When students complain about broken water fountains and bathrooms not having stalls, Student Council represents the student voice by providing a bridge from the student body to administration that can address these concerns.

Also, events that students look forward to throughout the year such as Homecoming, I-Days, Spirit Week, and Turnabout are made possible with the hard work and planning of Student Council.

Student Council President Marilyn Ortega, Div. 857, said a new structure was introduced this school year in order to give more opportunities for each individual class to plan out its own events.

In the past, Student Council consisted of the president, seven main council officers, and the class councils.

“All classes were not being heard,” said Ms. Kim, Student Council sponsor. “It was way too chaotic for all voices from freshman to senior voices to be heard just from Student Council officers.”

Now, instead of seven main council members, there is a Student Council president and two vice presidents. This is further broken down to senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman class councils.

The class representative officers are responsible for planning events for their own class. For instance, during first quarter, the sophomore class held a movie night while senior officers were responsible for helping plan Oktoberfest.

“It was planned like that so each class can have more fun and have their own individual events,” Ortega said.

Student Council also conducts general assembly meetings which have changed from weekly to every other week. According to Ortega, this switch led to an increase in student attendance.

During general assembly meetings, students can learn about events Student Council is currently working on, volunteer to help organize any upcoming events, contribute to any projects, and voice any concerns or suggestions related to the school.  

“Anyone in the school could come and really represent or voice their [opinion] on whatever issue they have,” Ms. Kim said.    

Danijela Vranjes, Student Council vice president, Div. 777, said general assemblies are open to the whole school and can vary from informational meetings to service meetings.

During one meeting, students helped Key Club make posters for their canned food drive and they also made holiday cards for troops unable to make it home for the holidays. Some meetings are brief — Student Council will make announcements and ask for input from the student body.

“We want students who want to be in Student Council, even if they can’t fully participate as an officer,” Vranjes said.

Student Council is currently preparing for Turnabout and I-Days in addition to creating new events for students to enjoy.

“I feel like there’s big gap [between] each event we have,” said Jason Rivera, Senior Council President, Div. 778. “I wanted to make sure we have new events to keep the energy of the school flowing so it’s not just work.”

Rivera explained that when Student Council is given suggestions from students, it goes to their sponsors, then to administration, and if necessary, it will go to outside involvement such as Friends of Lane in order to raise money.

In regard to addressing issues voiced by students, such as the demerit system or the attendance policy, Vranjes said, Student Council tries to put forward solutions that would be fair for both administration and the student body. However, they do not have the final word in these decisions.   

The new changes in Student Council appear to create more opportunities for students to be better represented and involved in improving the school.

“Student Council has made me realize the power of what I say, the power of my voice,” Rivera said. “More than others, I’m under a microscope a lot from anybody in the school and they make me always think before I say anything, think before my actions, and just helped me overall become a more responsible man.”