetings, form representatives are formulating proposals for initiatives on regulating homework, implementing ways for students to give more consistent feedback to teachers, providing more opportunities for students to connect with Choate alumni, and holding a Quarantine Olympics.
A proposal by Student Body President Ula Lucas ’21 and Fourth Form Class President Ava Maha ’23 to establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) student committee passed two weeks ago. The committee will bring faculty and students together to plan community conversations about culture, help shape events like Diversity Day, and host equity and inclusion-related club events.
The Student Council is currently planning the launch of this year’s Daily Grind. Though doing so more challenging than past years because of the pandemic, Student Council is confident that it can resume the fundraiser once the quarantine period ends and abide by health and safety protocols established by the School.
One major goal for Lucas this year is to set up a Student Council website through which students can sign and comment on proposals. The website’s goal is to “wrap the student voice back into the proposal process” and “present a united voice to the administration,” said Lucas. The Student Council is working with the Communications Department and other students to code and design the website.
Fifth form Representative Abby Lu ’22 is developing a project called “Dialogues for Understanding.” The project aims to “promote cultural understanding at Choate by giving cultural club events more influence and outreach,” Lu explained.
Although Student Council is finding Zoom meetings productive, members have felt it difficult to gather student input on proposals. “My main form of reaching out has been social media, whereas usually, it would be through form forums. It’s harder to get to know people on social media,” said Lu, who is completing the fall term remotely.
