By Sanesha Hajiyanee | June 24, 2021
On June 4, 2021, The Woodlands Secondary School Student Activity Council (S.A.C.) held their annual executive team elections. Students in grades 10 and 11 during the 2020-2021 school year had the opportunity to run for an executive position on the council, who would be voted upon by the school. Nominees had a week to create their campaign and promotions, which were then posted on all platforms throughout the following week.
Five executive positions needed to be filled as follows; President, Vice President, Social Convener, Public Relations, and Secretary.
For the President position, the criteria was that a student had to have been an executive the previous year, hence the only nominee being Archish Sadeesh. He has been with SAC since Grade 9 and although he was involved in campaigning, it was mostly a given that he was going to win.
“I want SAC to feel like a second home and a tight family for the school, a place where everyone can come and feel appreciated. I want to put out events that bring people closer together, which is important after a weird year like the one we just had. Be it virtual or in person, I'll ensure that our SAC events make people feel more connected. Overall, I'm really excited for this year, and I hope Woods can grow back into a big, happy, family.” - Archish Sadeesh
For Vice President, two nominees met the criteria of currently being in grade 11 and having previous SAC experience; Hannah Segaric and Geffrey Chu. Both had an amazing campaign, and when it came time for voting, it was a difficult choice. In the end, Geffrey Chu was voted to the position of Vice President by the student body.
“Hey, Woods! When it was announced that I won the election, I was super hyped. Planning cool events with other upper council members, meeting new students, and making the high school experience enjoyable for students is just something I felt passionate about. Thank you for choosing me as your next vice president, and I hope we can return back to school normally next year so we can have our traditional events back!” - Geffrey Chu
The position of Social Convener had no such criteria, and it had two amazing nominees campaigning for the role. Siya Sood and Jahkim Brown-Roopnarine were the candidates for this position, each putting their best efforts into their campaign. A highlight in the Brown-Roopnarine campaign was that he, alongside Public Relations nominee Darian Nasirzadeh, created an entire rap album promoting their campaign. In the end, the winner of a very close race was Siya Sood.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to become The Woodlands’ Social Convener. SAC has always been an important part of my life since grade 9, and I’m so excited to share that with people. I also know that after all the difficulty of the past year, everyone is excited about the events we’re going to run next school year, and I just wanted to let you know that SAC is preparing to bring engaging & enjoyable events to you!” -Siya Sood
Darian Nasirzadeh, Akshaya Raamya, and Shreyas Tanguturi were the candidates for the position of Public Relations. As mentioned, an interesting twist to the campaign was Darian Nasirzadeh teaming up with Jahkim Brown-Roopnarine to create a rap album promoting both of their campaigns. All the candidates had amazing campaigns, but when it came down to it, the student body chose Darian Nasirzadeh as the Head of Public Relations.
“I’m super excited to be working with the future exec team, as I feel that we have a really strong connection already and we work very well together. I am really proud of all the candidates that ran as they all did amazing, and I hope to see them as SAC UC (Upper Council) members next year!” - Darian Nasirzadeh
The role of Secretary had the largest number of candidates, with 8 candidates vying for the position. This gave students a bigger assortment of nominees to choose from and see who they thought would be best fit for the position. The candidates were Amelia Cui, Vishwas Puri, Susan Zhou, Victoria Chakma, Sabreen Tayabali, Brendan Lin, Vishnu Satish, and Khushi Ved. There were so many different creative ways of campaigning, but the campaign that Woodlands students believed in the most was Brendan Lin’s. He is now the Secretary of the SAC for the 2021-2022 school year.
Students may know Brendan as the head of the @WoodsClubs Instagram. He creates posts and calendars that share information on Woodlands extracurriculars that are happening to give more exposure to the clubs, and to help students.
“I’m super excited to be a part of SAC again! We’re looking forward to returning to school and hopefully hosting events that we weren’t able to this past year.” - Brendan Lin
There is still one more executive position to fill for the Student Activity Council, and that is the position of Treasurer. Being Treasurer is a big responsibility, and therefore, unlike the rest of the positions, it is chosen by the SAC team instead of by the student body. The treasurer takes care of everything related to the financials of the SAC and their events. It is still unknown as to who will be the new Treasurer, but it will most likely be announced shortly.
The SAC elections are a great way for students to get involved in learning how politics, in any form, work. It teaches them how to campaign, and how to get associated with voting. It’s also a great way to build school spirit, while also creating a bridge between The Student Activity Council and the student body.
Follow the Woodlands SAC Instagram at the following link: https://www.instagram.com/sacwoodlands/
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