By: Cora-Louise Fleming-Benite and Miles Horner
In LREI’s student government, each grade elects two representatives. In September, students selected representatives they believed would best speak on their behalf. To better understand the roles of the student government, we interviewed two recently elected representatives.
First, we interviewed Rhyus Goldman, who is one of the two ninth grade representatives. This is Rhyus’s first year at LREI and he represents his grade alongside Margaret M.
Knightly News: First, your election speech was powerful and resonated with many of your classmates. What were you thinking about when you wrote it?
Rhyus G: Well, of course, I wasn’t thinking about winning. It was my last guess that I would win. My goal is to represent [the] whole ninth grade, not just “the top.” I want to make sure that everyone’s voice will be heard. I tried to show these things in my speech. When I was elected, I felt a rush of energy. I was so excited to be representing my ninth grade class. My goal is to represent [the] whole ninth grade. I want to make sure that everyone’s voice will be heard.
KN: What do you hope to accomplish as a representative?
RG: I want to accomplish everything that will make my class happy. Right now, we’re working on revamping the student center, making it a nice place for the student body. We plan to have a ping pong table, maybe a game console, a work-study, a relaxation station… Things that will make the student center a cool place for LREI students to hang out in.
KN: You seem to have really captured the essence of a 14-year-old. How do you relate to the kids in such a funky fresh way?
R: Well, since I am a fourteen-year-old, it’s pretty easy for me to “capture the essence” of a ninth grader. I’m lucky to be a part of student government, so that I can represent my grade, not only on issues that affect them, but on issues that could affect me and Margaret [the other ninth grade class rep] as well.
We also interviewed Sophie Reif, one of the two 11th grade representatives; the other 11th-grade representative is Michelle M.
Knightly News: What did you talk about in your speech? What do you hope to accomplish?
Sophie R: I was rep last year, and I was re-elected this year about a month ago. This year, I talked more about what went well last year and what we wanted to improve on this year. Rather than focusing on specific plans, I talked more about general things that I wanted to accomplish as rep. I would say that efficiency is one of my big goals this year. Last year, as a rep, I got to understand how student government functions, what works, what doesn’t. This year, I hope to clean up those areas that don’t work as efficiently as possible. I also want to get our grade to be closer and more connected.
KN: Do you have any problems with the way that student government is structured? Are there any things that you would like to fix?
S: Not specifically. I think that it can sometimes be difficult for us all to communicate with each other; we’re all representing a lot of people so it can be hard to come together and do something about it. Even though this is a small school, there are a lot of different opinions and needs, and our job is just to do the best for everyone as a whole. Another thing that we want to restructure is homeroom, that’s something that we’ve been talking a lot about, in terms of efficiency and scheduling. I don’t have any specific issues with the way that student government functions, but there are always things that we can improve on.
KN: Is there anything that you want to add about your experience with the other people working in the student government?
S: I think that being able to work with the other students is a very valuable experience. I think it would be good for everyone to experience that sort of responsibility and to be a part of that community. During the meetings, there is always a sense of having the same goals and wanting the same things for our whole community. We’re not necessarily close as friends, but we all work really well together.
KN: How are you able to relate to the people in your grade to better solve their problems?
S: The whole goal of the position of representative is that you are a part of the grade you represent. You often experience the same issues, and most of the time, problems expressed by people in our grade also affect me and Michelle (the other 11th-grade rep). That’s definitely one of the benefits of having a student government.
The class reps in all the grades have been working hard to make sure that LREI is a nice place for the students. They are always thinking of new projects and new ways to help out the LREI community. Thank you to all of the grade representatives, and to anyone involved in the school government.