Students coming into school these last few weeks couldn’t help but notice the student council elections. Politics were in the air, from the posters on the wall to the chatter in the hall. Students voted for the 2024-25 student elections on Tuesday, May 29th. Starting next fall, the student council will include Elianna Rothstein as Secretary, Izzy Hoffman as Treasurer, Isaac Maimon as Freshman Representative, Steven Rolan as Vice Chair, Zach Saltsman as Agenda Chair, and Paulina Gamel as Student Activities Chair. They all shared excitement about the opportunity to make school a better place.
Isaac Maimon, freshman, ran for the position of Sophomore Representative, whose role is to represent the sophomores in student council discussions. No other rising sophomores were running for student council positions, so someone had to be elected to make sure the sophomores were heard on the student council. He didn’t put up any posters or advertise his position, but he still got the position. Maimon states he plans to do “whatever people tell him to do.”
Eliyahu Khaimov, junior, and Elianna Rothstein, junior, campaigned for the role of Secretary, whose role is to take notes during student council meetings. Khaimov promised he would use his position in the student council to influence decisions regarding popular issues, such as the bathroom keys and limited use of the basketball court. Rothstein promised in her speech to keep all her notes organized using a Google Drive system and to keep the student body informed about important decisions. Rothstein ended up winning and states she is “excited to work with the rest of the council and help organize meetings to get things done.”
Izzy Hoffman, junior, ran for Treasurer, whose role is to be in charge of the student council finance and run the Snack Shack (the student snack store), unopposed. Though it was just Hoffman running for the role, he still put effort into campaigning. Hoffman promised to “Make Snack Shack Great Again ” and have the Snack Shack accept credit cards if he were elected. “I think it’s a great opportunity to really be involved with the decision-making of the school,” he said.
Three people ran for the position of Vice Chair, whose role is to assist the Student Activities Chair and the Agenda Chair, Keira Birk, sophomore, Steven Rolan, sophomore, and Ben Weichbrodt, junior. Birk stated in her speech that she already had a lot of experience from her time in the position of Freshman Representative and that she had great communication skills. Rolan promised that he would stand by NYHS’s values, especially the 3 C’s (character, courage, and community), and would implement them into every decision he made. Weichbrodt decided to take an alternate strategy for his campaign. Instead of making specific campaign promises he cracked jokes throughout his speech to gain favor. “It needed to be funny,” said Weichbrodt. When the votes came in, results showed there was a tie between Rolan and Birk. For a final decision, a tiebreaker poll was posted on Schoology, in which Rolan ended up victorious. Rolan says he plans to “reduce student council spending on breakfasts and use that money on more [memorable] activities.”
Ariana Balkany, junior, and Paulina Gamel, junior, both ran for the position of Student Activities Chair, whose role is to plan and facilitate student activities, such as Spirit Week and events. Gamel stated in her speech that she plans to have cereal served for breakfast every day of school and plan a student-wide trip at the beginning of the year to increase student bonding. Balkany stated in her speech that she was not a fan of making empty promises, and instead would simply promise to try her best to represent the people’s interests. Gamel won and said, “I want to make NYHS a community for everyone to enjoy.”
Joe Benoliel, junior, and Zach Saltsman, junior, ran for the position of Agenda Chair, whose role is to plan and facilitate Just Community events, such as town halls. Saltsman promised to always listen to the students and maybe even put up a suggestion box to do so. Benoliel promised in his speech to listen to the students about important issues and organize events, such as town halls, to discuss important issues. Saltsman ended up winning the election. “I’m really happy that the school was in agreement with the things I wanted to see and change,” said Saltsman.
