Campaign posters, social media posts, and advertisement stunts are back this election season at Herriman High. Each year, the annual student government election brings forward new faces who will lead the following year’s school activities. With a 55% majority of the candidates’ success in their campaign tied to student voting and teacher recommendations, it’s safe to say that this is the time for students to truly make a difference in shaping the future of Herriman High School.
Those wanting to make a difference this year have already made their applications for a variety of exciting roles in the student government. Positions available this year remain mostly the same with options such as Student Body President, Vice President, Activities Officer, Secretary, and many other leadership positions. Each of these positions comes with a set of their own responsibilities to keep this school’s spirit high and ensure the voice of the student population is heard when planning for events.
Competition for these positions has also gotten even higher than previous years. The number of available student government roles has been reduced from 24 positions to 20. This was done in order to merge several responsibilities in an effort to simplify the organization of student government and broaden the work available to its members.
One such example of this restructuring is the new position of the Spirit/Activities Officer which now oversees all activities such as spirit week themes, charity activities, or anything done outside of assemblies rather than having the work divided into the responsibilities of school spirit and extracurriculars separately as seen in previous years. As a result, more students are competing for less leadership opportunities, making this year’s election even more intense than ever before.
While excitement this year for the elections continues to rise, the rapid approach of the final term also means saying goodbye to many of our favorite current student body members. Many of the officers, especially our graduating senior officers, have spent major amounts of their time this year making sure that their fellow students can get the full high school experience.
When asked for any advice for those interested in joining student government next year, SBO Vice President Reagan Conover shared, “my advice would be to just enjoy it because it goes by really fast.” Activities officer Preston Johnson also offered advice by saying, “my advice would be don’t be scared to plan any new events and to take initiative.”
For many of the current officers the time they spent serving us has been both memorable and fun. As the election season approaches, students are encouraged to grasp a further understanding of the candidates and their message as they reach out. The privilege of having the very power to select the outcome of this election will determine the direction of the new year and those who will guide it.
