One of the most important aspects of high school is the student elections that determine who serves as a voice for the students. These student elected officials plan events such as pep rallies, fundraisers and spirit weeks that display school pride. This begins with what goes into student campaigns and how officials accumulate the needed votes for their desired position.
At this school, students participate in two elections – SGA and class officers. Typically, students running for these positions have a variety of methods that they use to gain the attention of their peers. This includes posters plastered on the walls of the school, videos on social media apps like TikTok or Instagram, and connectivity with students through personal relationships.
In the most recent SGA elections, Co-Presidents and juniors Ryan Shin and Charlie Rollins both used a mix of all of these techniques to grow their popularity among the student population and eventually win. When designing his own campaign plan, Shin said, “A lot of it was based on how much engagement I thought I could get.”
When creating his posters, Shin said that he favored CVS poster printing for his campaign and saidusing design websites like Canva is important because of the “wide variety of materials to design the poster.”
Students running in these elections also take influence from popular trends and designs that will appeal across all audiences. For example, Shin used the popular Spotify design to attract music fans and users of that app.
Along with posters, Rollins also emphasized the importance of building relationships and meeting new people as a primary goal for winning student elections. “If you can, during an election process go introduce yourself to others. It can be very helpful to put a name to a face for your fellow students,” Rollins said.
Another aspect of the campaign process is experience. While constructing their platforms, both Shin and Rollins used their previous experience as class officers to differentiate themselves from other candidates. Shin said, “I’ve been the secretary of my elementary, middle and high school. Through these roles, I learned what it means to be a true leader and representative of the whole student body.”
In order to run a successful student campaign, students also need to have the qualities of a successful leader. According to Rollins, a student leader is someone who does their best to create an environment that’s comfortable and inclusive to all students. “Satisfying everyone’s wants and needs is impossible, but in the end, making people’s voices heard is very important,” Rollins said.
Overall, student election campaigns teach valuable lessons on leadership and engagement with others even if a candidate doesn’t win. Junior Grant McGraw ran for class officer in 2022 and, even though he didn’t win, he learned how important the campaign process is and how much it can impact an election. “Making a poster and engaging with others taught me what to do in the future to win and how I can communicate my policies better,” McGraw said.
