Backpack tags, enormous posters, and Instagram promotions, it can only mean one thing: Enloe’s Student Council elections are just around the corner! With dozens of students involved, from freshman to juniors, this is the time of year when Student Council (Stuco) is most on everyone’s mind. But what is a senator? What’s the difference between Senior Class President and Student Body President? How does Stuco even work? With an encyclopedia’s worth of terminology, understanding the different roles and election processes can be a daunting task. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as you might think. So, let’s take a look!
What does Stuco do?
Stuco is well-known for its role behind Charity Ball, a huge fundraising effort that greatly benefits local nonprofits in our community. In the build-up to the dance, Stuco members contact local organizations and organize competitions, such as the chess and kickball tournaments, to raise money for the selected beneficiary. Starting in 2004, Charity Ball has raised a total of $1.9 million. Last year, $186,000 was raised for Charity Ball’s Beneficiary, CASA, directly benefiting their King’s Ridge development that will reduce homelessness in Raleigh by 10% through the construction of affordable housing units. However, this is only one of Stuco’s many responsibilities. It’s in charge of the senior activities, like game nights, movie nights, and the senior picnic. The Junior Council is in charge of planning Prom, and everyone pitches in to decorate the school for Homecoming and Coming Home.
How is Stuco structured?
Enloe’s student council can be broken down into 2 parts: the Class Councils and the Executive Council, collectively called the Great Council. Class Council members are categorized into 4 councils according to grade level. Each Class Council is made up of 6 advisors, 2 senators, the vice president, and the president. The main difference between the roles of each Class Council member is the level of expected commitment. Advisors and vice presidents are only required to go to Great Council meetings. On the other hand, senators and presidents attend both Great and Executive Council meetings, also called Strategic planning, because they are a part of both their Class Council and the Executive Council. Each grade level can only elect class council members in their corresponding grade level, meaning that rising seniors can only elect senior council members, and rising juniors can only elect junior council members, etc. As for the Executive Council, there are 17 Executive positions that anyone, from any grade level, can elect. Positions on the Executive council are decided by an internal vote called Smoove 17, where stuco members vote for who will hold each position.
If you’ve been to Charity Ball, you’ve likely seen the Big 5 as they announce the grand total raised for Charity Ball’s beneficiary, which changes every year. The Big 5 are in charge of the 5 committees that plan Charity ball: outreach, publicity, logistics, finance, and service. Once elected, every council member joins a committee in preparation for Charity Ball. But what exactly does each committee do? The student body president functions as the head of the Outreach Committee during Charity ball season. This means reaching out and giving presentations to corporations and alumni, as well as organizing Better Together and Trunk or Treat. The publicity committee is in charge of promoting Charity Ball, and it handles everything from Instagram to the banners hanging in the Atrium. The Logistics committee ensures everything is running smoothly on the day of the dance. It handles the ticket sales, catering, decorations, and more. Finance keeps track of all funds, from ticket sales for school events to hot chocolate. Last but not least, the Service Committee organizes service opportunities with the nonprofit, such as CASA’s collaboration with Threads for Hope this year. According to current Vice President of Public Relations Mimi Sonawane, the Big 5 are the “positions governing the whole student body,” while the rest of the executive council positions function similarly to “the president’s cabinet.”
Mimi compares Stuco to a mosaic, “Some people bring glass, some people bring tissue paper, but it’s like, so many different things go into it.” Like a mosaic where each component adds a unique piece until the final work is greater than the sum of its parts, each Council member brings a unique skill set that makes Stuco whole. Some excel in graphic design, others in tracking funds or public speaking. Altogether, they bring us events that will give us long lasting memories and school spirit.
How do Stuco meetings work?
Great Council meets every Monday when planning for Charity Ball and every other Monday in the spring. Executive Council holds Strategic Planning on Wednesdays, meaning that those representatives have to attend two meetings a week in the fall—a significant undertaking. Members of the Great Council are still able to attend Executive Council meetings, but attendance is not mandatory. Ms. Jarvis, Stuco’s staff advisor, explains, “Typically [the meeting] starts with updates in our whole group on what is happening, deadlines that might be upcoming, paperwork that might be missing, [and] tasks that need to be accomplished during the meeting and beyond. And then we usually break out either into our five separate committees, or we get to work on a designated task.”
Ms. Jarvis aims for Stuco to represent the interests of Enloe’s student body and serve our school community. She encourages students who aren’t in Stuco to share their suggestions, stating, “If any students want to come to [our meetings] and discuss their ideas for the school and how we can make it better… we would love that feedback.”
And no matter what, don’t forget to vote!
