As the new school year started last month, a new set of student leaders were to be selected for the school’s premier governing body: the SISC Student Council.
From September 5 to 19, 26 Student Council candidates officially campaigned and competed for the AY 2023-2024 High School Elections in Luxembourg Campus, with results released on the 21st.
This year, there were two main competing parties: the Unfolding New Opportunities (UNO) Party and the BMOre Party. Alongside them were independent candidates Kirkegaard Victoria for Treasurer and Joshua Levi Santos for Grade 10 Level Representative. Each election hopeful has their own mission and promises for the students of Southville if they are voted into position.
The UNO Party
“We have a legacy that could leave here in this institution to make leaders not followers,” said Minami “Nami” Oikawa, the presidential candidate of UNO.
The Barbie-themed party aimed for a positive change within the student body. UNO’s vision is “to provide handling of a Student Council’s platform and power in order to establish a Lasting and Impactful change.” One of their main goals is to strengthen the relationship between the Student Council and the student body “by going beyond the set leadership standards.”
Besides Nami, candidates of UNO included Matthew Mariano as vice president, Dahye Oh as secretary, and Juliana Tan as treasurer. For strand representatives, Nathan Dichupa ran for STEM Don Enrique Padilla for HUMSS, Ryza Boco for ABM, and Eun Song Choi for GAS. For the level representatives, Seo Hui Park ran for Grade 10, Gabriella Caisip for Grade 9, Marcus Mariano for Grade 8, and Liam Engelbrecht for Grade 7.
Nami said that “the impact UNO will bring to the school, more than actually the students, [includes] the non-teaching employees (NTE), the teachers, the administrators. So it’s not just a student-student bond but it is also a professional institution itself.”
UNO promised and proposed School Chant, Batch Wellness Day, food concessionaires, open forums, career fests, and donation drives among other more activities.
The party’s campaign consisted of a Barbie-themed booth that included a Barbie box photo booth, brochures, photocards of the candidates, and party-themed stickers that the students kept as souvenirs.
“Either way, whatever position we will ever win, I am pretty sure the school will still be a good place to be in,” Nami hoped for this year's elections.
The BMOre Party
“Our main goal is to connect with students, to really make the school environment better,” said Una Villano, BMOre’s presidential candidate.
The Adventure Time-themed party, named after the play of the words “BE MOre,” aimed for a fun-filled academic year. BMOre’s mission was to aspire “to lead the student body through an adventurous time-staking, and fun-filled school year for a high school student’s journey.” The party aimed to make this school year fun under their leadership while being able to connect with the student body.
Other candidates under BMOre included Min Young “Charis” Kim as vice president, Isabela Castillo as secretary, and Sihyun “Sisi” Park as treasurer. For strand representatives Alen Austria ran for STEM, Yoeiza Garcia for HUMSS, Jacqueline Jocson for ABM, and Doreen Woo for GAS. For Level Representatives, Karyssa Alamon for Grade 10, Juyoung Lee for Grade 9, Shakira Lang for Grade 8, and Neil Gatchalian Jr. for Grade 7.
BMOre’s proposals included the Glow in the Dark Festival, thrift store, Holiday-themed events, and a Bake Sale along with workshops and the continuation of the letterman jacket.
BMOre’s booth is Adventure Time-themed with a BMO box costume for picture purposes, promotional flyers, and themed cookies that served as a glimpse of what the Bake Sale could be like.
“We are all here for a clean election — like, just vote for the one that you think will best suit this school year,” Una expressed as her hopes for this election.
Miting de Avance
Concluding the campaign season, the students got a chance to know more about the values and qualities of the Student Council candidates through the Miting de Avance that took place on September 18 for junior high school and September 19 for senior high school.
Big Four, strand representative, and level representative hopefuls took the stage and spoke in timed segments to elaborate their platforms. This gave them the opportunity to answer questions from the school community and to present themselves to the student body.
Election day
On the morning of September 21, the elections finally took place and students began voting for their leaders in their respective classrooms. Votes were done online via Google Forms, within a strict time period of 8:00-8:15 am.
Out of the total student population of 919, there were 811 took part in the elections, offering a voter turnout of 88.25%.
Results announced
After seven hours of waiting, the election results were finally and initially announced to the student body via the school's PA system.
For this year’s Student Council, Una Villano was elected as this year’s president along with Min Young “Charis” Kim as her vice president. Isabella Castillo was elected as Secretary with Sihyun Park as Treasurer.
For the strand representatives, Nathan Dichupa was voted as the STEM representative, Yoeiza Garcia as HUMSS, Jacqueline Jocson as ABM, and Doreen Woo as GAS.
For the level representatives, Joshua Levi Santos won for Grade 10, Juyoung Lee for Grade 9, Shakira Lang for Grade 8, and Neil Gatchalian Jr. for Grade 7 to conclude this year’s Student Council officers.
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