This past week, Harriton elected the student council officers for the 2014-2015 school year.  Although students voted on Tuesday, the candidates for the five positions—president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and sergeant at arms—have been working diligently on their campaigns since mid-April.

Since many eligible student council members were interested in running for each office, all candidates were required to make a thirty-second video for the primary election. On April 30, students watched these videos in advisory and voted via an electronic survey sent to their school email accounts.

Mr. Robinson, the faculty advisor of Student Council said, “Overall, the HSC Elections went very smoothly this year. All the candidates did an outstanding job of putting their best effort forward.” Mr. Robinson, who is a devoted U.S. Government teacher, continued, “I am most proud of the Harriton student body for enthusiastically participating in the democratic process. The total vote count for the general election was 760, which equates to an 80% voter turnout.  HSC is excited for the upcoming school year, and we are proud to serve the student body of Harriton High School.”

When asked about her first experience voting for student council officers, Freshman Ella Milani commented, “I liked that we got to see both the fun and serious sides of the candidates. I voted for the people that I could relate to the most, but also who I felt were the most dedicated to serving.”

On Friday, May 23, students gathered in the auditorium to listen to the candidates’ speeches.

Ben Hewitt, with his humorous mentions of hallway romance and promise to return Harriton to its glory days of economically sound muffin prices, was elected Student Council President. When asked about his victory and plans for next year, Ben said, “I’m honored to have been elected by the Harriton student body to serve as the next Student Council President. We have a great officer team with a lot of ambition, enthusiasm, and great ideas. We are meeting after school on Thursday to make a plan of work for the year, and I’m very optimistic that we will be able to make some changes to improve the lives of students, and host some fun events throughout the year.”

With a little constructive criticism from “Jeff Solomon of the future,” Jeff Solomon (of the present) was elected Student Council Vice President. Jeff creatively approached the task of writing his speech by creating a video, in which he conversed with his “future-self,” who reminded him of his ideas for a quarterly Quidditch game and intramural sports, his goal of reestablishing free RAM, and his efforts with Mr. Harriton. The new Student Council Vice President explained, “Running for office was both exciting and nerve wracking. You are never completely sure whether what you are doing will hurt or help your campaign.” With regard to his goals for next year, he continued, “In the coming year I plan to further some of our past Vice President’s ideas that did not come to fruition.”

Jane Cook spent her time at the podium formally introducing Harriton to her planner. As she drew similarities between herself and her trusty friend, she conveyed to the community that she is an artist, an organizer, a diligent worker, and of course—a planner. As the newly elected Student Council Secretary, Jane articulated the difficulties of campaigning, “The entire election process was a little more than stressful. For the candidates, you have to be able to present yourself to hundreds of people that you don’t know and hope that they’ll like you based on what you say. You’re always just trying to present yourself in the best light, and it’s hard when 15 other people are doing the same.”

Will Marks, known for his faux-Australian accent, spoke about his strong work ethic, his idea for a school supply station, and his promise to unconditionally be “behind every student at Harriton.”  The newly elected Student Council Treasurer commented, “The thing about elections is that you as a candidate believe that you truly will help the most if you are elected (other wise you wouldn’t run, right?) At least that’s how I hoped everyone else felt. So as a candidate I tried each day to just be myself as I ‘campaigned.’ I tried to show the student body who I was, whether that meant being a little goofy telling a knock-knock joke in my speech, being creative, witty, etc. I’m so excited to serve as Harriton’s treasurer!”

When Pranav Pillai addressed the audience, he was full of enthusiasm. After presenting his ideas, which included empowering students to plan events and creating a Harriton ping-pong tournament, he was elected Harriton’s next Sergeant at Arms. Reflecting on his experience, Pranav said, “Running for office was perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve ever had. I’ve never done anything quite like running a campaign. Julia Marks was incredibly tough competition, but that honestly took some pressure off of me, because I knew that we would have a great Sergeant at Arms even if I lost.” When asked about his plans for next year, he explained, “The officer team and I have some big plans, starting with planning some fun new Harriton events, while fighting for a few students rights issues, particularly those around blocked websites. Overall, I’m just excited for a great year!”

Congratulations to the newly elected officers, and thank you to all of the candidates for your commitment to the betterment of Harriton!