A Word from Your Candidates for Student Council President
John Hughes (‘24), News Editor
With Student Council general elections behind us, it comes time once again to look forward to the Presidential Election. This year, two candidates from the junior class will compete for the highest position on the Council, the only position voted on by the entirety of the student body. David Ruffin (‘25) and Molly Shepherd (‘25) announced their candidacy this past week, and we will hear from them live in chapel on May 8; however, John Hughes (‘24), the Student Council’s current Vice President and Crier news editor, approached the candidates with some questions regarding their plans for next year, and below you will find the answers they gave.
Disclaimer: All answers stated are entirely candidate opinions, and the Crier does not endorse nor represent any one candidate. All we offer are answers to inform your personal voting decision.
Why are you running for President of the Student Council?
Molly Shepherd: I’ve really enjoyed being on Student Council these past couple years, and I am very excited for the future of the school. I’m ready to dedicate my time and effort toward the school. I have a planner that I write a lot of stuff down in, and so I feel that I have the ability to succeed and help the student body in the best way possible.
David Ruffin: The main reason I’m running for President is because it’s always something I’ve wanted to do, but it’s also because I’ve always wanted to take my involvement with the student body to the next level, and I think President is the way to do that. I’ve been a leader in multiple facets of my life, so I just think it’s something I’m ready for. It’s going to be a good challenge to take on.
What are some changes you will try to make within StuCo and within the Upper Division?
Molly Shepherd: One thing that I’m focusing on is tradition. For example, this year I really enjoyed the Sammy Says Good Morning activity, and one thing that I want to work on is continuing the traditions of BLUE Week by keeping people involved. I know we did a lot of activities this time around that were athletically-driven, and we did try to have bingo, but one thing I thought about as a way to get more people involved was having a cake-decorating competition or something like that to gets more of an artistic side of the student body involved.
David Ruffin: I think, as it stands with the Student Council, that I want us to meet more often. I think that we use our Tuesday-morning meetings ineffectively, and I think that if we were to meet like three days a week during Activities or just Tuesdays and Thursdays, we might be able to run more smoothly.
What went well this year? What would you like to improve upon?
Molly Shepherd: As I said before, I really believe everyone thought Sammy Says Good Morning was cool, and I think the Homecoming pep rally was a real success. I also think you get out what you put in, so continuing to listen to people’s advice on the Google forms we send out to the student body, such as the song request form, will help create the best experience for every student.
David Ruffin: I think having everybody back for the Homecoming pep rally was something that everybody thought was really fun. It was good to have the Middle and Lower Division there. We really need to coordinate scheduling with the Athletic Department, with Father Youmans, and with teachers. I know we have, but it just needs to be a top priority as we transition into the OSSAA. Obviously, it was kind of an issue this year with the scheduling of BLUE Week, and so I believe that’s a necessary focus for next year.
How do you plan to incorporate involvement across all divisions?
Molly Shepherd: For pep rallies, I really like how the Homecoming pep rally has the seniors v. first grade tug-of-war battle, and I would like to see that kind of all-school spirit during BLUE Week as well. I do like how we coordinated penny wars with the Middle and Lower Division this year, but I feel like there are ways that we can include them in the opening and closing activities in ways that are age-appropriate. The little kids at our events makes it more enjoyable for everyone, and it makes everything more fun because we feel like one school.
David Ruffin: There’s definitely different types of people that go here. Nobody is the same, so we definitely need to put emphasis on finding ways to group those people together. We have to identify those common interests that different groups share across divisions.
Do you have any new ideas for school activities?
Molly Shepherd: Having more restaurant give-back nights for BLUE Week would be fun because it not only gets people involved in the community but also in the school. I’ve also heard a lot about how at Homecoming Casady used to pair up one person from each division for the cook-out, and they would go to the cook-out together to eat and get to know each other. A primary, lower, middle, and upper division student would hang out together, and I’ve heard it was really fun for everyone. I think that may be an interesting activity to bring back.
David Ruffin: I’ve always thought about doing a running event or something like that for BLUE Week. People run 5Ks to raise money for those events, but it could also be fun to have some sort of grade-specific event that requires uniting each grade with itself toward a common goal of beating the other grades in a competition or something.
Do you have any other words to say to the student body?
Molly Shepherd: I’m just really excited, and I hope I have your vote!
David Ruffin: I’m excited to see the new Council and get to work!
We hope these responses help in your decision on who to choose for your next Student Council President. Elections will take place on Wednesday, May 8.
