Student Government members Mary Frances Jones, Sage O’Reilly and Skylar Lehmann talk about issues around Clarke Central High School. Photo by Sophie Fernandes
By DELIA ADAMSON – Staff Writer
Freshman Delia Adamson explores how the Student Government Association has changed initiative over the past years.
I am a freshman in the Student Government Association. While writing on the SGA, I found myself asking a lot of questions. I wanted to know more about the history, reputation and, most importantly, I wanted to know more about why there weren’t as many members in the program as I would expect.
I took it upon myself to complete an exploration and find out this information to answer this question: What is the deal with student government at Clarke Central High School?
When most people think of student government, they think back to movies where students sell buttons with their names on them or hand out food in hopes of securing their peers’ vote. In line with this image, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a SGA as, “a group of students in a school who are elected to help plan activities and to organize and manage life at school for other students.”
The idea is the same at CCHS, with membership open to the student body and the election of student officers for the following school year held each spring.
“Basically, the whole idea of student government is to try to build school spirit and to give more opportunities for kids to interact together,” social studies department teacher and SGA sponsor Karena LaRosa said.
LaRosa took over SGA this year after being approached by a student in need of a sponsor for the club.
“(The student said that) they needed somebody responsible and that they would do all the work, but they had to have a teacher to sponsor it,” LaRosa said.
LaRosa, who is in her 14th year of teaching at CCHS, has witnessed a decline in the demonstrations of school spirit.
“When I first came in 2000 there was a lot of school spirit, and on Fridays almost everyone in the building wore
(red) and gold and it was almost like a tangible feeling. It was all across all ethnic, all racial groups, all whatever. Everybody in the building was full of school spirit,” LaRosa said. “So, one of the things (SGA is) trying to do is bring school spirit back.”
But LaRosa was not the only one to have witnessed a decline in school spirit at CCHS in their many years of teaching.
Former English department teacher George Harwood taught at CCHS from 1975-2003. During his 28 years of teaching, he witnessed a school spirit decline.
“I think when I first started (at CCHS), there was strong, cohesive school spirit and I think over the years, I saw that spirit kind of decline,” Harwood said. “Students (and teachers) became more engrossed in who they are/were than what they ought to be doing to better themselves and better the school. Who we are is what we do.”
“When I first came in 2000 there was a lot of school spirit, and on Fridays almost everyone in the building wore (red) and gold and it was almost like a tangible feeling. It was all across all ethnic, all racial groups, all whatever. Everybody in the building was full of school spirit.”
–Social studies department teacher and SGA sponsor Karena LaRosa
Harwood remembers the efforts of the SGA with clarity.
“I remember the kids who held positions in student government were really sharp kids, really good kids,” Harwood said. “I know that they tried very very hard to posses real power, bona fide legitimate power, but the school was so fragmented that I think that sometimes their decisions were compromised.”
With all this talk about how student government used to be, it made me wonder where all of the school spirit went. As I dug deeper into yearbooks and talked to other CCHS faculty and former students, it became aware that at CCHS there was a decline in student government activity.
Then, I came across two names that stuck out to me.
Mark Dupre served as the SGA advisor from 2000-05 while he and his wife, Melissa Dupre, both worked at CCHS as English department teachers.
“I remember that (CCHS student government) was a small group of dedicated students who coordinated blood drives and the Homecoming Dance,” Melissa said.
Melissa also noticed something about the way school spirit was divided.
“I would say that, mostly, there wasn’t a lot of spirit. When it came to the rivalry with Cedar Shoals, that would change, but most students didn’t just break out with declarations of strong school spirit. I know I did teach students who appreciated what was happening at CCHS and were proud to call it their school, though, for what that’s worth,” Melissa said.
“I did (want to be in SGA) in ninth grade, but then I’ve like heard that student government doesn’t really do a lot so I didn’t really want to be part of it anymore.”
–Senior Mariah Isbell
The Dupres moved to Austin, Texas in 2005, where Melissa Dupre became the student council sponsor at Westlake High School.
“Our student council does three types of things in general: fun activities to improve student morale, such as gingerbread house decorating, Homecoming festivities, cookouts, dances, etc.; activities for the community, like blood drives, canned food drives and volunteering at different community service venues; and student representation on school-wide committees that used to include only teachers and administrators,” Melissa said.
It seemed clear that with high student involvement, great things can happen–like at WHS. But, there are many students at CCHS who know neither what the SGA is, nor what it does.
“No one has ever come up and spoken to me about (SGA) before,” freshman Joseph Clarke said.
Senior Mariah Isbell says that she reconsidered her decision to join after hearing that the program did not live up to it’s expectations.
“I did (want to be in SGA) in ninth grade, but then I’ve like heard that student government doesn’t really do a lot so I didn’t really want to be part of it anymore,” Isbell said.
Junior class vice president Sage O’Reilly admits that student government does get a bad reputation for being ineffective, but does not think that’s fair.
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes, we have gotten a ‘bad reputation’ in the past years because of silly things that really should not have gotten in the way,” O’Reilly said. “I think after homecoming and the continuation of powderpuff (football games), people are starting to appreciate (SGA) more.”
Currently there are 12 members of the student government, reflecting interests from all grades.
“There are so many more clubs now then when I started here. In 2000, there were clubs, I didn’t see the diversity of clubs then, so I think students are very much spread thinner. As far as, ‘Why are there not more members?’ I think kids are involved in a lot of different things because there are a lot more opportunities,” LaRosa said.
With a dwindling membership over the past years, the student government program has seemed to just be one on the long list of numerous clubs, but O’Reilly has hopes for the future.
“My hope for the program is that it will continue along the positive path it’s going and more people will join and want to make it a better program,” O’Reilly said. “Student government is supposed to be an involved school club that wants to make improvements in the school by boosting school spirit.”
It became very obvious that SGA at CCHS was something not many knew about. This school year, there are only 12 members in SGA including myself. 12 students out of 1400. No mountains can move with only 12 members in a program, but SGA tries. The members who are there work for the school and want to see it be a fun and engaging environment for other students.
