Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '26
Every year our school elects its co-presidents, with each candidate delivering an address to the student body. This year students sent videos to be displayed, and though ranging in quality it seems that many of them adhered to the same platform. They’ve been coupled with social media platforms that promoted everything: from sensible policies to promises of “Greek yogurt and waffles”, from endorsements by former student leadership to cameos that have raised some eyebrows, and in some cases administrative concerns.
This year, Ryan K and Jesse S won the election. Just like last year, students were able to rank their favorite candidates, and this pair got to first place. We asked the winners why they thought that their platform rather than others appealed to students. “Just because of our inclusivity, how nice we are, the connections we made”, co-president Jesse remarked. We also asked what policies he sought to implement: “The most important one is probably the anonymous student feedback system or a standardized test prep class for juniors.”
We also asked Francisco I., election runner-up who will now serve as a 12th grade student council rep, what he was looking forward to getting done with the new administration. He told us “I’ve already accomplished a lot of my agenda in student council. Still, I’d like to continue the nanny program [a program which allows older students to babysit younger Browning boys], continue the dodgeball tournament, and begin a summer internship program. That would be feasible if enough work is put into it, but as a student rep there’s only so much I can do.” He claimed to not feel any resentment, but then gave a long hard wink to the interviewer.
When asking Henry L, who came in fourth place, about his campaign he said “it’s enough to make you lose faith in the whole system–it’s a rotten swamp and that’s all.” Ryan W, his running mate, did not respond for comment.
Aside from the candidates, we also asked some constituents who voted for the pair what they thought about them. One student noted that “Jesse was the first person to reach out to me and he explained his policies.” We also asked whether they thought the campaign would live up to its goals -- “I trust him”, said the same student.
Thus, it seems that with another year of student government comes the same expectancy regarding how exactly the student body will be impacted. As our first year in the new building comes to a close, perhaps this new leadership will steer towards bold horizons. If not, there’s always the anonymous student feedback form, we suppose.
