2021-2022 School year Reflections and Goals
Jan 1. 2022
Elena Zhao: Currently, I’m focusing on working with the academic affairs office to clarify and adjust AHC rulings for freshmen. Certain mistakes like usage of online translators, outside tutors without teacher consent, misattribution of sources and other minor misunderstandings that are common as Deerfield students adjust to new academic honor rules should not warrant severe AHC rulings. A few other ideas I have for the winter term are to bring back the Koch Cafe during study hall hours like in previous years, and to push for post-study hall exam feeds on finals week for winter and spring term!
Gabe Zaccheo: The main thing that I want to work on during the winter is an updated day student lounge and/or day student locker room. Currently the day student lounge is a dark and unwelcoming room that gets little use, but having a space for day students to work, take a nap, or just relax is important. I am still thinking about a space that would work better for the DSL but I think somewhere with more light and in a bit less academic space would be great. Finding a space in the athletics center would be my goal. In tandem with this, the main locker room is not sufficient for day students. Almost all boarders go back to their room to shower so this is not a problem for them but a lot of day students shower in the locker rooms. For non-varsity athletes, this means using the main locker room showers, which do not have hot water. To fix this I want to try and fix the hot water or possibly work on two day student locker rooms, similar to varsity locker rooms that day students could use. These two ideas are in the early stages, so I plan on meeting to develop my idea and then work on the specifics.
Hugo Nutting, Ideas: Unlock the underground passage between the Athletic Center and the Dining Hall, Bring in an actual eating disorder specialist, Parietal Reform for Upperclassman / Seniors, Optional weighted average setting on DAInfo, Have specialty gym passes so that older students can access the gym after or before hours, Students can take control of the feed funding and arrange their own feeds if they feel they aren’t getting enough
Trey Souder, Ideas: (Small): Open back side dining hall door, Open up underground dining hall tunnel, Student council suggestions app, if there is ever some small complaint or frustration that a student has they can anonymously send in a submission/message via the app. (Large): Fix parietals system, If both students are upperclassmen, can have door shut and when teachers check, they just knock on door and need to hear both voices state their presence, Focus on establishing good habits in younger years, but allowing for more trust and responsibility in students as they get older, Only change right now is trash can to shoe in doorway, not enough; Better transportation access, create a platform in which students can book transportation through a Deerfield system, If you need transportation to an airport one day or a nearby town, instead of looking around yourself and trying to find transportation, you could just put your information into a Deerfield app or web page and they will arrange transportation for you; Better access to food, Deerfield students are often going to have moments where they get sick of the dining hall food and their only other option is to go to the Greer, Create method of funding or cost deductions for orders, Could create a Deerfield-run grocery store system in which a car or van goes out and picks up large amounts of groceries for students, Students put in their orders on an app or web page and the Deerfield van will make a run once or twice a week, Can have a focus on recurring orders (students who just need a consistent supply of basic necessities), Makes it easier for students to be able to keep and maintain a basic food supply in their own rooms.
Lillian Regal: My overarching goal for the winter term is to increase sophomore bonding. Through my research, I’ve found that this is the top priority of my grade. We were so disconnected last year that we aren’t able to form relationships this year. It’ll be hard to find a way to force people to make meaningful conversation, but I am up for the challenge. I want to also address the stress and mental health decline that many students experience during the winter term. The administration needs to do more on their end to help fix this, but we can also help with more fun events and more mental health awareness. Another priority of mine is addressing the concerns that students have brought to me regarding access to the MSB, as well as the name system in the Greer. These goals are all good, but I also would like to remember that I am here to represent what people want and that if people’s needs change, I need to be flexible enough to adapt to the situation and achieve meaningful change.
Preyas Sinha, Plans: More study hall freedoms for sophomores during the first hour, Gradewide broomball/dodgeball tournaments, Gradewide feeds, Making clear homework time guidelines for classes, Schedules on Dainfo.
Hallsey Souder: Over the course of the fall, I have tried to act on or work through a handful of ideas that my class has requested. The biggest one, which I am working on with Preyas, was to try and figure out a way for sophomores to be able to work together during study hall if two students are in different dorms. We would try and find some silver lining between ourselves and the deans to maybe allow the first hour of study hall to be flexible. Another project that I wanted to try and work on would be to allow underclassman students to have a later check-in on nights where there are certain dances, so that some students could have the opportunity to stay later whether they have an upperclassmen date or just want to have fun. These two projects are what I want to focus my term on. I am hopeful that I will have a response for these two ideas soon, so I will continue to work with my class to figure out what needs reform or what needs to be done for a better school environment and learning experience.
Billy Tang: Game system in crow:I recently started negotiating with Mrs. Brown about installing a game system into the crow as a reward for good behavior and conduct in the crow. I plan to follow up in order to confirm logistics of when it will be installed, what game system type and what hours it will be open for recreational use. Both Chloe and I met with Ms. Walsh, who recommended a printer crew. We will try to get a consistent group of people to look after the crow printer for the winter term who will have their emails and numbers posted in case someone needs printing help. If the printer breaks down to the point where a simple repair text isn’t able to solve the damage, Chloe and I will reopen negotiations for a new printer. Additionally, we also want to add the Crow printer onto the follow-me networks for convenience as that’s the largest current complaint. Vending Machines: The problem with the the machines last term was because the vendors won’t start selling until sometime in the winter, I want to meet with Mrs. Brown or whoever is in charge of vending machines to see if we can get them stocked for the winter term so people can use them. More open dorm opportunities: We currently only have an open dorm once every few weeks for freshmen which removes opportunities for johnson and doubleday residents to socialize. I propose to have more open dorm weekends for both dorms to allow greater flexibility for the freshmen class. A way to encourage people to clean their dorm more often: Cleanliness is extremely important, and methods like showing the grades each dorm gets for cleanliness in the common room could encourage cleaning more often. Additionally the grading happens more often which can be tallied for some end of the year reward or shoutout.
Chloe Xue: In the past term, I worked mainly on improving and revitalizing the Crow, working with faculty to repair the TVs, the printer, the vending machines, and executing other ideas the class of 2025 had to make the Crow a more lively and inclusive common space. In the coming winter term, I will continue these efforts, especially focusing on following up with my previous efforts regarding the vending machine in the basement of the Crow, collaborating with Billy and the ITS office to build a printer team in charge of renovating and regulating the Crow printer, as well as talking with Mrs. Brown about renovating the laundry room. In terms of new projects, my goal is to increase the amount of student involvement in stuco projects by reaching out to more members of the student body, evaluating student opinion through surveys, and introducing a more systematic and robust system for student suggestions, possibly through posters with a link to a Google forms survey. I also want to address the issue of pass fail courses for freshmen--I have heard a variety of opinions about the pass fail english course, ranging from how the same system should be applied to history courses to how the pass fail for english should be abolished, but all expressing some sort of discontent with the current system. I want to hear more from the class of 2025 about this issue and synthesize popular opinion to execute a better system for freshman fall term grading. Finally, I will also work together with Jean to design stuco hoodies.
2020-2021 School Year reflections and progress
Seniors Fall 2020
Willy Conzelman: This year in student council a lot of my efforts have been focused on improving student life throughout the pandemic. Alongside Angela and two other student app developers, I worked with IT to get an order ahead app approved for the Greer. Hopefully the app will be in effect by the spring- there are currently some security complications. I also attempted to get rid of homework the night of the presidential election, and while this was not entirely approved by the deans and Dr. Austin, students were permitted to come to class not fully prepared. I look forward to continuing my work this winter and spring!
Hugh Braccia: As a new student at a school that has had to make numerous adjustments and implement restrictions in accordance with the Covid-19 pandemic, I have a much different perspective than most of the other members of student council. During fall term, I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of DA students and familiarize myself with popular extracurricular activities, events, and buildings. I, along with all the other members of student council would love to make this year as normal as possible and bring back the things the student body misses from years past. So far, I have worked with Mr. Howe to have the ice rink open for the student body to enjoy free skate when we come back for winter term. I have also created a survey for the student body to fill out to assess their fall term experience at DA. This will be helpful for the student council as we can use the data as a driving force behind why certain changes need to be made to enhance the student experience at Deerfield in future terms.
Juniors Reflections and Progress
Jean Jin: This year so far, I have worked on collecting video clips for the Dining Hall Thank You Video. Elena and I revitalized the Class of 22 GroupMe to hear from everyone in our grade! Also, the Junior reps and I have been communicating with Mr. Kelly really aiming to make an upperclassmen Dunkin Donut feed happen. Our main goal recently has been to inspire higher campus moral with all these unprecedented restrictions. If this feed cannot happen before we depart campus this fall, we still want to work on making students generally as excited for being here and feel as happy as possible. We will continue to brainstorm other plausible fun bonding activities! Coming back from winter vacation before the spring athletic season begins, I plan to reach out to Mr. Howe for him to finalize an official statement addressing girls' dress code on the lower fields. I will encourage him to share this information clearly with everyone because I think there still is significant ambiguity. Lastly, I would be happy to help with whatever next term regarding the dining hall system–whether that is more eco-friendly campaigns or arranging "Disney line" to the Parker room... Finding a more practical and enjoyable dining system will definitely make a big difference on campus!
Ford Holmén: Throughout the fall term, I worked on a few different projects. My fellow class representatives and I worked tirelessly to organize a feed consisting of donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate for all Upperclassmen. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 safety requirements, we were unable to host the event this fall. However, we plan on hosting the event, or something very similar, this upcoming winter term. I also had the idea of sending students (who opt in) a text each morning with the menu for that day’s meals at the dining hall. This would look very similar to the virus safety texts that students receive each morning. The idea of sending a menu via text (daily) became less feasible as I discovered that the school utilizes an outside company to send the virus safety texts. After asking a few of my classmates, and seeing just how many of them would like an easier and more efficient way to check the dining hall menu, I thought it would be a great idea to create an app for it. In theory, the app would allow students to quickly check the dining hall menu from their mobile phone. So, this winter term, either with collaboration from the App Development Club or independently, I will try my best to create said app. Additionally, I would like to extend WiFi hours for all students on weekends, and (if not already planned) create a system for students without a personal pair of ice skates to borrow/loan a pair to use on the new outdoor ice rink.
Elena Zhao: I'm Elena and this is my third year on Student Council. In the past I've worked on projects like installing a printer in the crow freshmen year and extending wifi for sophomores. Also, the other reps and I have planned some grade activities including class feeds and the valentines exchange last year. My goal is to bring back school dances and grade-wide activities while keeping everyone safe, and to make the campus a happier place for the rest of the year!
Sophomore Reflections and Progress
Zoë Matias: Though this fall term was full of ups and downs, I was able to get some stuff done for StuCo. This fall term I helped organize my grade feeds by emailing and staying in contact with the deans with the help of my fellow grade reps. I also had strong communication with my grade concerning new and fun activities for fall and winter term, unfortunately the ideas for fall term were not able to happen due to the COVID regulations. However, I have a lot of hope for the winter term regarding these activities. I was able to organize my grade’s spirit week theme with the help of their input and ideas. As winter term is approaching, I hope to get Sunday Brunch back and if that is not possible I hope to at least get back the most popular dishes from the meal (Waffles, Açaí Bowls, Omelettes, etc). Also Ainslie and I are planning to contact the administration about keeping the academic buildings open during the weekend, so students are able to use the printers. Lastly I will continue to communicate with my grade about fun activities for the winter, so our winter term experience will be a lot more enjoyable than our fall term experience.
Freshman Reflections and Progress:
Preyas Sinha: This year, I was elected to be on the student council. So far, I’ve sent a proposal to safely open up the Crow. Also, I sent a proposal for an optional study hall the night before we left. Unfortunately, both were rejected. This past term, I’ve been listening to everyone’s ideas. 2020 is different from any other year, and I think it is especially important for me, as a student council member, to listen to everyone’s ideas to make our very different freshman year as fun and safe as possible. In the upcoming terms I hope to pursue other ideas such as grade-wide feeds or pushing to open up the Crow again.
2019-2020 School Year
2019 projects:
Caroline:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yc1fpJzZwZRI52q1aPym8klW9aUpi5B-9d7U0u_w7BY/edit?usp=sharing
Protik:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cllL5xyuYk9SQLjwdlStjJbB50DifXRhYNFYLzB2kSI/edit?usp=sharing
Matt:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WgdgYGRWNvt4nXl8-GVbft5V_1GEeFaRiIGezGjM9L4/edit?usp=sharing
Brigid:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/105PRcXvR3ea9grhB_UtKOPtktOwOZg1heYSZoSbHwAg/edit?usp=sharing
2020 projects:
Sim:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gIQd09eOi3av72aTfYs7LCLu3bocwIZzwMqxzHnkhcU/edit?usp=sharing
Christina:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iTr8MMN02wELb9zjFwZsXZH7C9obHDKtOOOe2YrBl3s/edit?usp=sharing
Tim:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hn0xztbB-M9RvdeY9_yPfOZS3rSgPgZ7DxOdYFNHgYc/edit?usp=sharing
Whitney:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jeqy6k2vdGoz1WeqmSA_kHGe0WWBXEZCexFFZQMkjqs/edit?usp=sharing
2021 projects:
Claire:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vm4GBrb0yUH4amNy61W8HtjzuojijYeIK9DV4fFUlfk/edit?usp=sharing
Willy:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lrhz8xruQ0ksPpiSr3PHudOXh_G7AtTUsV0Y3BTUO_g/edit?usp=sharing
Angela:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11wIXViDidj656Ud8F4mwqkvsN9Ov0ggy7xZCi3yGB_s/edit?usp=sharing
Chijioke:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jy9-UfOxMhT2tDpHj76rU9i_8k4fpyl0eEnbkbE_Hfg/edit?usp=sharing
2022 projects:
Elena:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iC_z_FGujPIgtacnu1jLSViKcvmX0YQRxqRtN8Ky8fo/edit?usp=sharing
Ryan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_SNttQP42PqWmkc9yy_M9Dnm52XoVmqmFCsV6GrITgI/edit?usp=sharing
Day Student projects:
Mina:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x48S2gvVzUpmIPQiiHRdxcv0O-vq2wLr8oM-nFbeH7Q/edit?usp=sharing
Seth:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1azdVzGwuUC2rEFPDunkk90ORwk6giMMUrp_ODQFZuME/edit?usp=sharing