On April 17, students cast ballots for the 2024-25 SGA elections in their social studies classes after watching campaign videos by each of the candidates for school-wide positions and for their class.
The results were announced April 18, after a delay in counting due to mismatching vote counts by SGA members. Because over 2,000 ballots were cast on paper, each ballot has to be counted individually, and to account for error, ballots are cast multiple times. Unfortunately, on Wednesday, those counts were not matching up and recounts were required.
At last, the winners were announced. For the school-wide positions, junior Kevin Si was elected as president, junior Corinne Howard as vice president, sophomore Fatima Tabet as secretary and sophomore Zack Lam as treasurer.
Additionally, twelve more people were elected to various positions to class-specific SGA positions. One of these positions was president of the Class of ‘25, which was won by junior Elani Bui.
“I’m very happy to be reelected. I love SGA and I’ve given my all to it throughout the years so I’m glad the rest of the [senior] class believes in me,” Bui said.
The SGA is often broadly categorized as one entity, but in reality it requires the combined efforts of all members to function. The president and vice president are the spearheads of initiating class spirit and events and communicating information to students. The secretary keeps track of such events and plays a significant role in organization. The treasurer oversees the financial transactions and fundraising of the SGA.
“SGA is important because it gives a voice to the students—whether that be in communicating to admin or advocating for themselves,” SGA teacher sponsor Mr. Christopher Hinsvark said. Ms. Furr and Mr. Hinsvark worked together to hold the elections this year. “We divided and conquered, so Ms. Furr and I shared the responsibility. We double-counted the [paper] ballots.”
Although campaigning is still an important part of the process, the methods have changed over the years. While candidates still use physical promotion strategies like posters, Instagram posts, stories and reels have become increasingly popular. Not unlike SMOB and politician campaigns, students have learned to utilize technology to appeal to a broader audience.
Most vital to the results, however, is how candidates promoted their campaigns in the video that was shown in students’ social studies classes. Sophomore and newly elected school-wide treasurer Zack Lam focused on forming an informative and persuasive argument for his video speech, while his social media posts were more lighthearted and humorous.
Intentions and campaign promises can only go so far however, and so it’s important for candidates to be aware of the limitations to their roles.
Despite the differences in the four available SGA officer roles, election competitors could all agree on several major issues plaguing the student body. Junior Corinne Howard, the upcoming school-wide Vice President, shared many goals and campaign promises.
“Some things I talked about in my campaign regarded recognition for student athletes, student voice and communication, clubs & extracurriculars and school wide events. Personally, my campaign was less centered around promises and more around goals and initiatives,” Howard said. “For implementation, above all I plan to be in close contact with Mrs. Deeny and the class officers. I feel our previous SGAs have been more like separate entities, and this year I will be sure to have everyone working together to reach these goals.”
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