North Mecklenburg held student government association elections in September, selecting its class representatives for the 2022-2023 school year. Giselle Glover was elected president of the executive board, with Erica LeGrand serving as the vice president.
Other high-ranking student government officials include freshman president Camille Satterwhite-Rambert, sophomore president Tamia Torrence, and junior president Alyssa George.
Along with President Glover and Vice President LeGrand, the executive board (the senior class delegation) is composed of Amaya Johnson, the secretary; Samone McLean, the treasurer; Adina Thompson, the social media manager; Harmonii Nixon, the community engagement manager; and Brian Fulwiley, the events coordinator.
The officers were elected in a school-wide vote on Thursday, Sept. 22. A request for election data from the association’s sponsor was not granted, so student participation levels were unclear, along with specific vote counts for each candidate.
The student government holds meetings twice a week after school. Its executive board, composed of senior class members, run the meetings. These involve discussion and voting on the business of the association.
Alyssa George is a junior in the IB programme at North, and she was elected this year for the first time as the junior class president. She says that her goal is to improve the problems that North Meck has, and to ensure that the student body’s needs and concerns are heard and addressed.
Alyssa explains that because North Meck doesn’t have many major, overarching problems that affect everyone every day, it’s important for her to shine a light on problems that affect only subsets of the student body. She gives the example that one of these problems is a lack of transportation access preventing students from joining extracurriculars.
Other members of the association see their role somewhat differently. Olivia Rankin, the sophomore vice president, says that she sees her role as making school a more enjoyable experience for everyone. “I’m just trying to make it so students have a really fun time in school,” she says. “[A lot of] students don’t get to stay at North Meck more than a year, so why not make it fun?”
Henk Stolarick, the sophomore treasurer, says that he sees SGA as “a great way for students to be able to make their high school experience a lot more fun and eventful.” He notes that his role as treasurer is primarily to handle finances for different events that SGA sponsors and to raise the funds that the association needs. Henk adds that “being a member of SGA to me means that I am responsible for supporting an enjoyable high school experience for the rest of my classmates.”
The members have consistent contact with the school administration and often have input or control over school events. For instance, the student government was instrumental in planning and executing the events of North Meck’s recent homecoming week, a resounding success by all accounts. When the administration makes decisions that affect the student body, they sometimes consult with the student government association.
However, the ability of student government to influence school policy is limited — “at the end of the day, we are student government,” Alyssa says. This means that class representives have little decision-making power in many issues affecting students — including school security and tardy policy. Alyssa admits that class representatives have little ability to make a difference in the problem of transportation access that she highlighted.
Alyssa says that she sees student government as “a tool for students and faculty to be able to work together to not only be able to solve certain issues [but also] to strengthen our community and make it one where we can actually rely on each other.” 🆅