There was a new face behind the desk at the Byram Hills Central School District’s latest Board of Education meeting: an ex officio student member.
The Student Government election at Byram Hills High School was held in early October. Now, the executive cabinet officers, Cam Silverstein, president; Dylan Gasch, vice president; Ben Arnold, secretary; and Sophie Cai, treasurer; are taking turns serving as the non-voting student member of the board under a new state law that requires ex officio student representation.
On Oct. 14, Dylan attended his first meeting, where he highlighted fall activities at the high school, including the club fair, spirit week, the homecoming games, and the Student Government election.
“Our goal this year is to share updates about the exciting events and initiatives happening at Byram Hills High School, in the spirit of increasing communication, transparency and collaboration with the Board of Education,” he said at the meeting. “We’re excited to represent the student body and serve as a bridge between students and the board.”
Dylan, who shared a few thoughts during the meeting, called it a good experience.
“I was nervous at first, a little bit, but I’m pretty good under pressure and stress,” he said. “I’m a lineman in football, and it’s a very stressful position, so I’m good at dealing with that. In five minutes, I was having fun. I enjoyed listening to them talk and hearing how it was set up.”
The Student Government, elected on Oct. 3, is the second at Byram Hills in about 20 years. Four seniors were elected to the schoolwide positions, and each grade chose class representatives.
Cam said he was honored to be trusted by the whole student body.
“The presidential position was something I was eying since I joined the government last year,” he said. “To have the support of your entire school to run such a crucial position in the government is, honestly, just great. I can't wait to see what the future brings for myself and the government, and I'm just thrilled that my peers allowed me to be the president.”
“It’s definitely an honor,” Dylan said. “I’m going to do my best to make the people happy they voted for me. I’m excited to get into the work and make the school a better place.”
The Student Government will continue the work of last year’s government, which created the successful Winter Dance and the Battle of the Classes, and will work to increase communication between the student body and its elected leaders.
“The government's goal this year is to keep the student body constantly updated on our activities and to present the changes we're making to benefit the school,” Cam said.
The election itself was enhanced from last year to increase student engagement. It lasted two weeks instead of one and featured an election website, candidate town halls and candidate videos that were played in social studies classes. Students again voted in a ranked-choice system, an idea that came last year from senior Alex Lewis.
In addition to the executive cabinet officers rotating through the student position on the Board of Education, Student Government leaders will work with administrators, the Student Advisory Committee and the Grade Activity Boards to represent the voice of the student body.
“We have a very collaborative atmosphere between school administrators, the faculty who work with the Student Government, and the student body to make things happen,” said Byram Hills Assistant Principal Lauren Albert, who advises the government. “The Student Government works with the faculty to carry out their vision and to make the student experience better and increase school spirit.”
“We’re building on the success of last year and creating a new vision of enhanced communication between the Student Government and the student body, and between the Student Government and the community through the Board of Education ex officio members,” she said.
Cam said he is excited to see the cabinet officers’ impact at the board meetings. “Our view provides an alternative perspective to the Board of Education, which can be very useful not only to the board but also to the government,” he said.
Student Government is a great leadership opportunity for Byram Hills students.
“The students learn so much about organizing, collaborating, getting students excited about different schoolwide events and caring about the school community,” Ms. Albert said. “They are learning how to use their voice to create change.”
In addition to the four executive officers, the government includes class representatives. They are seniors Nathan Khaldarov and Jeremy Loots; juniors Theo Lashmet, Aveer Saxena, Zabelle Shil, and Thomas Vataj; sophomores Connor Fitzpatrick, Paloma Hussain, Gabriela Olego and Flavie Rondeau; and ninth graders Rajan Bobra, Maya Cohen, Jack McLaughlin and Mallory Yahr.
