The Scarsdale High School Government Elections of 2022 are just around the corner as the month of February begins. New food days, more school spirit activities, and creating a better school community are just some of the ideas the candidates have to share. Students hoping to win their position depend on the votes of their fellow classmates. There are many contestants running, but what are some of the important things students must keep in mind before casting their vote? Who will have the best and most effective ideas to make the school a more enjoyable experience?

Many students put a lot of hard work and effort into promoting their candidacy, giving them the best possible chance of winning in the election. Some students running for secretary include Drew Bender ’24, Natasha Pereira ’24, Juliet Schnieder ’23, and Sebastian Verrelli ’23. Candidates running for treasurer include Nicole Zhou ’23 and Neil Pereira ’23. All of them have many ideas to share regarding improving the school community, as well as adding new and enjoyable activities. 

Natasha Pereira has had past experience in class government and has been working to improve the school in various ways. “One thing that I have been really working towards is an organization called Citizens Climate Lobby or CCL that I am a part of. We are trying to make Scarsdale High School more climate-friendly, where that’s getting rid of plastic water bottles in the cafeteria, or getting recycling bins,” explained Periera. She is very excited about bringing this idea into the school, allowing students to become more involved with the issues around climate as well as the environment. She is also very motivated to get involved and make the school the most enjoyable and entertaining as possible. “I like having people tell me changes they want to see in the school and having the ability to inflict some of those changes and being able to take action to rectify that problem,” said Periera. Finally, she is very eager and excited to learn more about being in school government.

Another candidate running, Bender, has had previous experience working with the school government and plans on returning for another year to create more change. “We plan on fixing and changing some things with the pep rallies. We learned some good and bad things from the pep rally we had in the fall, and we are definitely looking to improve those. I also plan on being heavily involved in the carnival event coming soon,” remarked Bender. He also claims his past experience makes him a great candidate as he has some understanding of what school government is like. “I understand how government works and how you can create change. There are limits to what the government can do, but understanding those limits is helpful because then you are able to work around those problems. For example, one of the problems we had that had some limits to solving but that we are continuing to work on is the snow-day policy. We weren’t able to complete that project last year, but we are planning to work on it again this year,” commented Bender.

Schneider is another candidate running for secretary. She has many new and fun ideas to bring to the school government and shows a lot of motivation to become involved. “I am motivated to be in school government because, as secretary, I will work more closely with the administration to affect more positive change, especially concerning sustainability. By attending every house meeting since my freshman year, I am well versed on the influence the school government has, and I cannot wait to be a part of it,” she explained. She also talked about some ideas she plans on implementing: “I want to help the school become carbon neutral by adopting the Dual Pledge. This is a commitment to measuring and reducing our carbon footprint through implementing sustainable practices and educating students to be environmentally conscious. These practices include reintroducing biodegradable utensils into the lunchrooms and installing solar panels.”

A fourth candidate running for secretary is Verrelli who has three years of experience working in the secretary position. He has a strong passion for working with the school community and enjoys being the conduit for student voices. He says the position of secretary gives a “unique opportunity for oversight and management of school-related issues that other positions do not.” He knows what it takes when having to organize events, communicate with other administrators, and engage in change-inspiring discourse. His plans when elected are to be “as vocal as possible so that the student body is represented” and he will mainly focus on student outreach. 

A candidate running for treasurer is Zhou. She hopes to be a part of the school government so she has the power to implement direct changes for students in the school. She explains how she is a great candidate to vote for because she is “dependable and outgoing.” Currently the treasurer of the ASL (American Sign Language) club, Zhou “won’t be afraid to speak up and voice student opinions to the rest of the government body.” She has some exciting plans to share if she is elected. “I will plan more fun and engaging spirit days and create an easier method of communication between the school government and the students. I’ve also seen many presidential candidates promoting very cool ideas such as bringing back snow days without Zoom and diminishing our school’s carbon footprint and I strongly support these plans,” she explained. 

A second candidate running for treasurer is Neil Pereira. He shares the exciting idea of working with the school government to make the school a more enjoyable place. “I think that budgeting and managing money is extremely important to create any change within the High School. Without funds for new events and policies, it is impossible for change to happen. I believe that I can better help to not only manage current funds but create new innovative ways of amassing more funds,” said Pereira. He also has many plans involving COVID-19 and believes giving back to the community is extremely important. “COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone. I think that before-school events like free hot chocolate or food would be great to get students in a happy spirit before class,” he said.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite candidate on Tuesday!