Sourna Daneshvar Jr.: First of all, congratulations on being the President and Vice- President respectively. To start, how would you describe each other?
Student Council (StuCo) Vice-President Charlie Victor (’18): I would say that [StuCo President] Ayse [Yucesan] is focused, more than anything. I think she is very able to apply herself efficiently to get the best possible things for the students.
Yucesan: I would say [Victor] is an amazing presence to be around with his positivity and his constant desire to improve everything around him and make sure everyone has the appropriate spirit to continue on in whatever activity it is. And I would say the one thing that makes me happiest working with him is knowing that everyone will be comfortable going and speaking with him because they don’t just seem him as a member of the council that they have to listen to, they see him as a friend, which is going to be a key part of ensuring our success on the council this year.
SD: How do you two intend to lead the Council?
CV: Dictatorship, full dictatorship, actually would be ideal.
AY: That is a joke, just to get that on record. I would say we are both determined, dedicated to the council, we’re both very passionate, we do have very different personalities and that is going to play in our leadership this year as a team. I feel like I’m going to make sure the behind-the-scenes, little details, everyone’s aware of their roles, everyone has been delegated an important role. I feel like [Victor] being the spirited and the kind, funny person that he is going to be an important role of keeping up the morale and making sure everyone is enthusiastic and passionate – not just the members, but the entire student body is passionate and enthusiastic about the work of the council.
CV: And another things is, as [Yucesan] said, our personalities are quite different, but something we both share is we do want to have fun and in Student Council meetings we’re going to try and make them seem light and fun and all school events, anything that’s assemblies, spirit week, all of that, we just want to make sure it’s as good an experience as possible.
SD: What is the role of the Student Council?
AY: I think when the administration makes decisions or changes are made in the High School, it’s often thought that the students really don’t have a say. And I think the presence of the Student Council allows for the students to be represented. Even though it might not seem like it in certain aspects. The past few years the Student Council’s role was to ensure that the changes that actually affect a student’s high school experience are made with the student’s best interest, and the best way the administration can know those interest is through the student body. So, we are just the bridge through which the students can communicate any thoughts they want to the administration and to ensure that they have the best experience they can have.
CV: I think a lot of times when decisions are made in the High School – the administration likes numbers, they like testing to say overall people seem happy, but I think at the same time I think they forget that what we really want they don’t even take that into account and I think it is our job to just be there and when we can have our input and say, “listen, this is actually what we want. Yes, all that’s important, but maybe you should do something that is popular for the students.”
SD: What’s your favorite color?
CV: Let’s go for a mix of magenta and blue. Call it fuchsia.
AY: I like all colors because I don’t like to discriminate.
CV: This so sums us up, fuchsia and all colors, I refuse to choose.
SD: What do you like to do in your free time?
CV: I would say kicking back with some Netflix.
AY: I’d say I enjoy going to cycle classes and I recently started kick-boxing, so those kind of energy releasing activities.
SD: So if anyone tries a coup…
AY: I’m ready with my six kickboxing moves.
CV: And I will support from the side.
AY: Charlie will destroy you with his words.
SD: What should underclassmen know about you?
CV: That we’re here to have a good time. I think I talked about this a little bit in my speech about how I think that both of us are pretty approachable and that’s what we are really going to focus on is to make sure we are open and that it’s not just us running things so anyone, regardless of grade, should come talk to us, message us on Facebook. If they have a good idea it should be heard as soon as possible.
AY: Not only are we here to have a good time, but we’re here to make sure they have a good time. Both of us, we can both promise this with infinite guarantee, anyone who comes to us and says, “Hey, I’m so and so, I’m a freshman, I’m a sophomore, I had a question about this, or I have a concern about this,” we will always be 100 percent welcoming and 100 percent accepting of what they have to say because we don’t see ourselves as an older kid or someone who’s not willing to talk to an underclassmen, we see ourselves as two people who enjoy making new friends and who are always willing to be open.
SD: What do you hope your legacy is?
AY: We had a good time.
CV: We had a good time. No big mistakes is really the goal, if I’m being honest, nothing embarrassing and just honestly I think the best legacy is to have everything go very smoothly. In a way no legacy is the best legacy. As long as we’re not known for some big mistake, I’m happy.
AY: I do think one big change is by the time we leave as seniors when someone gets asked, “What does the Student Council actually do?” I want the answer to be something beyond party-planning. I want them to be able to say “Oh I attended a meeting with the Student Council last month actually and we talked about how much better advisory is.” Or, “Oh, I saw an e-mail from the Student Council about what they’ve done to the curriculum this year or how we have teacher feedback forms and how teachers are so much better.” So Student Council working on school related issues, rather than just having events.
