A Broadside Guide to the 2016 Council Election

Ah, it’s that time of year again. The days are longer, senioritis is spreading like a pandemic among 12th graders, and the annual elections are being held for Council. The elections will take place on Friday, May 6; each student will have the opportunity to receive a ballot outside of the library and cast votes for up to 11 people from any current high school class. While voting is a voluntary act, it’s important for students to actively take part in the process of electing the people that they think will best represent them and their fellow students in the legislative body of the school (for further voting advice, check out this article). This guide has been designed to help readers learn about the different candidates that are running for Council this year. Information for the guide was taken from interviews with certain candidates, speeches that the candidates gave in the atrium, and posters. Hopefully, it can help you and others in choosing who to vote for.

The Class of 2017 (10 candidates):

1. Dillon Bradley: Currently serves on the Administrative Committee of Council.
2. Spencer Brown: Spencer has said that he would like to run because he “wants to make a difference and be a voice for the class of 2019.” He has said that he would like to contribute on many issues and that he has a goal of helping legislation move forward that would guarantee students at least one x-period each week. He also stressed that the students he would represent should feel free to contact him and ask any questions if he is elected.
3. Romaney Granizo-Mackenzie
4. Will Laycock – Works on the Student Life Committee right now.
5. Milo Wilcox: Currently represents new/tuition students and works on the Student Life Committee. He’s very enthusiastic about the work that Council does and hopes to build off his accomplishments from last year. He has said that he is running again because “there are more contributions [he feels that he] could make (on the Gender motion, on student-teacher communication, and on homework balance).”
6. Neve Monroe-Anderson: Neve is already very enthusiastic about Council even though she is not a member; in an interview, she said that she “went to a good 90% of the meetings” and “knows how Council works.” She said that she hopes she can use her knowledge of the legislative process effectively and that she will continue to go to meetings even if she is not elected.
7. Elizabeth Napier: Currently serves on the OEC committee of Council. In the past year, she has strongly supported the Gender Motion and the Underclassmen Awards ceremony. If elected, she hopes to reduce the amount of daily homework that students receive and vote for a motion that is coming coming to Council “focusing on communication of homework between teachers and students.” She also cites her debate and public speaking skills, her willingness to be open-minded, and her thorough understanding of the Student Handbook, Council Bylaws, and Robert’s Rules of Order as qualities of a good representative.
8. Lois Schwarz: Lois is running because she “would like to become more involved in government.” If she were to be elected, she would like to bring “healthier foods to the cafe” and make it easier for students to access X-periods each week.
9. Colm Seigne: Colm says that he is running because he has been interested in the way that the school government works after he saw several meetings. While he currently has no specific legislative goals for next year, he looks forward to addressing the issues that will come before Council and “making a difference.”
10. Leila Trummel: Leila will be new to Council if elected. She hopes to bring healthier food options to the cafe, reduce the amount of daily homework that is assigned to students, and reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

The Class of 2018 (9 candidates):

1. Catherine Han: Catherine will be new to the post if elected but wants to contribute her opinion to the conversation in Council.
2. Henry Kahl: A candidate who will be new to Council if elected; he has said that he is qualified to run because he is an “energetic, approachable, and dedicated person.”
3. Aisling Kelly: 2-year veteran of Council, currently on the Student Activities committee. Plans on making greater progress on legislation involving homework, including the current Homework Communication Motion
4. Isabel Loftus: Currently an alternate for the sophomore class and member of the Judiciary Committee. She thinks that it’s important for a representative to be open-minded and have the whole student body in mind when voting on legislation and says that she will continue to do both. While she doesn’t have any particular legislative goals in mind for next year at the moment, she “would like to help Council pass more motions that would help make our school an even better place to attend for everyone.”
5. Jasper Meyer: Incumbent representative from Student Activities. Has been very active in shaping amendments on various motions as well as organizing Winter Carnival. He has emphasized that he is experienced and approachable.
6. Perrin Milliken: Currently a member of the Student Life Committee. She has expressed lots of enthusiasm about working on Council and enjoys debating and “talking about how to improve the HHS experience.” During the past year, she worked on the Athletics Over Break motion and the Underclassmen Award Ceremony Motion. When asked about what goals she has for next year if she is reelected, Milliken said that she would like to “focus on building on the new Homework Communications motion as well as improving the cafeteria.”
7. Isabelle Sangha: Currently a representative on the Administrative Committee. She has said that she would like to “make Council more acceptable for the school.”
8. Max Taxman: Running on the platform of adding a fresh face to Council. Has said, “Council is all about growth and change” and that electing him would bring new ideas to it.
9. Marion Umpleby: Was an active critic of the way that the Underclassmen Award Ceremony and wrote letters with suggestions about to change it. She has expressed that she would like to “find better ways to celebrate student achievement” and make the school environment “diverse and equal.”

The Class of 2019 (14 candidates):

1. Lucas Blackmore: Has said that he would like to address several issues like increasing the quality and hours of the cafeteria, supporting the Homework Communication Motion, and increasing the Council’s transparency by keeping all students more engaged in the Council.
2. Mae Butler: Veteran member of Council; she currently serves as Treasurer and works on the Student Activities Committee.
3. Coyote Farrell: Currently a member of the OEC and Chair of the Restorative Justice Committee and Ad Hoc. She is proud of her involvement in Council and says that she even shows to meetings that she is not required to go to so that she can contribute as much as she can. She has made transparency a central issue of her candidacy; she wants to spur student understanding and involvement in Council so that they can participate in the school’s political process more. In regards to this, she has said that she has “plans to update the motions page to increase the information avalible about past motion as just one example of future steps that can be taken. I also want to find a way to encourage people who have ideas of what to change about the school to bring them to a committee which can help shape them in a motion.”
4. Emmie Foster: Emmie is running because she is “interested in the whole process” of Council. She referred to her time as an alternate over the past semester, saying that she enjoyed bring her opinion to the table and hearing others. She hopes to continue doing this and bring “change in a positive way” to the school if she gets elected
5. Thomas Judd: Currently serves as an alternate and works on the Administrative Committee. He emphasizes the duty of bring issues to the debate table that might not have been touched on otherwise, such as creating specific bylaws for students who attend the Hartford Career and Tech Center. If reelected, he would also like to have the school’s departments adopt a formal definition of X-periods. He has also said, “ I think when people go to vote, they need to consider who is accountable, looking to be on Council to help the school, and not just their college app, and can represent their ideas.” He has also expressed disappointment “with the number of fellow candidates who are putting up creative posters on facebook, but aren’t explaining their credentials or hopes.”
6. Henry Lang: Current Public Relations Officer and member of the Student Life Committee with three years of experience on Council. One reason that he feel he is a good representative for the student body is that he participates in a wide variety of social circles and understands the opinions of his peers. He says that he is proud that he “worked with Council in the past years to promote equality and respect among members of our school community” and that his “favorite motions have been about the dress code, gender inclusivity, and restorative justice.” If reelected, he plans to run for Moderator and prioritize dealing with homework-related stress. One solution that he has in mind is the Marauder Pass; in regards to this, he said, “Every student would receive one pass at the start of each semester. If you are absolutely swamped one night, you still need your sleep. Let’s say you’ve got an English essay due tomorrow, but you also need to study for the big Biology test. You would give your Marauder Pass to your English teacher in exchange for a 24-hour extension on your essay – no questions asked.”
7. Patrick Logan: Currently a member of the Student Life Committee.
8. Henry Mackall: An experienced member of the Curriculum committee. He has said that “Council needs more open mindedness” and that “everyone should be willing to add their voice to something that affects [the students], no matter what popular opinion might be.” He encourages a spirited debate in Council over the issues that come forward and takes the duty very seriously, saying that members shouldn’t “treat Council like it’s some sort of college credit.” One major issue that he spoke about was the Homework Motion.
9. Chessie Newbold: A 3-year veteran of Council and member of the Curriculum committee with lots of experience. He has said that he is proud to have supported the creation of the Restorative Justice (now Restorative Practices) program and the reform of homework rules (something he still hopes to build on) during his career. He has also mentioned that his experiences from living outside Hanover help him “bring a semi unique perspective to the body” and that  he has been honored to be the now junior class rep and would be honored to be reelected to the position again for [his] final year at the high school.”
10. Daniel Schertzer*: Daniel is running because he wants to add more substance to Council’s debates. He has said that his experience with different school environments from when he lived in Vancouver, Canada, gives him a different perspective that he can bring to the debates. He has also said that he will play devil’s advocate in certain cases because he believes that opposition strengthens a debate.
11. Nanako Shirai: Currently represents new and tuition students and works on the Administrative Committee. She emphasized the importance of community relations in the Council, something she says that she learned from her experiences in both Hanover and her former home in Charleston, South Carolina. She has also noted that she is very experienced in the processes of student government, as she has served in Council and as the Class Secretary of her freshman class and Vice President of the sophomore class at her old school. She has also said that the key issues she plans to address if reelected include the Homework Communication motion and Council transparency. In regards to transparency, she said, “That fact that 9.8% of the student body, according to the student life survey, did not know about council through common ground is disappointing and something that Council needs to look into.”
12. Dimitri Somoff: Currently a member of the Student Activities Committee.
13. Georgia Sparks: Currently a member-at-large and works on OEC.
14. Connor Stafford: Currently a member-at-large and member of the Curriculum committee.

Staff (4 candidates):

1. Mr. Bourne
2. Mr. Gentine
3. Mr. Prince
4. Ms. Murray

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The staff candidates were not available for interview.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The author had originally sent out an email to all of the candidates asking for a short statement regarding their credentials and goals for their Council campaign (which according to Council rules must be on at least 2 posters out of the 10 allowed to be put up) and gave them a three day deadline to get back to him. Three days had passed and only 1/4 of the candidates responded. It was only after conducting an all day rigorous interviewing effort that Hayden was able to get enough information to put it into a meaningful article.

Rather than leave those who didn’t get back to him’s slots blank, he went through the trouble of taking what little information that they made available from their campaign posters and from their facebook posts, which were only posted recently today and yesterday due to the strong encouragement from Council Rep. Thomas Judd.

Hayden went above an beyond the call of what the Broadside usual demands, he worked hours for the entire evening just to get this article up in time before the election tomorrow, all for the benefit of his peers and for of the School’s democracy. He deserves all of our praises.