Changes in BHS Leadership: New Constitution, Approach

Berkeley High School’s new leadership director, Christopher Young, and the rest of the Associated Student Body will be implementing changes in the ASB Constitution, and pursuing new goals for Leadership at BHS this year.

The new constitution, drafted by Young and edited by a committee within ASB, will separate the larger body into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. A a part of this process, a variety of new opportunities for leadership are being created within ASB, including new commissioner and representative positions. The charter will also incorporate new election and appointment procedures.

“Within Leadership, [the new structure] will get more students involved, and follow a more democratic process,” said Miya Sommers, ASB Vice President and member of the Constitution Committee. “While making ASB run smoother, it will make leadership more inclusive.”

Though the new constitution is complete, it has not yet been made official. In order for the shift to take place, one eighth of the student body must sign a petition to put the current constitution to majority vote by all students. To that end, leadership is currently collecting signatures to put the constitution on a school-wide ballot. However, until then, ASB will operate on the assumption that the new constitution will be in place soon, and has already accepted applications for many of the new positions included in the new document.

The new commissioner positions include titles such as Commissioner of Clubs and Organizations, Commissioner of Arts and Athletics, and Commissioner of Achievement, and will form part of the executive branch. The House of Representatives, one of the three branches of the ASB, will be expanded under the new Constitution to more fully represent the student body. There will be representatives from each small school as well as larger programs, such as English Language Learners.

According to Young, the House of Representatives will help Leadership to “get more input and hold the executive branch accountable” and to “give students a more unified and stronger voice on some of the more serious issues, like scheduling, advisory and so on.”

“Basically, students will have more power in school and have more influence on what is going on,” said Sommers.
In conjunction with these changes, Young hopes to expand the role of Leadership by organizing a wider range of events on campus and using the new structure changes as a jumping-off point for a shift in ASB’s role on campus.
“[We would like to] shift the general view of what Leadership is on campus to one that is broader, said Young. “The big thing is to make it a more active and wider- serving body... The idea in sum is to start providing more events, socially and service-wise, that appeal to different types of students on campus.”

In the past, ASB Leadership has organized such major events as Spirit Week, school dances, and service events like the Holiday Meal. While these are important events to the school, Young believes there is potential for the ASB to be active in student life in a wider variety of ways.

“One of the main themes of this year in Leadership is thinking beyond traditional events and who is typically served,” he said. In order to do this, ASB will be discussing alternative events and services, as well potentially conducting surveys to gain input from the BHS community at large.

The ultimate goal of this new approach and the changes in the structure of BHS student government are to strengthen Leadership and the BHS as a whole. “I’m hoping that in 3-5 years, student leadership at Berkeley High will be a very strong force in shaping school culture towards the positive, towards all the great diversity that we have on campus, and really bringing that piece that I think is lacking towards the bigger school goals,” said Young.