Editor’s Note: One week ago, we published an editorial on SAC’s recent actions surrounding the Semi Formal dance and the school-wide sweater contest. Seeking to set the matter straight, SAC has composed this response to address our comments.
We appreciate the concerns highlighted in the recent Reckoner article titled “Student Inactivity Council”. Through this public forum, we as student representatives can be held accountable. That being said, we would like to address some of the fallacies cited in the editorial.
Without a doubt, every Student Council (SAC) member understands the significant commitment required, and this is reflective in the numerous hours each of us dedicates to the weekly SAC and committee meetings. We work alongside staff advisors and school administration to push through what we think is best for the students. However, circumstances may arise in which we have little control. We work with what we have and we do our best.
This year, we have seen a significant drop in participation in various annual events, such as Eliminate Night and Semi Formal. This may have been due to a shortage of advertising, as presumed, or it may have been due to the fact that several large events occurred within a short time span of each other. Since September, SAC has been working relentlessly to promote our events and to instill school spirit into the student body. We have organized numerous pilot and successful events including the Terry Fox fundraiser, which raised an unprecedented $560; the Fall Festival, which saw an overwhelming audience of students; and a school-wide clothing drive, which resulted in several shopping carts full of winter clothing for the underprivileged. Additionally, as of a few weeks ago, we launched a new branch of Student Council. The Outreach Committee, the first of its kind, reaches out to students, conducts surveys, promotes events, and distributes tickets. From an objective perspective, we argue that we have not been and are far from being “inactive”. Anything but, actually.
We would like to point out that our decision to reintroduce the design challenge because of plagiarism concerns was in the best interest of the school and the students. We are the first Student Council to address this serious issue. SAC members unanimously voted to keep the initial imitative submissions low-key and that we would offer students another opportunity (the second design challenge) provided they submit a pledge of authenticity in writing. Ultimately, we designed a completely original cougar logo because of the apparent copyright infringements in some submissions, despite the second chance given. To our own dismay, our attempts to be fair and lawful seem to have attracted negative attention from The Reckoner.
We appreciate your feedback and we have taken into consideration all the points brought up in the article. We appreciate constructive criticism and we are always looking to improve our past activities and events. To contact us, we cordially invite any student to come down to the SAC office in the cafeteria and speak to one of our members.
