Next year’s student council group has many goals in mind and very specific ideas for the direction in which council as a group on campus is headed. 

by Arnav Bhagat

Menlo School recently elected its student council for the coming year. Student government and student voice are important factors at Menlo, and they really do affect the direction of the school. It’s in the hands of student council to drive spirit activities, produce assemblies, and work with the administration to improve the quality of the student experience. Most importantly, they have to do all this in a way that pleases the student body.

President Hayden Pegley, a rising senior, hopes to streamline communication between the student body and the student representation. “Eliza [Crowder, Vice President] and I are working to restructure committees this coming year, simply because it is necessary for us to establish an effective and efficient committee system, one that will allow us to remain in touch with the student body”.

Vice President and rising senior Eliza Crowder reiterated what Pegley said about communicating with the student body. “ I know there were a few times this past year when the student body didn’t feel “in the loop” about changes to certain programs such as Knight School or the schedule, and my hope is that we can better communicate changes to the student body before said changes are set in stone.”

For students, a big part of what student council does is drive activities and assemblies. Ultimately, those things come back to one thing. School spirit.

Spirit Commissioner, Maya Donato, spoke to the importance of school spirit within the student body. “ I know this sounds silly- but the more people that get up and participate, show up to events, scream a little bit louder in assembly, and connect with people from different grades and social groups, the more Menlo spirit will rise. I know everyone wants school spirit, but I can’t just “make it happen” through games and activities. It has to come from the school pride within the student body.”

Pegley expressed his motivation to leave a mark at Menlo through work in student council. “I want next year’s council to be remembered as a group that made itself visible in the community, not just in revamping school spirit, but also in enacting tangible change that the student body noticed. Exactly how council will do that remains to be seen, but I’m excited to see what we can do!”

Crowder expressed her excitement for the future of student council as a whole. “I’m super excited about next year’s group of students on student council because I think there is a really great mix of returning council members and new people on council,” Crowder said. “This way we will be able to effectively and efficiently run student council while also getting innovative ideas and unique perspectives.”

Members of the student council acknowledged the challenges they will face next year, specifically around the new construction. However, they all echoed each other in saying that will not stop them from achieving their goals. “I am very excited to work around the construction and use it to our advantage. For example, because there is less quad space, I want to redesign spirit week and activities to create a heart of campus where everyone can gather,” Donato said. “I want to improve on what I did this year and try to get some sort of activity every Friday. I also want to try and get people more free food, hopefully more food trucks, and make sure the spirit next year is the best Menlo has seen in years.”