Carolina Wen and Chelsea Hwang
Nov 15, 2020
The new school policy on club leadership has left many students confused and conflicted. The school now bans students from holding more than three club leadership positions. One prevalent student leader commented: “I was initially quite hostile towards the policy because I thought it would limit students’ abilities to demonstrate initiative, passion, and commitment.”
These negative reactions, however, come with tentative support from some. Another anonymous student commented that “it’s difficult to know the sort of commitment it takes until you actually become a leader. I believe that this policy is actually a good idea.”
Other students strongly argued that the policy is reasonable but should be amended to allow exceptions. One student leader noted that in general, students “can’t have like six other leadership positions, because firstly they don’t have the time, and it isn’t fair to the club because the leader would not be available. On the other hand, some students are really active in their community and truly passionate about many different aspects of the community.” Students offered possible solutions, including one “where it is recommended to have only three positions you would have to communicate with either the Senate or teachers that would go over your schedule, since clubs definitely have different commitment levels, like how some of them do not demand much prior preparation for the leaders every meeting.”
Even with mixed responses, the policy aims to promote equal opportunity for students while keeping in mind the quality of leadership demanded from school clubs. Whether or not the policy effectively achieves its aims can only be determined in the coming years.