Sanya Sadiq: What motivated you to run for a position in student government?
Clara Drag: I had done it in the previous years; I served as the form president or vice president (depending on the year) freshman, sophomore, and junior year. I just wanted a say in what happens at the school, and I really believed that I could portray the opinions of my class and student body.
Shreya Adlakha: I really enjoy helping people feel heard. And I just really love this school, so I wanted to become a bigger part of it.
SS: What are some of your key responsibilities as a senator?
CD: Like I said, just sharing the overall opinions and speaking for the student body of my class in SGA meetings as well as helping out in SGA events such as homecoming and things like that.
SA: I work to facilitate happiness in the student body and be a voice for the people of our grade. I attend SGA meetings and help with events, which allows me to work towards my goal of improving student life.
SS: What is something that you and other members of student government are currently working on?
CD: We’re looking to plan different SGA events that students would be interested in, and we are also always looking to get feedback from students on how they like things at the school like the schedule, lunches, the cafeteria. We are working on getting feedback from the overall high school on how kids are liking KO so far and if there is anything that can be improved.
SA: We have been working on the Halloween event coming up. We’ve been focusing on planning house-based events that will hopefully engage the students on Halloween.
SS: How does the SGA collect feedback from the students?
CD: Well, that’s kind of what we’re working on right now. We usually do Google Forms and we send those out and encourage students to fill them out because that is how decisions are made. For example, if a lot of students don’t like the dress code, and we see that the majority feel very passionately about disliking the current dress code, we are more likely to take that opinion into account when making decisions.
SA: SGA usually collects information by sending out Google Forms to the students. This allows us to review the main concerns that the students have and it gives us something to go off of when considering making any changes or significant decisions.
SS: What is the main concern that you have heard from your peers?
CD: From my peers, concerns about the dress code are pretty big. That’s one change that people aren’t too fond of this year as well as having to make adjustments this year and not having many spaces. Also, more senior specific, not having the ability to use the KO Commons next year. But overall, I would say a major concern or adjustment that students aren’t liking is the dress code.
SA: There have been a lot of complaints about the spirit days. I think that the students feel like the spirit day allowed them to express themselves and take a break from the daily dress code.
SS: How do you plan to address those concerns?
CD: We’re always looking to do spirit days, so that’s an opportunity for students to maybe step out of their formal dress code and put together a more creative outfit. It gives the students a space to be more comfortable, too.
SA: We are hoping to talk to administration about spirit days and seeing if there is any way to incorporate more in life here at KO.
SS: How do you envision improving student life at KO?
CD: I really want to be a moderator between the students’ concerns and SGA meetings and really making sure that there is a clear communication and that those voices are being heard in the meetings. I want there to be an accurate representation of how students feel at the school and what some of their concerns are and what some of the things that they like are that we should keep doing. Just making sure that there is a clear bridge between those two things.
SA: I envision improving student life by helping students feel more comfortable and giving them the ability to voice their opinions and concerns.
SS: What have you learned since joining student government?
CD: It definitely takes a lot for a decision to be improved or implemented. Even a small thing takes a lot of work and there are a lot of things that need to get approved behind the scenes. And that’s something that a lot of people don’t really think about when joining the SGA, and it’s something that I would say is also true in real life.
SA: I have learned that there is a lot that goes into the decision-making in SGA. With all of the SGA events, there is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into even the smallest ones.
SS: How has being a senator changed your perspective on the school community?
CD: Being a senator has changed my perspective because it has allowed me to connect with more people than I would normally connect with from lower classes. There aren’t many opportunities for seniors and freshmen, for example, to connect besides sports or clubs. The SGA has really allowed me to connect with peers from different forms. It gave me a space to hear their opinions which may vary from my own.
SA: It has helped me realize that people, whether it is faculty or students, do a lot behind the scenes. There’s a lot of work that goes on that most people don’t see.
