Update: An early version of this story said that the student representative election has only one candidate, William Cashman, and is therefore uncontested. However, Eric Garcia, a Lane student, is also on the ballot. Garcia was going to run for the LSC in the spring 2020 election, which was postponed until now. He previously told The Warrior he is not running, but his name never got taken off the ballot after he applied for the spring election. The story has been updated with this information.

These candidate profiles are aimed to inform those voting in the Lane Local School Council (LSC) elections on those who are running in the elections. The Warrior extended invitations to every candidate to participate in the interview process and asked the same questions to every candidate to ensure objectivity. The Warrior’s Editorial Board will not endorse any candidate in the field.

Part one of the previews focuses on the community, teacher, non-teacher staff and student representative candidates who are running this year. Only incumbents are running in these elections, making none of these races contested. The community representatives will be voted on by parents, school staff, teachers and community members during the actual LSC elections held on Nov. 19 for high schools.

Mail in voting this year will also be available to parents, teachers and non-staff members, while community members have to vote in-person on election day.

Students are the only people who can only vote for the student representative, teachers are the only people who can vote for the teacher representatives and non-teacher staff members are the only people who can vote for the non-teacher staff representative. These votes are non-binding. The Board of Education gets final discretion over these decisions, meaning the voting process is only advisory.

All of the representatives’ terms last two years, with the exception of the student representative who only serves one year at a time.

Next week will be the second half of the candidate previews, focusing on the parent representatives. 

Interview transcripts have been edited for length and clarity

COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES

Community representatives are people over 17 who reside in the school’s attendance area, according to CPS. There are two community representative spots available and two people running, so this race is uncontested. These spots will be a part of the general LSC election on Nov. 19.

ANA BORJA-SCALES (INCUMBENT) 

Summer voting record:

Voted to remove Indian symbol

Voted to remove school resource officers (SRO)

1. Why are you running for the LSC?

“I’m running as community rep and I love the school. My kids graduated from Lane, my daughter [in] 2015 and my son [in] 2011. It’s left quite an impression on me. So, I love the diversity and the extra-curricular activities and what [Lane offers]. There’s something about that school that when I walk down the halls, there’s a lot of history in it and I don’t know, it just makes me happy when I walk down that hallway.” 

2. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on the mascot this summer? 

“Well, we really thought about it and there was a huge push by the alumni, and then at the same time, I understand the word Indian and it’s [a] derogatory name and how it looked like and things that we’ve had in the past. It [had] to change.”

3. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on school resource officers this summer?

“That was a hard one. I mean, I understand parents and families now who are concerned about the safety of the students in school, especially with shootings. But at the same thing, there’s got to be a change within policy and the perspective, too, of police brutality. Not all police are bad. Honestly, a lot of them are very good. But just things that happen that [have] negatively impacted our world over the years and it hasn’t changed and we need to change now. We need to improve it, we need to adjust.”

4.What’s one thing you would like to change about Lane?  

“Oh nothing. I mean, everything has its place, its relevance. We’re here to learn and to teach each other.”

5. Why should voters elect you? 

”Over the years I’ve been an active volunteer with Chicago Public School(s). And to me Lane is a small town. It’s a diverse school, economically varied, the curriculum and the extracurricular activities, staff and [it’s] traditional and yet open to improvement and change. This year, especially, as an LSC member and voting on two very controversial and emotional topics really brought to light the importance of being part of the school and making decisions.”

6. What is your favorite thing about Lane?

“The students. Your energy. It’s wonderful. And the teachers and the administration and how they come to school and they are there for you. It’s a great school.”

7. What’s one fun fact about yourself?

“Well I’m a multitasker and I like chaos and noise. When it’s silent I turn on some music. And then I think I’m young at heart.”

MAUREEN GEORGE (INCUMBENT)

Summer voting record:

Voted to remove Indian symbol

Voted to remove school resource officers

1. Why are you running for the LSC?

“I used to be very involved at Lane when my kids were there. I’ve also lived by the school for 20 years, so I just feel like I’m like a good candidate, good fit for the community rep. I feel like everyone should give back something to the community, so this is my give back.”

2. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on the mascot this summer? 

“The symbol, that was a tough vote. I’m a current member [of the LSC] and it was sad to see the Indian go, but I do think you know we needed to support the feelings of the community and it’s time to kind of move on from that, as much as I love the tradition of the Indian. But I stand by my decision that we need to change it.”

3. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on school resource officers this summer?

“Another hard vote, an even harder vote. I think it’s a shame that a week later CPS then decides it’s going to change the whole program because I think just the program needed to be changed. But again I kind of stand by my decision on that. You know, I really listened to the staff and the students and it made it uncomfortable and [I listened to] people who work with security and they said that they didn’t have a feeling that we needed to keep the SRO. So I’m glad that [CPS] has decided to [change the SRO program], so I’d love to see the program continue but in a very different manner than what it was doing. It wasn’t necessarily a positive thing for the kids and let’s make a great, positive experience for the students of Lane.”

4. What’s one thing you would like to change about Lane?  

“I think it’s always just a constant battle with the budget and where do we spend our money, that’s just always our biggest battle, but I mean right now we’re in such a crazy time with the epidemic, and God knows there’s going to be a huge budget crisis.”

5. Why should voters elect you? 

“I just think I fit all the requirements. I’ve lived blocks from the school for over 20 years. I was very involved as a parent there and I was president of the Friends of Lane and I helped kind of bring that from, it was a parent organization to it grew into this kind of monster. … My daughter started in 2009. It was a very different school then it is now. So I respect the history of Lane and what the school used to be like. But I’ve kind of been there to see what it’s grown into, as well, so I have a good understanding of the school.”

6. What is your favorite thing about Lane?

“The history of it. Man, I love when you work a reunion and you talk to alumni who just are so passionate about experience[s] they had in 1952. So yeah, the history of it, the diversity of Lane.”

7. What’s one fun fact about yourself?

“Farm girl. I grew up on a beef farm in Iowa.”

TEACHER REPRESENTATIVES

Teacher representatives, as the name suggests, is a position open to Lane teachers. There are two teacher representative spots available and two people are running, so this race is uncontested. These spots are voted on only by teachers, and the vote is non-binding.

DANIEL LAW (INCUMBENT)

Summer voting record:

Voted to remove Indian symbol

Voted to remove school resource officers

1. Why are you running for the LSC?

“Because I think it’s important that somebody represents the teachers’ and students’ voices on the LSC and to assist our administration with the goals that they’ve set, because I believe in them.”

2. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on the mascot this summer? 

“Since I represent the teachers’ voice on the LSC, I believe that the teaching staff at Lane, and a lot of the majority of the students wanted a new direction in how our school is seen by other people outside the building. 

And you know, I think it’s important that all students at Lane are proud of Lane. Like totally. You don’t want to just be proud of this part of Lane and that part of Lane. You want to be proud of everything the school does, and I think for a lot of the students and for the teaching staff, having a symbol that doesn’t represent Native Americans or Indigenous people well just wasn’t right and they wanted to see a change. So, yeah I supported it.”

3. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on school resource officers this Summer?

“Overwhelmingly, what the staff and students wanted was to remove the school resource officers. We have teachers, like Mr. Solin in my department was very vocal. He had come to the meeting where the public got to speak about their thoughts and feelings on the SRO. All the teachers that showed up wanted to have the school resource officer removed. Mr. Solin brought up a good point — at least I feel it was a good point — about when he walks into the building he’s not comfortable seeing an armed person at the front door. So, no teacher reached out to me to let me know that they would prefer to have an armed officer in the building, and no student reached out to me to let me know that they would want an armed officer in the building. On the contrary, everyone that did reach out to me that was a teacher and a student wanted to let me know that they would prefer not to have them in the building.”

4. What’s one thing you would like to change about Lane?  

“Currently I wish we had an easier schedule for everyone. I know it’s been really hard on the students to go to school from 8 to 3:15 every day via a camera on the computer. So I know that’s been very very tough on my students and I wish that was different.”

5. Why should voters elect you? 

“I think they should vote for me because although I may not agree with somebody, and there are plenty of people I don’t agree with in this world, I will at least listen to them. If they feel like what I want aligns with what they want, then they should vote for me.”

6. What is your favorite thing about Lane?

“I don’t know what my answer would have been before remote learning, but now that we are on remote learning, my favorite thing about Lane Tech is the students. And it is them that I miss the most. Even the ones that make me work extra hard during class. I just miss the bell ringing, and just getting a chance to talk to kids as they’re walking in or getting a chance to talk to them as they’re walking out or having an opportunity to ask a kid, while they’re working on something, I’m the one bothering them. I’m walking, “Hey, how was, how was your weekend?” And they’re trying to work and I’m the one bugging them. I miss that. I miss like a normal interaction with a student and then watching them learn. It’s just so hard to do that now.”

7. What’s one fun fact about yourself?

“I’m a huge nerd and I play a lot of games. Board games, video games, role-playing games. I mean, I attend gaming conventions. PAX Unplugged is a big go-to for me every year. Ever since I was in high school I’ve enjoyed gaming of different kinds.”

8. Do you have a favorite game?

“Right now probably Dungeons and Dragons and then as a video game, I’ve been playing a lot of Diablo 3. … My son, who’s five, he plays a lot of Roblox. He’s been playing Among Us. You know that is something I’ll play with him every once in a while.”

KATHARINE GOMEZ (INCUMBENT)

Summer voting record:

Did not attend Indian symbol meeting (no vote)

Did not attend school resource officer meeting, but wrote a letter urging the council to remove (no vote) 

1. Why are you running for the LSC?

“I’ve been on the LSC for 4 years, this would be my third term. And I’ve just really enjoyed being able to participate in a team that represents our teachers and our staff and faculty in a manner that I’m able to weigh in on decisions in the best interest of everybody.”

2. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on the mascot this summer? 

“I understand the controversy behind it, but I think that it’s important to recognize that we’re living in the 21st century and people are not symbols. I, along with Mr. Law, both voted to change the symbol because I think it’s important that we represent what’s [the] best interest for everybody and we really tried to make a decision that represented the students and the staff and their viewpoints in doing so.”

3. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on school resource officers this summer?

“I weighed in and I voted based on the information that I felt represented the teachers and the student voices. And in my opinion if even one student was uncomfortable with the presence of the SRO, then there wasn’t a place for them in our building. So, again, Mr. Law and I both agreed that to represent our staff and to represent our students the best decision was to vote to remove.”

4. What’s one thing you would like to change about Lane?  

“I don’t know if there’s anything that I would want to change. I think that we are making strides in changing for the better. Just kind of in general. I’m excited to see what our new symbol will look like and I’m excited to see kind of the collaboration between the student body, the faculty staff and the community in creating the new symbol. So I guess I’m interested and kind of excited to see what that change will look like.”

5. Why should voters elect you? 

“For the last four years, I’ve made decisions and weighed in as a member of the LSC in a way that I wanted to represent the majority of the teachers and their voices. I think I’ve done a really great job at that and I hope to continue to do that for the next two years through really just trying to be there and trying to be a voice for the teachers who elected me the last time.”

6. What is your favorite thing about Lane?

“I have a lot of favorite things. My favorite thing I think is how diverse our student body is and our school as a whole. You know, we’re really fortunate that we have so many different backgrounds and so many different viewpoints in one building and I really love that we’re able to kind of share all of that together.” 

7. What’s one fun fact about yourself?

“I just had a baby, in July. So it’s a new fact. And I have a dog named Milo that I love and I’m slightly obsessed with. If you’ll ask anyone they can tell you that about me.”

NON-TEACHER STAFF REPRESENTATIVE

There is one spot available on the LSC for this position. The incumbent, Dannixa Velez, is the only staff member running, making the race uncontested. Velez declined an interview with The Warrior. She voted to remove the Indian symbol and voted to keep the SROs this summer. The non-teacher staff representative is voted on by non-teacher staff members and the vote is non-binding.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

There is one student representative spot on the LSC. Two students are running in this race. One of the students who is running, Eric Garcia, submitted his candidate application before the original spring deadline, and was unaware he was still on the ballot for the postponed election, Garcia  told The Warrior, and therefore declined to be interviewed for this story. This spot is voted on only by students and the election will be virtual, according to Chalkbeat Chicago. The student LSC representative’s vote is non-binding.

WILLIAM CASHMAN (INCUMBENT)

Summer voting record:

Voted to remove Indian symbol

Voted to remove school resource officers

1. Why are you running for the LSC?

“I want to be able to make sure that the students’ voice is heard in the general running of the school so that communication between administration and the student body can be efficient so that the school can be a better place for students and teachers alike.”

2. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on the mascot this summer? 

“I personally voted to remove it. My thought was that if any amount of students are made uncomfortable by it, then it isn’t optimal and it should be changed, especially considering the changes we’ve experienced as a society in our perceptions of racism and how it affects people. So I support it; I voted for the removal of the Indian symbol.”

3. What are your thoughts on the LSC’s decision on school resource officers this summer?

“I also supported removing the SRO; I voted for that. The question again was how do we react to students feeling uncomfortable in the SRO’s presence, and we looked through a lot of data and research on whether SROs do in fact protect us, because the SRO was there in order to intervene in a school shooting. And it was found that the presence of an SRO in a school barely ever does anything to deter a shooting or intervene in a shooting, so it was my thought process that we needed to contribute to this greater movement among reforming of policing in schools and how it can negatively impact students. That was my general thought process for that issue.”

4. What’s one thing you would like to change about Lane?  

“Recently there’s been a lot of controversy regarding the dealing of racism in Lane Tech in general. The administration did put out that PowerPoint that we went through in advisory which most of the student body deemed insufficient. So, I think more comprehensive research and education on that front and how we can integrate learning about racism into our school life would be beneficial.”

5. Why should voters elect you? 

“I listen to the students. I am a student, so I’m able to obtain knowledge from the student body and I do my best to advocate for the student’s ideas in the administration. And I’m just overall passionate about it and I really enjoy it.”

6. What is your favorite thing about Lane?

“My favorite thing about Lane is probably the diversity. It contributes to our environment in a way that I think is really helpful to creating educated and worldly students.”

7. What’s one fun fact about yourself?

“I love animals. I have two dogs. Daisy and Diesel.”