In the wake of COVID-19, school government leadership has taken on new significance in the high school community. While class government activities have always been a way for students to engage with one another and have fun, in a newly isolated school environment, class governments can help us to reconnect with one another and unify our community in the face of crisis. 

But it’s not going to be easy. During a time when people can’t socialize and virtually everything is online, it is even more difficult to organize events, make people interested in school activities, and raise school spirit. “In-person events are the student government’s bread and butter. Officers will have to be creative in order to provide in-person experiences while also maintaining social distancing,” wrote Adam Wasserman ’21, the co-president of this year’s Senior class.  While traditionally many student government activities are in person, due to COVID-19 it is not always possible to host a successful event without risking the community’s health. Benjamin Sawyer, SHS English teacher and one of the school government advisors, affirmed that “ultimately the number one goal for us is to keep everybody as safe as possible.”

Another obstacle is getting people to attend events. With many things being online, there is less of an incentive for students to participate. Ian Zhou ’24, the Freshman class president, explains that “it is a little bit more difficult to have engagement and to get people to do stuff because virtual events are just not as fun and not as engaging as in-person events.” It’s harder to get publicity this year as well since all-virtual students don’t see flyers or posters in the building and not every student has access to social media platforms. 

Despite the many obstacles student government is facing, they have been working hard to come up with creative ideas to achieve their goals. “I want to help us and the other clubs organize a major charity event because we don’t exactly have a lot to work with this year, and the idea of getting other clubs involved and not just being the government would make it so that people actually attend the event,” says junior class president Spencer Krivo’22, who is also making plans to host the Junior Olympics later in the year, preferably in person. “It’s kind of difficult to promise much, especially under these circumstances. I hope to just make this year fine, that’s literally my hope.”

The senior class government is also putting in their best effort. “We hope to provide our classmates with the senior traditions that they have eagerly awaited for four years… our goal is to make this senior year seem both as normal and as spirited as possible,” says Wasserman ’21. He and Emmett Goldstein, the other senior class president, are planning to try some events in the future such as a virtual movie night, a video game night, and more. By using different online platforms for their events, they hope to maintain students’ health while having fun.

Even though this year is different, SHS’s elected officials are still determined for this school year to seem as normal as possible, and students can trust that the school government will continue to host fun events like they do every year.