Student Council Representative Elections Continue

With the Student Council Representative elections drawing near, the position has been perceived as more valuable than ever before, with students deeming the position as a more important one than that of the Personero.

This October, once the Personero and the STUCO elections are completed, there is still one more position to fill. In order to gain a seat on the Student Council, five potential candidates: Miguel Calle, Alejandro Escobar, Maria Pia Molina, Andrea Restrepo, and Juan Felipe Gaviria, all 12th graders, have to be elected by the other twelve STUCO representatives. With the election just days away, the students have testified on the importance of the job.

“Generally this person has to be trustworthy and accountable, so that the student opinion is properly portrayed. We [would] work behind the scenes but our task [would be] the most influential,” Miguel Calle, 11th grade student and SCR candidate, said. 

SCR candidates have declared that Personeros don’t go through a background check to be selected, even though the SCR candidates do. Therefore, the Personero role does not seem as credible as it did in the past. 

“The Personero job has become symbolic. Think of it as in the US government, the SCR is the Speaker of the House, while the President is the Personero. As the Speaker, one has to be an impeccable student and person, for people don’t realize how important the Speaker’s job is,“ Calle said.

Being under the spotlight, the Personero, according to the students, had been the most sought-after role for many years. Yet, with the work of the SCR, the title of Personero is desired less than in earlier elections. “Three candidates is a staggeringly low amount in comparison to other years,” Calle said. Some students believe that  they will actually contribute something to the school by being part of the Council instead of working as a Personero.

“I don’t see [a] future in the Personero role, the real power is being the Student Council Representative because in this position you have a greater voice, [and] it obliges us to be in contact with the administration,” Andrea Restrepo, Senior at TCS and SCR candidate, said.

With the engagement the SCR requires, the candidates need to have proven themselves both academically and disciplinarily since, according to Calle, “They are in charge of speaking for a student or group at the school’s Council, to impartially judge any students going through disciplinary action.” This year, to better defend the student’s rights, candidates have had to demonstrate the traits that differentiate them from the rest.

“I am a strong-minded, passionate person, and most importantly I would not sleep until I achieve my goal. My greatest task is to represent you guys the way you deserve,“ Restrepo said.

The popularity of the SCR position has trumped the desirability of all the other available positions. Juan Felipe Gaviria, 11th grade student and candidate at TCS, declared that, “I analyzed the contribution between all the roles, and drew the conclusion that the SCR was the position that would best suit me and my values.” Candidates continue to state that it is a position that helps them improve as individuals and that aids in bettering the school.

“He or she is the voice of the student body in all aspects. More than just testifying for disciplinary actions, having a seat at the Council makes the school a fair and impartial place,” Restrepo said.