Middle schools and high schools have had student councils around since late 1910s.

The councils have been around for a long time now, but are they truly necessary? Even if student councils infuse both curricular and extracurricular properties?

Teachers used to choose candidates by show of leadership and honesty. Presently, students vote for the candidates they see fit and go from there, depending on the office the candidate is aiming for.

At Desert Vista, some of the students believe that student council is unnecessary.

“They don’t do anything for the school and barely anyone is in student council,” sophomore Yasmine Haddad said. “They don’t represent the school properly either.”

“Not a lot of people on the student council are known to their peers, nor do they represent their graduating class,” sophomore Sedona Burkland said.

Freshman Julianna Perez has a similar opinion regarding with how the council deals with their peers.

”It’s only a couple people in charge and their opinion isn’t my opinion, so they have a different outlook than the rest of the school,” Perez said.  

From the perspective of a few, the student council at Desert Vista does not properly represent their graduating class or the school. My personal perspective is that student councils are necessary, depending on how they are led.  It can be quite beneficial involving the development of leadership, increasing school spirit and having a similar experience to the government voting process. Not only that but it also teaches time management.

“If I was in student council, I’d try to interact more with the students and get them involved,” sophomore Jazmine Daye said. “That would improve how people look at the student council at school.”
Student councils can represent their school and graduating class properly, but their peers need to be more involved for that to happen. Student councils are truly necessary so that the students can have a say in events and how their school runs.