STUCO
Helping Hands at Hunter
Written by Jay Rubin
At Manhattan Hunter Science High School we have formed a community, as a school and within our grades. I asked a few student council members about their perspective on the community and how being in student council contributes to the community. I asked the following questions:
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What do you think of our school’s community? Do most students participate in events? Is it a nice community to be a part of?
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How does your being in the student council impact our community? What does the student council do to provide for the school?
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Are there any changes you would like to be made to improve the community? If not, what’s something you truly admire about our community?
Junior representative, Jessica Cordeiro explained how she doesn’t believe our school has the most united community, however, she said “Despite this community, overall it is very friendly and because it's a small school its so much easier to approach people and make lots of friends and connections. And within this larger community, there are many smaller ones like the each grade or clubs. Personally, I find these communities to be very united and fun to be apart of. Overall, it's what you take away from the community that matters; everything has it's faults but there are also great things too and people need to choose to look on the bright side and contribute to that side in order to continue to foster their communities.” There are some grand events that a large majority of students participate in. However, when it comes down to the smaller things like spirit weeks, there is a lack of enthusiasm and involvement. Cordeiro shared that her position in student council helps her peers feel like they can share their concerns or suggestions with her for her to voice in meetings. On top of this she is also partaking in the creation of events for students to enjoy throughout the school year. Some changes she mentions were more involvement in clubs from the freshmen and sophomore grades as clubs are a huge part of the community and it supplies the students a space to meet new friends and learn new things. She explained that most clubs are being led by juniors and most members of clubs are also juniors.
Sophomore representative, Ayanna Walton believes our school community is overall very good. She explained how some students participate in events but these events would be significantly better if there was more participation. The main events that students participate in is the talent show and Hunter Games on May 31st. Walton shared how she voices the ideas of her classmates at meetings and assists in making events for the school. She stated, “I would love to change the lack of participation in our events, like our school dances, because it will make those events more fun. But I do truly admire when our more bigger events, like Hunter Games, comes around and you see everyone come together to support each other and have lots of fun.”
Sophomore representative Emilio Guerrero shared, “I think our school community is fun and positive to be around. A lot of friendships have formed and more people are comfortable about being themselves. For events, most of the students participate in them, with their school spirit that lights up their competitive side. It’s a very welcoming community, one that supports each other, nobody is left behind, and one who doesn’t care about your differences.” He explained how being a part of student council helps the community feel comfortable, sharing ideas, allowing people to feel heard. His peers are comfortable asking him about information on upcoming events and even suggest a few things. The student council provides the students with exciting events to help relieve stress and allow them to form stronger connections with their classmates. Guerrero stated that some changes that he would love to see in our community are people being kinder to each other and some more involvement in events and suggestions for events such as spirit week.
The student council at our school is here to voice your thoughts on things going on in our community. Don’t forget to be involved in the school’s events as the council is doing their very best to make it enjoyable for you.