Organizing an election for the entire Upper School can be a stressful task full of uncertainty and bending of the rules. Both things were definitely seen during this year’s election process which is why next year, a new set of more clear and concrete rules will be implemented and enforced.

There has always been an established time when the candidates must turn in all of their forms and decide what they’re running for. This year, according to Mrs. Carroll Kelly, there were people switching the positions they were running for last minute so that they could be unopposed or against someone they think would be easy to beat. Although this may be an effective political strategy, it’s not exactly playing by the rules and has caused a lot of stress for Mrs. Kelly, who has to organize and keep track of the entire election. This is where the first change in the rules comes in. In order to make the election as fair and organized as possible, “all the candidates will have to meet here [Mrs. Kelly’s room] at 3:30 p.m. on the final day that they can declare candidacy and […] officially say what they’re running for in front of everyone else,” says Mrs. Kelly. She adds, “They [the candidates] need to look at the candidate sheet and check off on their name to make sure there’s no confusion, number one, and number two, that people aren’t waiting to see what positions are unopposed and or who they would be running against that they think would be easier to beat.”

Another problem that is seen often during MCDS elections is confusion surrounding the position and roles of the positions. For the entire Upper School in the Student Government there is a President, Vice President, Program Director, Public Relations Director, and two class representatives from each grade. It can get a bit confusing because each grade has the same positions, which only handle things pertaining to the grade while the Student Government deals with the high school as a whole. Mrs. Kelly recognized that people were getting confused with all of these positions so next year the candidacy form is going to be much clearer and easily comprehensible. “I’m going to make a place where you have to circle what position you’re running for and whether you’re running for your class council or running for the whole school,” explains Mrs. Kelly.

Along with the confusion about the positions came confusion about the sponsors of each position. “I’m gonna make it more clear that I’m the person that signs for Student Government, wherever it says program sponsor and then the class sponsors are the people who sign for the class council […] This year I could see that there was some confusion there, it wasn’t exactly clear but now that I’ve seen that mistake I can clarify it for next year,” assures Mrs. Kelly.

These rules will clarify the entire election process for everyone so that the forms can be filled in on time with no confusion or excuses for not getting them in. They will also hopefully lead to a more honest, equal, and organized race for next year, making the entire election process better overall.