by Jackie Lemieux, Class of 2020
With Student Council Elections in full swing, we at the Mirror are proud to once again provide Matignon Warriors with the inside scoop on their Candidates for election. We reached out to every Candidate to ask them questions about what their classmates really care about in the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. There are no Candidates for the Office of the Secretary.
Without further ado, the Matignon Mirror presents the Candidates for the Student Council Class of 2023! We hope that these interviews and statements shed light on the crucial issues and help you when casting your votes in the upcoming days.
Although the presidential race was uncontested, Incumbent President Zaina Qureshi delivered a statement regarding her second term as President of the Class of 2023.
I am overjoyed to have been given the opportunity to serve as my class president once again. Last year, alongside the rest of student council, I helped plan several events for our school and I also coordinated many activities for my class. In the future, I would really like to find more ways for students to be heard and given a chance to put in their input as well as find more fun things for us to participate in as a class to make next year a success.
President Zaina Qureshi
The Vice Presidential race was also uncontested, resulting in a second term for Incumbent Vice President Alex Baldwin, who also reached out to the Mirror with a statement.
During my term as Vice President last year, I put in a great deal of time and effort to contribute to the Student Council as well as improve the Matignon community, and help it to reach its potential. I have spent a lot of time this past year meeting with teachers and staff members to communicate ideas and work on projects, and have also interacted with many of my peers in order to understand their perspective and hear their voice in order to make a change in this school that benefits everyone. During quarantine, I’ve continued to work hard and be a responsible leader for my class, and I have done this by attending the majority of online events hosted my Matignon, working with teachers and students, attending every student council meeting, hosting shadows during remote learning, and participating in events hosted by our school, such as Trivia every Wednesday, where I have had the opportunity to have incoming freshman on my team. We are still figuring out logistics for next year’s learning. When we get there, I will try to be the first person to get ideas out and make sure everything runs smoothly once again. It has been an absolute pleasure of mine serving as the Class of 2023 Vice President and I am more than lucky to obtain the position again. With my communication, leadership, and hardwork, I believe we will have yet another year of success in our Matignon community.
Vice President Alexandra Baldwin
Of the three candidates for the Office of the Treasurer of the Class of 2023, two candidates took the opportunity to answer questions. Incumbent Treasurer Caroline Fiorenzo declined to comment.
Leah Carozza is challenging Incumbent Treasurer Fiorenzo for her seat on the Class of 2023 Student Council. In her responses, she recognizes the importance of taking current events related to the COVID19 pandemic into account when planning for the 2020-2021 school year.
Matignon Mirror: Ms. Carozza, you’re running for the office of the Treasurer of the Sophomore Class. Why do you feel that you deserve to be elected over your opponents?
Leah Carozza: I feel that I should be elected because I am very dependable and I will be sure to take my position on the student council very seriously. I will show great leadership and bring new and creative ideas to the school, and I will work to help our class achieve great things.
MM: As an Officer of the Sophomore Class, you will be working closely with the other members of Student Council in order to improve the school. What ideas do you bring to the table, and how do you plan on implementing them?
LC: As treasurer for the Sophomore Class, my main focus will be on fundraising and collaborating with the rest of the student council on budgeting. We may need to rethink the types of fundraising because of the pandemic, and think about what we would be able to implement due to the current situation. (avoiding large crowds, keeping safe distance, etc.)
MM: As Class Treasurer, it is especially important that you be aware of and properly manage finances. With this in mind, what fundraisers do you have in mind for next year?
LC: A couple of fundraising ideas I have for next year are bake sales, themed tag days, a color run, car washes, and a field day. There won’t be a lack of creative ideas, we just need ideas that are going to be doable because of pandemic.
Elyse Gobbi is also challenging Incumbent Intermediary Fiorenzo for the Office, and emphasizes the need for student input as well as fundraising.
MM: Ms. Gobbi, you’re running for the Office of the Treasurer of the Sophomore Class. Why do you feel that you deserve to be elected over your opponents?
Elyse Gobbi: I deserve to be elected because I have previous experience in student government. I was Vice President of my Middle School Student Council. This gave me ideas for fundraisers, and gave me other ideas for how I can help our school. Also, I would listen to any ideas from the student body. I would listen if another student brought up an idea.
MM: As an Officer of the Sophomore Class, you will be working closely with the other members of the Student Council in order to improve the school. What ideas do you bring to the table, and how do you plan on implementing them?
EG: I have a lot of ideas. For one, I have some fundraising ideas (that I’ll discuss in the next question). Also, I had an idea about getting a couple of healthier options in the cafeteria. The food we have right now is good, but back when we were in school there were some kids who bought lunch everyday. I think it would be a good idea if we gave those kids the option of healthier food. That being said, we wouldn’t get rid of the food we already have that kids currently like.
MM: As Class Treasurer, it is especially important that you be aware of and properly manage finances. With this in mind, what fundraisers do you have in mind for next year?
EG: One idea is to do things like bake sales, but I also have a couple of other ideas from my middle school. We had movie nights at my old school where you pay about 5 dollars and you could watch a movie on a screen, and pay additional money for snacks. Buying a screen and a movie might sound expensive, but most of it was volunteer/donations from parents or alumni, which I’m sure we could get. This fundraiser ended up generating a lot of money for the school, and it was a lot of fun for the students. Another thing we could do is game nights. This would be very cost effective because a lot of used board or card games are only 5-10 dollars on amazon. Also, I have a lot of games that I’d be happy to loan to the school (for free obviously) and I’m sure other people do too.
Finally, there are two Candidates for the Office of the Intermediary: Incumbent Intermediary Kaila Penrose and challenger Ms. Shelltz Pierre.
Incumbent Intermediary Kaila Penrose shared her perspective on the role of the Intermediary, and why she believes she deserves a second term.
MM: Incumbent Intermediary Penrose, you’re running for re-election to the office of the Intermediary of the Sophomore Class. Why do you believe that you deserve to be re-elected to this position?
Kaila Penrose: One of the reasons that I decided to run for intermediary again is because I had such an amazing time on Student Council this past school year and I really enjoyed getting to interact with fellow Matignon students, especially outside of the council. Being an intermediary has a unique experience that the other positions do not provide. You get an opportunity to listen to your peers and understand where they are coming from and come up with a solution to any conflicts or concerns between them and the faculty members.
MM: As an Officer of the Sophomore Class, you will be working closely with the other members of Student Council in order to improve the school. What ideas do you bring to the table, and how do you plan on implementing them?
KP: One of the concerns my fellow Freshman Council and I have discussed is how we are going to bring more excitement to the Class of 2023. The Freshman Council all agree that at the beginning of the year, the current freshman class was very energetic and as the year went along, we started to notice a more dry response to events such as Pep Rallies and other Student Council activities. We as a council are trying our best to bring back that energy we had at the beginning of the year and, as an intermediary, [this] is what will be my main goal for the rest of this year and next year. I would like to see our class participate in more rallies and attend more dances. I plan on doing this by bringing ideas such as events specifically dedicated to the Class of 2023 to bring us all closer together. That way, we can feel more comfortable around each other and want to be more involved with each other.
MM: As your class’ Intermediary, you are responsible for the facilitation of communication between students and Administration, as well as for the development of school activities and events. How do you plan to perform this role, and what unique qualities do you bring to the table that will assist you in this?
KP: Lastly, as an intermediary, I would try my best to assist any Matignon student or faculty members in any miscommunication errors. We all have been through difficult situations that require mature communication skills. As an intermediary, I have the skills to be able to properly explain any altercation between the staff of Matignon and my peers. One of my unique qualities for this spot on the council is that I am a teenager who will be communicating with other teenagers and, as we all know, teens love to confide in other teens for advice or interest. I believe as the Class of 2023 Student Council Intermediary it will be quite easy for me to communicate with my fellow Sophomores and Matignon staff because they will feel more comfortable talking to a fellow student then an adult that might not fully understand where they are coming from. Overall, I am so grateful to be apart of a great student council my first year as a Freshman. It really means a lot to me to bring new ideas to the council and be apart of the development of Matignon.
Challenging Incumbent Intermediary Fiorenzo is Ms. Shelltz Pierre, who also commented on the unique attributes she believes she would bring to the Office of the Intermediary.
MM: Ms. Pierre, you’re running for election to the office of the Intermediary of the Sophomore Class. Why do you believe that you deserve to be elected over your opponent?
Shelltz Pierre: I feel that I should be elected as Intermediary because I have an easier way of communicating with everyone. I also feel that my class’s opinions would be heard better if I was in office. That being said, my opponent is an amazing intermediary and I feel that she would do a great job if she was re-elected.
MM: As an Officer of the Sophomore Classs, you will be working closely with the other members of Student Council in order to improve the school. What ideas do you bring to the table, and how do you plan on implementing them?
SP: Some ideas I bring to the table is more interaction between the classes. Hopefully if we listen and communicate with each other better, we can build a better Matignon community. I think we should do have more activities like the Powderpuff Football Game so that everyone is included and we can all enjoy.
MM: As your class’ Intermediary, you are responsible for the facilitation of communication between students and Administration, as well as for the development of school activities and events. How do you plan to perform this role, and what unique qualities do you bring to the table that will assist you in this?
SP: If I was Intermediary, I would come up with a happy medium between the students and Administration by coming up with something that is both funny yet serious. Then people would enjoy it when still getting the main point. That’s all. Again, thank you [to the Matignon Mirror] for asking these questions.
As Student Council elections proceed over the next few days, we at the Matignon Mirror wish all Candidates for Office the best of luck! We hope that all students voting will keep the best interests of the Matignon Community in mind as they cast their ballots, and we are confident that the future of Student Council is in good hands with these Candidates.
All Candidates were given fair opportunity to read and respond to the interview questions. These questions were based on Google Forms sent out to members of the Class of 2023 earlier this week, as well as supplemental questions devised by the Matignon Mirror Election Department. Responses have been edited for grammar and clarity.
THE CAMBRIDGE MATIGNON MIRROR 