Student Council Opens Its Doors

Rachel Lee
Nov 12
3 min read

By Sarah Perez Nov. 12, 2025

At student council meetings, attendees are given the opportunity to voice their thoughts on school issues and propose initiatives for change. Before this year, attendance was limited to selected representatives, chosen by teachers or from extracurricular organizations such as Speech and Debate. Now, any student can participate by completing a sign-up form.

Associated Student Body (ASB) executive officers run and prepare the meetings, which are centered around the proposal and discussion of “hot topics”—the problems attendees believe are most important to the school community. ASB officers first use an interest form to collect a variety of meeting topics. To keep discussion realistic and feasible, officers sort through the topics with administrators to clarify the limitations and context around issues.

The officers then use the finalized ideas to create an agenda that sets time limits for discussions. Alongside guidelines and norms, the agenda is presented at the beginning of the meeting to keep the discussion focused and productive. For each topic, ASB officers provide context as they project a document to note down students’ contributions. Any unshared ideas are recorded on large pieces of poster paper that are handed out to table groups for brainstorming. They are both helpful when the officers review the notes and posters later, as they communicate with administrators to determine a course of action.

“Voluntary attendance is not representative of the entire student body—there may be groups left unrepresented because all participants are there on their own accord. Selected participants can be better representatives of their group, with which they likely share similar ideas. However, having a dedicated group of attendees who are committed to showing up makes the process more efficient and effective,” Senior Kabir Gupta said.

In previous years, the student council resolved hot topics such as bathroom cleanliness, seating on campus and tutorial procedures. Due to recent significant investments, such as the $70,000 that was spent on 15 new tables and the purchase of seat covers for the women' s bathrooms, the student council has established a guideline of no monetary suggestions this year.

“Last year, we were trying to be intentional with representation from every group, reaching out to teachers and students through ASB officers. Sometimes, the students nominated were not interested in attending, but interest grew for the meetings. We decided that opening up the meetings to everyone was the best way to get more student input,” Activities Director Meg Walsh said.

The first student council meeting this year had 62 attendees, which is close to the 60-70 participants meetings averaged before being open invitation. As in previous years, groups brainstormed on large posters, after which a microphone was passed around for them to share their ideas with administrators listening on.

“As a member of the Chamber Orchestra, I consistently recognize the need for better facilities and instruments, because it is frustrating to deal with poor equipment. Currently, the teacher spends his own money on supplies, and the program relies heavily on donations. The meeting gave us a good opportunity to have a voice, and it was helpful to discuss my concerns with student council leaders and administration listening on,” Junior Yashika Agarwal said.

ASB members also incorporated a guided discussion about a topic they selected themselves. Even after the new benches were installed, some students still lack a place to sit on at break and lunch. Thus, opening the cafeteria was introduced as an option. The problem was noted as important because of how many people are affected, especiallythose who cannot relax from a stressful class or take shelter from the rain. Complications related to the proposed change were mentioned, such as impediments to the flow of traffic and necessity of supervision.

Through student council meetings that encourage input from a more diverse range of voices, ASB hopes to continue to implement positive changes for the school.

About the Contributors

Sarah Perez

staff writer

Sarah Perez is a sophomore Staff Writer at Leland High School. Some of her hobbies include figure skating, reading, hiking, and sleeping.

Annika Hegde

photographer

Annika Hegde is a Junior at Leland High School and a photographer for The Charger Account. In her free time she enjoys playing card games, singing karaoke with her friends, and working on robotics.