No More Spoon Fixation; New Student Council is on the Move!
By Jeffrey Rosen ‘07
News Guest Writer
In recent years, the Student Council has not exactly been revered as a dynamic student enterprise--infatuation with plastic spoons, among other trivialities, comes to mind. However, as your current Student Council President, I’m pleased to be able to say that this year’s Council has bucked its trend of accomplishing little. We have worked both consistently and tirelessly throughout the spring term to improve the quality of student life at Choate, and we will continue to do so in the future.
This year’s Student Council began its term with a bang. A mere fourteen days after having taken office, the Student Council had already instituted some major changes. First, we extended weekend Internet hours to 1 a.m. for fourth and fifth formers, to be in effect next year. We also convinced Headmaster Shanahan to incorporate non-hooded sweatshirts in next year’s class dress code.
We continued to bring positive change to Choate at a brisk pace throughout the remainder of the term. We passed proposals including the extension of campus phone hours, the elimination of unnecessary Saturday classes, and increased leniency of the coed restrictions that have been planned for next year. These proposals are currently being considered by the administration; we at the Student Council have faith that the administration will accept our ideas as beneficial to the Choate community.
Clearly, sit-down lunches are an issue of consequence to the student body. We, the Student Council, would have enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the necessity of sit-down lunches with Choate’s administration—but the administration asserted that sit-down lunches will still be a part of next year’s schedule. However, we have been more pleased with their willingness to discuss improvements; this spring we passed a multifaceted proposal aimed at improving the quality of these lunches. If accepted, our proposal would result in more popular food choices at each meal, as well as additional vegetarian alternatives. We have also suggested moving the conference block to earlier in the day, so that students that eat during D block don’t have lunch in the morning. Finally, we stressed that the faculty try to be more engaging, as many tables often sit the lunches in awkward silence.
The dress code has also been a perennial issue for Choate students, and we on the Student Council have made sure to take this issue to heart. While the administration rejected our proposal to eliminate the dress code at dinner next year, they did agree to do so for the final weeks of this year’s spring term. This was lauded around campus as a major achievement, because it alleviated the inconvenience of having to return to class dress following athletic commitments. Mr. Shanahan then offered the students his most generous compromise yet in regard to the dinner dress code: in short, he offered to eliminate the dress code at dinner if Choate boys agreed to wear ties during the school day. While appreciating the generosity of the compromise, students generally disapproved of it, being under the impression that the upgraded dress code would represent an inconvenience for students and would further widen the visible gap between “Choaties” and “Townies.” Many faculty members also oppose the plan, so it is unlikely that it will become a part of Choate policy.
The above accomplishments have helped restore confidence to the Student Council as a body that truly represents the interests of students. However, we are not complacent. Throughout next year, we will continue to be accessible and responsive to your concerns. With a major student-run initiative to reduce energy in the works, as well as an ambitious senior privilege package, we on the Student Council are confident that we will build on our accomplishments of our first term and continue to be a strong voice for the interests of Choate students.
