GDS will host its Student-Staff Council (SSC) elections for the 2024-25 school year on Monday, May 6. Voters will select four representatives for each grade. On election day, candidates in each grade will give two-minute speeches to their classmates at class meetings. After the speeches, each student will vote via Google Forms for their top four choices.
After the council is assembled, there will be a school-wide election for the SSC president. SSC members vote internally for vice president, treasurer and secretary.
The Bit interviewed 18 of the 20 candidates throughout three grades; elections for freshmen take place in September. Eight candidates are rising sophomores, six rising juniors and four rising seniors.
Assistant Principal for School Life Quinn Killy declined to share the list of candidates collected by the administration.
Compiled below are two quotes from each candidate on what they hope to achieve with a seat on the council.
Who are the candidates?
Michael Dobbs ’25 (Re-election)
“I think the whole point of being on the council is that we want to hear student’s voices.”
“We’re never coming back to high school, so we’ll [SSC] try to make it the best year we can.”
Dobbs told the Bit that he plans to run for SSC Vice President.
Jeremiah Farr ’25 (Re-election)
“I think the most important thing is getting input from other students on what they want.”
“I want to try to analyze the needs of the larger group and to put it into action next year.”
Farr is a Managing Editor of the Bit. He did not edit or read this article before publication.
Natalia Freedman ’25 (Re-election)
“I really want to try to get a service animal for the school and I’m making a proposal right now.”
“I want to focus more on the overall morale of the students and making sure everyone’s happy and stress-free.”
She told the Bit that she is planning on running for SSC president.
Freedman is an Opinions Editor for the Bit. She did not edit or read this article before publication.
Koen Yu ’25 (Re-election)
“My biggest emphasis is really just working on creating class bonding experiences.”
“I’m always approachable, you know, and I want to work with kids to get stuff done.”
Ivy Sand ’26 (Re-election)
“If I get elected, I want to listen to common requests and try to implement them. Alongside that, I’d really like to work with the DEI office and increase the budget for affinity groups, as it’s currently very low.”
“We’re hoping to not only increase the budget for affinity groups but also further improve GDS’ economic aid when it comes to things such as extracurricular activities and school supplies.”
Grace Khuzami ’26 (Re-election)
“I want to hear from people in the grade and to know what they want to see from you.”
“I think it’s important for people to listen to speeches and listen to what everybody has to say before making a decision.”
John Morsberger ’26 (Re-election)
“I want to drill down on one thing, really any goal that the grade can unify on.”
“I want to work to understand other opinions and think about other perspectives.”
Alexander Bobo ’26 (Re-election)
“I really want to increase the number of food trucks coming to GDS.”
“I want to induce positive change and to really do things that can benefit students.”
Julian Turim ’26
“I think the school should change the art requirement so you’re allowed to take two years of the same art if you’re really into something.”
“I emailed Crisp and Juicy and Pizza Bolis and I’m trying to give them those mobile card readers so kids can buy that stuff off their phone and not just cash.”
Shanez Benyoucef ’27
“My campaign is about how I want to work to bond the grade together and try to get what everyone in my grade wants.”
“I also want to add some sort of dance for freshmen and sophomores in the spring to go with the end of school.”
Rhea Ganta ’27 (Re-election)
“I want to let my grade know that it’s truly been an honor to serve as their 9th-grade representative. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to both voice their opinions and act as a representative for my grade.”
“One example that I want to implement the next school year is having competitions between grades because I know this year we only did ninth-grade competitions.”
Ganta is a staff writer for the Bit.
Alicia Kim ’27 (Re-election)
“I want to make the communication between the student body and SSC really clear. I want to make that barrier more transparent so people can trust their representatives.”
“I think having more events where people can bond is important. I feel like other grades have a lot of bonding between them, so I think that’s something we should do as well.”
Kim is a staff writer for the Bit.
Mae Lazerow ’27
“I want to see my grade more bonded and more for everyone to get closer and unified.”
“I want to make sure that students are really updated on what’s going on, and so it’s very transparent what’s happening.”
Jonah Levy ’27
“One thing that’s super important to me in my campaign is making sure that there are a lot of community activities.”
“A lot of the time, SSC comes up with ideas that people don’t have a lot to say in. I think it’s super important for the general population to have a say.”
Levy is a staff writer for the Bit.
Matias Sevak ’27
“I want to make it about helping other people by doing something that brings our grade and the community together but also helps other people.”
“We should have times for non-SSC representatives to meet with us, and it would just be a conversation around making the school better.”
Joseph Xu ’27 (Re-election)
“In the future, I would want the student body to have more say in what occurs in the school.”
“I’m pretty open to conversation, so anyone can just ask me to do something and as long as it’s reasonable I’ll advocate for it.”
Xu is a staff writer for the Bit.
Willa Wible ’27 (Re-election)
“I think a big goal of mine is to try to use SSC to make work more manageable. I want to make sure that everyone receives the same amount of support.”
“I want to continue the work that I’ve been doing to try to add therapy dogs to the school counseling program.”
Wible is a staff writer for the Bit.
Deniz Yaveroglu ’27
“I want to work to add more school vendors to fix the lack of vendors some days.”
“I want to work to make the school environment better.”