Chapter 57 - 57: Student Council Meeting II
"Mr. Douglas Sheeran and Ms. Serena Maxwell. We all welcome you to the student council as first year representatives. Now that you are part of this body, I would want you to keep in mind that you are now role models to the other students in this school. Further, you will also represent our school in different occasions in the future. So, I hope that you will exemplify excellence in your behavior at all times, or at least when in public." Geoffrey said as he looked at Serena and Douglas.
Serena, seeing that Geoffrey was being professional, nodded. Douglas also nodded his head.
"Now, being part of the council is a privilege as it gives us the opportunity to serve our fellow students. At the same time, we may use this experience as a steppingstone for wider prospects, and even as a training ground for our future roles in accordance to our position in society. However, with this privilege comes certain responsibilities that we must fulfill." He paused for effect, seeing everyone nodding, he continued.
"The student council takes on a wide range of responsibilities but mainly, it can be divided into two parts. The internal and the external. Internally, meaning in campus, we are tasked to organize student activities like, school dances, intramurals, assemblies, and the likes. While externally, we are expected to initiate community outreach representing the goodwill of our school. Sometimes, we conduct fundraising movements, but this is only used as a last resort and is highly discouraged. The school gives the body a certain monetary budget to be used for our projects, and they expect us to work on that. This also serves as good training for us, because in the real world, the funds are not free flowing and so, we must spend the budget wisely. Treasurer Thompson, please kindly inform the council of this year's budget."
"For this year, the annual budget is at 250 grand. Last time, we spent 5 grand for the materials given to the students to help them review for the preliminary exam. Thus, we only have 245 left." Mary announced.
"Thank you for that. Now, let us talk about the structure of our council and the roles of each member. The council is composed of 10 members, 4 each from the seniors and sophomores, and 2 from the freshmen. As you can notice, we are also equally divided by gender. To be considered to become part of the council, one must be one of the top performing students in their year. Usually, the one to get first place will be the first to be considered. The results are also usually consistent. That is why most of those who were members from their 1st year continue to become members until they graduate. Vice President Artemis, if you will." Geoffrey said asking Artemis to continue.
"So as our President was saying, members are selected by their overall school performance. At the beginning of the year, the first 8 members will be the top two performing male and female students of their batch. Then, on the first meeting, an election among members will be conducted. The President becomes responsible for the overall direction of the council. He will represent us when talking to the school dignitaries. The vice president takes his responsibility when he is otherwise indisposed. Thus, when the president is busy in external matters, I am the one who will be heading the meetings. The Secretary is responsible for writing and keeping the minutes. This is a very important role as she holds the proof of all our agreements and what not in our meetings. Then we have our treasurer who keeps check of our funds. Don't try to hold her for ransom though, she doesn't really have the money." Artemis jokingly said as he chuckled and continued.
"Now, the batch representatives' role is to divulge information and at the same time, gather the sentiments and opinions from their batchmates regarding the internal tasks of the council. Basically that's a quick summary of everything." Artemis finished.
"Thank you for that Vice President. In addition, I would also include that your responsibilities do not end there. You must also join the council in our outreach activities, unless in cases where there are unforeseen emergencies. Everyone is also expected to actively participate in discussions, school activities, and express their opinion regarding topics that needs approval in the future. Our council exercises democracy, and majority wins through voting is how we decide on matters. Now Secretary Murphy, please inform them of our list of activities for this year." instructed Geoffrey.
"Thank you, President Williams. Based on our previous Meetings, we agreed that for this year, we will have 5 major activities. Internally, we will have 3 celebratory balls, which are, the founding anniversary ball scheduled this December, the Spring ball in March, and the year end ball in June. We will also have the intramurals set to begin in February and end sometime in April. Externally, we will have an outreach program with an orphanage wherein we will be visiting them for at least twice a month for the rest of the school year. Other activities would include providing materials for the students to help them review for the coming exams. But we can not add more because of budget constraints." Diana summarized.
"Okay, so I hope that that is clear to our new members. Next Sunday, we will start our outreach by visiting the orphanage to get us acquainted with the place and the children. We do not have a detailed plan on what to work with in our outreach, but the main purpose is to help the older children in the orphanage to cope with feelings of insecurity. As of now, we will guise our purpose by sharing our knowledge. However, I am not sure about their academic prowess, so let us discuss about it more after our first visit."
Everyone in the room nodded in understanding.
Geoffrey continued talking about other miscellaneous matters which was of no concern to Serena. Thus, she started observing everyone in the room instead.
Serena looked at Geoffrey who was still all seriousness as he spoke. She must say that he must really like his own voice. But joking aside, he was really good at taking the lead role. He was well-organized, responsible and passionate about his position. As expected of the male lead.
"Alright, are there any questions? Specially from our new members?" Geoffrey asked.
Douglas raised his hand, "I just have a question, I heard from Representative Leonard that he has been doing voluntary works for the council since he was a freshman. So, can other students participate in the council?"
"Yes and no. Not everyone can just join us in the meetings. However, they can volunteer to help us in our other work. Like for example, in preparing for the events. A member might be tasked to take responsibility in picking and preparing the food for the event. Now, for this case, he/she may ask his/her friends for help in selecting a reputable caterer. Or for example in decorating the place. Something like that. Another is through our outreach program. A student may volunteer to join us, or we may ask them to aid us. The condition to be eligible is that he/ she must be within the top 5 of his/ her respective class in terms of the latest examination result. The reason is to ensure that the student can do voluntary work and maintain their academic standing at the same time. In fact, for our outreach, I already received some names of students who wishes to join us."
"I see… uh, what is the schedule for our outreach again? thank you"
"It is scheduled on Sunday next week. We will meet here at 8 in the morning as the school will be providing us with escorts, and if needed, service. We are expected to arrive there by 9 in the morning, and we will be back in school by 5pm."
Douglas nodded in understanding as he said thank you.
"alright, how about the others?" Geoffrey asked. When no one spoke he said, "Since there are no more questions, then the meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone and see you next week."
As everyone were collecting their things before leaving, Geoffrey glanced at Serena. He was thinking if he should apologize for his conduct yesterday. Although he does not see her in a positive light, he would still be seeing her regularly and on some occasions even work with her. Also, she was his intended, and though he only sees that arrangement as purely political, in the near future, he will most probably be spending the rest of his life with her.
However, his pride got in the way. Why should he lower his head first? Although he was in the wrong, she too reprimanded him. Anyway, it seems like she was not that petty to hold what happened against him. She was polite through-out the meeting. Therefore, he decided that will just leave the status quo be.
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TBC