A Preview of Next Year's CGSA

by Aidan Sheeran-Hahnel

Following an election marked by a lockdown and accusations of voter fraud, the student body could use a more in-depth introduction to next year’s Catlin Gabel Student Association (CGSA) President and Vice President. The winners answered two questions: “If you were given complete control over the school, what is the one issue you would like to change?” and “By the time you hand on your rings to your successors, what would you like to walk away from this school having accomplished?”

Meet 2020 CGSA President Arjun Jain. Arjun ran a campaign based on LIEing, promising to Listen, Engage, and Inform. When describing what the one thing he most wished he could do with ultimate power over the school, he said that he would like to be more informed on his grades. Arjun explained that verbal equivalents are “inconvenient [and] confusing” and that they allow ”teachers to be more subjective than they should be.” He would also wish to eliminate any stigma around talking with teachers about your grades, and implement an online system that would consistently display grades from the first class of the year to the last.

While Arjun wishes he could change the grading system at CGS, what he would like to focus on accomplishing  by the time he hands on his (pipe cleaner) ring to the next CGSA president would be restructuring the way the CGSA works. He wants to make the CGSA “more student oriented.” He envisions a CGSA where students voice their opinions, and the CGSA publishes reports on what they’ve done, so that “students can actually see that they’ve had an impact.” Essentially, Arjun would like to make the CGSA less of what he called “a private club” and more representative of the student body, doing what the students want, not what the CGSA members think is best.

Meet 2020 CGSA Vice President Annika Holliday. Following up on her speech in the CGSA debates, Annika seems pretty certain about what she would like to change for next year if she was given power over the school. She explained that she would like the CGSA to have a bigger  budget allocated to fun surprises for the student body, increasing morale. She explained why by stating, “since the CGSA is so limited with the Takeaway Day budget, we don’t really have any extra money ... for the student body.” She doesn’t want to get rid of Takeaway Day, however. Instead, she would like to increase the CGSA budget. She plans to talk to the administration about the budget with the hopes of increasing the budget or having the administration pay for Takeaway Day.

Anika hopes to walk away from CGS  next year having made this change, along with changing the nature of the CGSA. When asked what she wants to walk away from her role of vice president having accomplished, she listed many issues related to funding. Ultimately, she said, “I think that’s my main goal, to change what the CGSA is all about. I want to change it from a Takeaway Day funding and planning committee to partnering with the administration.” Hopefully, with an improved relationship between the student body and administration, we will be able to have more club funding, fun surprises, and overall student representation.