The ASSC Elections for the school year 2022-2023 have come and while many conclusions can be made, one thing’s for sure: more voices are needed in our student body elections.

All six senators, Commissioners of Finance and Publicity and Skyline’s student trustee nominee ran unopposed in their elections. With the goal of a thriving democracy with strong representation in my mind, no elected position should go unopposed.

When this happens, elections become a formality and democracy becomes an afterthought. This is especially important when students look for representation that is not represented at the ballot box.

Students are forced to accept one form of ideological, gender and ethnic-based representation for highly influential positions like the student trustee nominee. With a community as diverse as ours, one would expect to see a candidate pool that would reflect our community.

This is especially true in regards to our school’s Latino and male populations, neither of which saw accurate representation on the ballot this spring. When deciding who should represent our school, every background should be available to choose from.

Ideological differences, which can often be shaped by a student’s personal background, are also a key factor missing as well. If only one vision is on the ballot then only one vision will see representation.

This is not to criticize those who ran nor shame them for aspects they cannot control. Advocating for more choices does not inherently mean the current options are not perfectly qualified in their own right. Students who were willing to stick their necks out and run for ASSC positions should be commended if not applauded for their service to our community.

The questions worth highlighting are why aren’t more students engaging in school politics and what can be done to improve our situation?

We do not claim to know all the answers nor do we believe this is any one group’s fault. It is our hope that as a community we can work together to improve our electoral situation and bring forth a diverse and plentiful ballot next spring.

In order to form a more representative ballot, students should be encouraged to run for office next spring.