Council Plans for Class Meeting Blocks and Contemplates Election Changes – Council Update (2/11/19)

Council had a short meeting today as a result of the delayed opening of school due to weather concerns. Jonathan Li, a Sophomore representative believed that a delay was not enough to ensure the safety of students and staff. Thus, during the “Reports” section of Council, he alerted the body to a new motion he is drafting. The motion, simply titled “Snow Days Motion,” would eliminate the possibility of delayed Wednesdays. Li’s primary reasoning is that Wednesday delays, with their 25-minute classes, are ineffectual for learning, so the district may as well cancel school.

The first major item on the agenda was the Council/Class committee meeting preparation block; the block was scheduled to allow class representatives to prepare for the upcoming meetings which will be held during activity period on Wednesday, February 27th for Freshmen and Sophomores, and during common ground on Thursday, February 28th for Juniors and Seniors. The main topics many Council members wish to cover during the meetings include how to create a motion, what the responsibilities of each Council committee are, and how to run for Council in the upcoming 2019-2020 elections.

After the conclusion of the planning block, Freshmen representatives James Kirkpatrick and Alex Rockmore gave the bylaw notification for their Election Reform motion. The representatives’ goal, according to their intent statement, is to increase Council’s efficiency and “allow for a more reasonable and representative election process”. Their motion, if passed, would create major change in the election system by making election speeches mandatory, and by limiting voters’ votes to candidates from their classes. A question session followed, during which it was revealed that the motion goes against other election initiatives run by Kirkpatrick’s committee, Organizational Engineering Committee.

Council concluded with pictures being taken of each committee.