Increased Turnout Within Freshmen Council Elections

OLIVIA CHEUNG
Editor in Chief

Freshmen class council elections are held annually to determine the respective year’s nine-member council, whose responsibilities center on building school spirit and fundraising for class events. Compared to last year’s voting turnout of 26 percent when 178 out of 687 freshmen voted, this year’s elections achieved a turnout of approximately 66 percent, a dramatic increase from previous years. Out of 687 freshmen, a total of 457 votes were counted.

Numerous changes contributed to this turnout, such as the change in election season. Council elections are usually held in spring, alongside Associated Student Body (ASB) elections; however, this year’s Freshmen Council elections were held in the fall from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28. This change sought to make freshmen feel more involved within the school from the beginning.

“If freshmen [only begin] to feel involved in school activities in spring, then school spirit and pride would […] have been lower during the first few months of school,” Freshmen Council member Angela Yang said. “If you don’t feel like you have a place in something, it’s hard to be proud of it.”

There was also an increase in student and teacher cooperation. A number of teachers made previous arrangements to bring their classes down to the Student Government Room to vote using a new clicker method, allowing students to vote in under ten seconds.

Another method introduced this year provided freshmen candidates with the opportunity to present their speeches in the Quad during lunch the day before elections. Election booths were up every period, including lunch, providing students with more opportunities to cast their vote.

The Freshmen Leadership class teacher, Abelardo Bourbois, attributes a large amount of the success to his freshmen leadership class and ASB.

“[The leadership class’s] energy, enthusiasm and word-of-mouth helped get out the vote and build interest,” Bourbois said. “ASB has really made an effort to reach more students and be more inclusive. […] We used this Freshmen Council election as a medium for testing new ideas, methods and strategies for reaching more students and including them in voting.”
As the school year progresses, both the Freshmen Leadership class and the newly elected Freshmen Council will continue working to integrate the 2016 class.

“Everyone knows what it’s like to be a [freshman] and feel completely out of place in a new environment,” Freshmen Council member Vanessa Gutierrez said. “[It is] up to Freshmen Council to make [every ninth grader feel] like an actual Moor and not just a ‘newbie.’”