SGA and senior planning have started the year out strong, planning senior events, like senior sunrise and homecoming activities. Recently, there have been differing opinions from students when it comes to decisions made by these organizations.

This past August, a survey with multiple student designed shirts was sent out so that seniors could vote for their senior shirt. This system of deciding the shirts caused backlash when the shirt that received the most votes did not end up being chosen. “I think that planning does not listen to the majority of the student body and only wants to do what the leaders want to do,” senior Caroline Carver said.

It was revealed by senior planning that the school administration vetoed the winning design, which said “I love hot 23niors,” due to it being “inappropriate.” “Sometimes decisions aren’t the most popular with our classmates. And sometimes we have to balance admin concerns,”  senior class President Max Choi said.

This is not the first time that the administration has been restrictive. Last year, there was a disagreement between junior planning and administration over whether junior banquet would be in the parking lot or inside. This was after administration would not allow for the event to be held outside school grounds, despite it being located at local venues in past years. “I would prefer if we had better venues for events. I feel like junior banquet, homecoming and all of that seems bland when you go to the actual event,” senior Lauren Meyer said.

While students are upset over these restrictions, they are necessary to prevent potential issues between the school and parents. “Admin’s job is to essentially make decisions so that the possibility of the school being sued or parents complaining would be as small as possible,” Choi said. “For example, last year Ms. Bolden wouldn’t allow us to hold the banquet at another venue, or even inside the school until a week before the banquet.” 

Last week, students participated in homecoming festivities, dressing up for spirit days and going to the homecoming football game. Part of homecoming is a theme that each class follows when creating their class hallway (now courtyard) and floats. 

However, some students outside of planning and SGA were not aware that the theme was movie genres. Additionally, students who were not involved in planning were not aware of what was going on with the courtyard design. “I think the students that are not in splanning or in SGA had no say in what was inside the courtyard so no one paid attention to it,” senior Jason Lee said.

For future events, SGA co-president Maya Gottesman encourages students to get involved in SGA activities. “Students can get more involved in spirit week by simply participating. Look for signs around the school, look on our Instagram, and tell your friends to participate,” Gottesman said.

There are also opportunities for students to provide feedback to their class officers on events and decisions. “You can always express your opinions to a class officer or senior planner,” Choi said.