Friday, sixth and seventh-graders will be choosing next year’s Student Council leadership.
The student-led organization is holding its annual officer elections Friday, with officers giving their speeches starting at 7:30 a.m. in the gym. Sixth and and seventh-grade students will be sent a link on Google Classroom to vote for Student Council president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and reporter/historian.
In addition to these offices, there is also the added office of parliamentarian. No one filed for that office. However, Miller will appoint someone to that position from the candidate pool.
In total, there are 14 candidates running for the open offices.
One change made this year is, aside from president, sixth and seventh-graders had the opportunity to run for Student Council offices for next year. The presidency was reserved for seventh-graders.
“I wanted all grades to feel represented and to have a voice in Student Council,” Student Council sponsor Derrick Miller said.
Miller said that there has been an influx of candidate filings because of this change.
To run for office, students can not have a grade less than a B in any of their classes, could not have had any ISI or suspension this school year, and have to run a positive campaign. They were also required to attend a mandatory candidate meeting or work with Miller to set up a separate meeting to get the information about the election process.
Miller said candidates should be models for what Student Council membership should look like. He also said that the mandatory meeting helped determine whether students would be likely to attend meetings in the future, which is an expectation of the officers.
Huck Petersen, current Student Council president, said he thinks that those who filed to run for office are also good leaders in their own right.
“I feel that the candidates are good and that the new officers that are about to come in are going to be good. I feel like they should be able to have strong leadership, and that they need to be a great example for Student Council.”
Jackson Simmons, seventh-grader, is one of the presidential candidates and is glad to have the opportunity to be part of the process. Both presidential candidates are current members of Student Council.
“I feel like I should make sure everyone’s voice is heard and that they get there say in Student Council,” he said. “I’m trying my best to help Student Council right now and want to be able to help with the agenda.”
Simmons said he wants to be a good example for the students and the school.
Seventh-grader Gabriel Hernandez is also running for the president position, which he hopes gives him a chance to collaborate with other students.
“I feel like will be help students,” he said. “I want to work with all the sixth and seventh-graders improve the school.”
Hernandez said he wants to use the presidency for the good of Duncan Middle Schoool.
The newly elected Student Council officers will attend the last Student Council meeting of the year in May, where they will shadow the current officers, including Petersen, Vice President Bella Christian, Secretary Brooklyn Richards, Treasurer Jaylee Hornbeak, Reporter/Historian Delaney Ward and Parliamentarian Paige Bates.
Another change made to Student Council this year includes the addition of class officers. These officers will be elected during a Student Council meeting next school year.
