Student Council leadership focuses on creating larger, more inclusive Flock Squad

Emma Gage, Managing and Copy Editor

Every Thursday, at 7:20 a.m., nearly 80 students line up and file into the choir classroom, eagerly awaiting to make decisions for Student Council. Among them are underclassmen and upperclassmen alike, all with a variety of high school experiences.

Student Council plans the annual homecoming dance, blood drive, and coordinates the school student section, Flock Squad. 

“Flock Squad is run by student council, but everyone in the school is a member of Flock Squad,” senior Student Council co-president Allie Otto said. “If you want to help run Flock Squad, then you be in Student Council so you go to the meetings so you have a little bit more say in game themes and stuff like that.”

Although the right to make decisions pertaining to things like game-specific themes is reserved only for Student Council members, the club’s leaders still want the student body to be accurately represented in these choices.

“Our big thing is inclusivity because I know last year the main focus was just on football and basketball in the seasons,” Otto said. “We’re really trying to change that along with just being really inclusive with the underclassmen. So we’re just trying to make sure everyone has representation in every grade.”

Student Council attendance has more than doubled since last year, according to senior co-president Jackson Beck. Beck said that although this has been trying, it is a welcome change.

“Obviously everybody wants to say something at meetings and have their voice heard, but just with 84 people going to meetings that can’t happen,” Beck said. “It’s harder to maintain because it’s different going from 30 people to 84 people, different not super hard to overcome just as long as everyone knows to be respectful.”

First year Student Council sponsor Jennie Benning has helped the leaders adjust to their increase in attendance at meetings.

“In the past I know it was a little bit more free to discuss because there was a smaller group and there was not as many in numbers,” Benning said. “This time I strongly encouraged both presidents to take leadership and then if there was time for discussion, to be a little bit more open.”

In hopes of being more inclusive to all sports, the co-presidents are making an effort to lead a student section at most home games.

“It’s hard because we try and go to every game we can but then there’s only two of the presidents, and then a lot of the games like the volleyball and the football games are on the exact same night,” Otto said. “So it’s hard to split our time but our main priority is home games, so whatever’s a home game that’ll take priority.”

Everyone is encouraged to attend school events as part of the Flock Squad.

“Go to every game,” Otto said. ‘It’s super fun, it’s a really good way to meet new people because I mean you can just show up to any game and you’ll just be standing by people that you never would have talked to before. I think it’s just a really cool way to meet new people and then just support everyone else in the school.”