One
question asked often in the halls of FHS is, "What has student council
done for us?" Many don't know what to say, so they simply agree with
the questioner's complaint.
Most don't realize that many of the things that happen
at this school are all made possible by student council: The dances, homecoming,
canned food drive, and even the blood drive, which is sponsored through
the Red Cross, are all made possible by student council. The canned food
drive is an honorable cause. Not only do we get to build something out
of cans, we get to donate them to the food bank to nourish the needy.
That is something we should all be proud of, and student council should
be proud as well. And, what better reward for giving food than getting
food! The first period class that donates the most food gets a free breakfast,
prepared by the gracious chefs of Flathead High School Student Council.
Another valuable contribution sponsored by student council
is the blood drive. Sadly, this isn't a cause to which everybody can contribute
because you must be at least 17 and meet a certain weight requirement.
Last year the high school raised 113 units of blood. Student council doesn't
sponsor these things without reason, so when the next blood drive rolls
a round, get down and give some blood.
Unfortunately, everything has a downside, however minor
it may be. Some students say senior ball was a drag because of the low
quality of the DJ. He must have left his best music at homecoming, because
he played music that was mighty hard to dance to. Student Council isn't
to blame for the quality of the music, especially when the DJ played great
music at the previous dance. One thing that is their fault, however, was
forgetting refreshments for the patrons. We shouldn't have to walk up
two flights of stairs to pay 85¢ for a can of pop.
Student council was responsible for the car bash catastrophe,
but somebody had to come up with a relatively safe alternative to make
up for the lack of a bonfire. It was a flop because very few people find
the concept of paying money to take one swing at a car with a sledgehammer
appealing.
With that out of the way, the good points outweigh the
bad. Remember that student council represents the students, which means
they rely on your suggestions and ideas to make things enjoyable. There
is a suggestion box right in front of the office where students can submit
ideas for what they would like to see done. The problem is that nobody
has any serious ideas to put in the box. Student council can't make things
better when receiving ideas like, "hire better teachers." They
aren't responsible for hiring; they're unpaid members of the student body
elected by their peers. How about a longer lunch? Again, this isn't something
they have authority over, that is part of the administration's area. Think
about your ideas. Are they reasonable? Make sure they can be completed
or even attempted using what power student council has.
So, student council isn't without its flaws, but it
isn't. They do sometimes overlook crucial points, but it's usually because
they didn't have the feedback they needed. So next time you ask yourself,
"what has student council done for us?" you can say, "They
give me blood, food, and sponsor the dances I go to."
