Student Government

 

There is a long and powerful tradition of student government at The New School, and through School Meeting, Fairness Committees, Mediations, and Admissions Committees, students can make their voices heard. As in any government, active membership and active leadership are crucial. This section includes descriptions of the School Meeting, its three permanent committees (Admissions, Fairness, and Student Government), and the officers of student government. The structures of The New School meeting are a work in progress, and changes in meeting structure, officers, and committees are ongoing as we search for the best type of self-government.

School Meeting:

All-School Meeting is chaired by either the Headmaster or his representative, and is charged with handling any issues that involve the New School community. Issues relating to the school grounds, the overall community rules, all-school activities, or that effect the community as a whole fall within its jurisdiction. The Upper School meeting is chaired by the student Chair of the Meeting, and is responsible for all issues relating to the high school community. Often the Junior High will participate in Upper School meetings as well. Last year the Upper School Meeting established a rotating schedule of meetings and events, with some elements being voluntary, but with mandatory participation by all students in Community time. The schedule established is as follows:

• Week 1
  HS Committee Meetings
  All HS / Staff Meeting
• Week 2
  HS Meeting or Crew
  Clubs
• Week 3
  Grade Level Meetings
  Color Team Activities
• Week 4
  HS Meeting or Crew
  Clubs

A description of each meeting or event is as follows:

Meeting: The Upper School Meeting, where issues affecting the Upper School community are discussed. Attendance is voluntary, but those attending must stay for the entire session. All student officers are required to attend.

Crew: The Crew was established to do clean-up and repair projects around the school. Peter Werres is the leader of Crew, and all students wishing to participate must check in with him first thing during Community Time. If a large number of students wish to participate in Crew, additional faculty will assist with supervision and leadership.

Scheduled Event: Scheduled events can include speakers from outside the school, school trips or activities, or workshops. All scheduled events are mandatory for all students.

Mandatory Meeting: All High School students are required to attend Mandatory Meeting. Mandatory Meeting is similar in style to the usual meetings, but is a chance for all voices to be heard, votes to be taken, and new issues to be raised.

Clubs: Clubs are a chance for students in all grades to participate in community building and enjoyable activities together. Clubs are student-led, and are sponsored by a faculty member or a parent,. Some past clubs have included Drama Club, Comic Book Club, Philosophy Club, and Rocket Club. Students interested in forming a club should locate a faculty sponsor.

Color Teams Events and Meetings: Color Teams allow students to participate in on-going friendly competition. Events include sporting activities, mind and game activities, and skill competitions. Color Team Meetings allow the teams to organize themselves for these events, and they may elect officers and plot strategies.

Grade Level Meetings:Grade Level Meetings are a chance for all students at each grade level to meet to plan, organize and execute Grade Level events, including Field Day, Talent Show, High School Prom, and the Halloween Party.

Some of the current rules of the Upper School Meeting, as determined by prior vote, include the following:

• To speak in the Upper school meeting, members must place their names on a list. This list is to be kept on the board, where it is visible to all. Members take their turns in order of the list. Members of the Upper School meeting are expected to sit in such a fashion that they can see any possible speakers, and can likewise by seen by any possible speaker.

• Students are allowed to make responses to a speaker by raising their hand and being recognized by that speaker. Any speaker has the right to refuse responses. Students may also ask clarification questions of a speaker or of the Chair of the Meeting, and should be recognized by either of those persons before asking their question. The Chair may cut off quasi-clarification questions that are in fact speeches or responses in disguise, or they may deny responses completely if it is felt necessary for the order or efficiency of the meeting.

• There are procedures set up for the use of proposals to the school meeting. Any member may make a proposal at any time during the meeting, or place a proposal on the meeting agenda. Proposals may be tabled by the school meeting (generally to allow time for preparation) with a majority vote. Anyone may demand a vote on any proposal, although all discussion should be heard before a proposal is carried to a vote. It is important that the proposal be clear and precise before it is voted on.

• No community member may speak more than three times on any one topic, which includes turns on the list, responses, and unofficial outbursts.

Committees:

Admissions:

The Admissions Committee is charged with the crucial responsibility of determining the acceptability of applicants to The New School for admission to our community. Composed of both students and faculty, the Admissions Committee meets with each applicant and attempts to determine if a) the applicant will make a positive addition to The New School community and b) if The New School community can serve the needs and desires of the applicant. All three branches of the school - the Headmaster, the Faculty, and the Students, meet in these committees, and attempt to determine the applicants acceptability from all viewpoints. Since knowledge of the procedures and responsibilities of Admissions Committees are crucial, each student and staff member wishing to serve on these committees must attend a meeting where these procedures and responsibilities are formally laid out. Thus, Admissions Committees will be selected from a permanent list of Admissions Committee volunteers, all of whom have attended such a meeting. The purpose of this is to ensure that anyone sitting on an Admissions Committee is doing so out of a deliberate choice to serve the community, and not merely on the whim of a moment. These meetings will be held at the beginning of each semester.

Student Government Committee

The student government committee meets each Tuesday during lunchtime to discuss and organize meeting topics, and to set the direction for student government in the community. The members of the student government committee include the Chair and Vice-Chair of the school meeting, the Director of Information, the Proctor, and a representative from each advisory/class level. Advisory representatives are chosen by each advisory. The student government committee may bring proposals of its own to the meeting, take stands on student/faculty/parent issues, and in general provide leadership on community issues. Students who accept an office should expect to attend this meeting as part of their responsibilities, and continual absences will result in that student's suitability for the post being brought into question.

Fairness:

The nature of the Fairness Committee is outlined in the "Fairness Committee" section of this handbook. The Fairness Committee is included here to indicate that it is a legitimate committee of the student government, and as such is responsible ultimately to the School Meeting.

Community Committee:

The Community Committee was formed to advise the faculty on student perspectives about community events and issues. Students also use this committee as a format to develop and design events, activities, color team competitions, etc. Students interested in promoting The New School community and being involved in community life are encouraged to attend the committee meetings.

Student Curriculum Committee:

The Student Curriculum Committee was formed to advise the High School Director on issues concerning academics, scheduling, staffing, and other educational elements of The New School program. Students can use the committee to raise issues, to present New School proposals, or to voice objections. At other times, the High School Director make seek input on specific issues or ask the committee members to assist with an academic issue.

Student Officers:

Chairperson of the Meeting:

The chairperson of the meeting is elected to keep the high school meeting running smoothly and effectively. As such, the Chairperson has a good deal of power relating to the operation of the meeting, and may take whatever steps are necessary to insure quiet and focus in the meetings. In addition, the Chairperson is an executive, in charge of seeing that proposals approved by the school meeting are carried out, and in this capacity, will work closely with the "Proctor" (see below). The Chairperson of the Meeting is the most visible of student representatives, and should act as a positive role model in the school.

Vice-Chair of the Meeting

The Vice-Chair of the meeting is responsible for preparing the community for school meetings. The Vice-Chair receives the proposals discussed in the previous meeting from the Proctor, and serves as the scribe for the Student Government Committee. The Vice-Chair compiles this information into an agenda for the upcoming school meeting, which he or she then posts on the community bulletin board. If a student wishes to call an emergency meeting, the Vice-Chair of the Meeting is their contact, at which time the Vice-Chair (and not the student calling the meeting) is responsible for taking a vote of students and staff to determine the need and timing of such an emergency meeting. Finally, in the event of the Chairperson of the Meetings absence, the Vice-Chair is expected to take on the duties of that job in addition to their usual ones.

Director of Information

The role of the Director of Information is a crucial one in the community, as this person is responsible for ensuring that the community is kept informed of events, special meetings, happenings, rule changes, and other important information. In keeping with this role, the Director of Information is responsible for the upkeep and management of all student government bulletin boards in the school (of which there are three.) While creativity has traditionally been an aspect of these bulletin boards, their central purpose is making community members aware of what is going on. This should not be forgotten in the pursuit of art. In addition, the Director of Information should be a regular voice in Morning Meeting, reminding the community of upcoming events, votes, and so forth. To do this, it is important that the Director of Information be in regular contact with the Headmaster, the Director of the High School, the Office Manager, the Proctor, the Meeting Chair and Vice-Chair, and anyone else with important information for the community.

Chairperson of the Fairness Committee:

The Chairperson of the Fairness Committee is in charge of running all Fairness Committees and Mediations. This person is responsible for ensuring that each Fairness Committee is run smoothly and in a just manner. The Chairperson is a voting member of each Fairness Committee, and is also expected to keep a record of what is discussed, and what is decided. All participants of the Fairness Committee sign these notes to show their agreement with the record of what was said, and of their acceptance of the consequences laid out. The Chairperson is responsible for enacting Fairness Committee decisions, and it is important that they pursue and actively work to resolve the Fairness Committee decisions. They should recall the committee if consequences are not followed, or if behavior is not seen to change. Finally, the Chairperson is responsible for posting all Fairness Committee decisions on the community bulletin board.

Vice-Chair of the Fairness Committee (Selector):

The Vice-Chair of the Fairness Committee is in charge of preparing all Fairness Committees. Thus, the Vice-Chair selects the members of the Fairness Committee in sequence from the volunteer list, and gathers the participants. The Vice-Chair is responsible for scheduling Fairness Committees, and ensuring that this scheduling does not interfere more than necessary with other activities. In addition, the Vice-Chair is expected to assume the duties of the Chairperson in the event of absence.

Chairperson of the Admissions Committee:

The Chairperson of the Admissions Committee is responsible for organizing and running all Admissions Committees to determine the acceptability of candidates for admission to the school. This includes choosing members for each Admissions Committee from list of volunteers. The Chairperson of the Admissions Committee keeps notes on the events of these meetings, and reports the Committees findings to the school meeting. They are also responsible for posting the applicants essay on the community bulletin board, along with announcements of Admissions Committee decisions.

Proctor:

The Proctor is responsible, in coordination with the Chairperson of the Meeting, for ensuring that proposals approved by the meeting are carried out in a timely manner. The first step in making this happen is correctly recording and posting all proposals introduced in the school meeting. In this aspect, the Proctor will act as a scribe of the school meeting. The next step is in carrying out the proposals, a task that will vary, depending on the nature of the proposal. If the school meeting decides that it wants to posts signs asking people to refrain from profanity, for example, then the Proctor is responsible for seeing that these signs are created and put up. They may choose to do this themselves, or to ask another community member to do it. It is expected to that they will delegate these tasks to those most suited to accomplish them, and not to attempt to do everything themselves. At no time is the Proctor obligated to do any task personally - the Proctor is the servant of the school meeting, but not its slave. In light of the responsibilities of this post, the Proctor has control of the school meeting treasury, and determines the spending of this money with reference to the proposals of the school meeting. Thus, for the creation of the signs mentioned earlier, the Proctor might allocate a certain amount of money for poster board and nails.