The Reckoner sat down with SAC president Ejay Vidad, who gave insight on SAC’s goals for the year.
Ejay Vidad elaborated on a day in life of a SAC president. He spends time in the morning updating social media and responding to student comments, complaints, or concerns.
According to Vidad, the most difficult part of the job is answering the questions of students. “I didn’t know how many people came to Maria (the former president) for questioning.” He commented, “Overall, just how involved the president has to be in terms of questions, making sure things are clarified, has surprised me.”
SAC President Ejay Vidad. Photo: Matthew Tse
Throughout this year, he is focusing on supporting the Grade 9s. “Most times they have questions because it is their first time coming to high school, so I try my best just to show them around and give them a sense of what it’s like to be in high school. Typically they ask about school clubs, athletics, ways to get involved.”
The absence of Mr. Alexander this year, SAC’s previous staff advisor, has also caused SAC to be more independent and less reliant on external support. As this year’s council is primarily composed of new members, SAC is seeking to change up their system. “[New] advice on how to deal with the council has helped in me in rebranding, setting the guidelines, and following protocol. Meetings are more efficient and we take less time to debate what we’re talking about.” said Vidad.
This year, Vidad wishes to change SAC from the previously branded Student Inactivity Council, and transform it into a group of people who want to get involved with the school. Not only does he want to recreate the image of SAC, but that of MGCI. He seeks to raise the reputation of MGCI, creating a school where students are proud of both the school spirit, and individual people in the community. This year, SAC has run the grade 9 “Moving On Up” orientation and organized the Terry Fox Fundraiser for cancer research during lunch in the cafeteria and gym.
To encourage student participation, SAC is planning to create more outlets for people to get their voice heard. Vidad proposed the idea of using the SAC office as a “town hall” where students could come anytime. Open meetings will also be held this year with the new option of an online question forum where students can drop in their questions. SAC will also use advertising to make students more aware of upcoming events in collaboration with Spirit Committee.
Overviews of SAC meetings, held every Tuesday, can be found here.
