Michelle Santos

Staff Writer

Few Latin students really know what’s going on in the new council of community service. We’ve all seen Yulissa and Camden announce their head positions on the council and introduce their idea of service activity of the week, but what else has changed and how did this council come into form?

Student government last year felt the need to add branches of government in order to involve more students and organize student life better. Community service, being a large part of Latin life, was of course included in student government with Mr. Cronister, Ms. Bunger, and Mr. Carpenter as the teachers in charge of working with students to use this branch to the best of its ability. Applications were available towards the end of last year and Camden and Yulissa were selected to be the heads. The greatest difference between how community service is this year versus last, is that students are really playing an active role and making the hardcore decisions. No longer will Ms. Bunger have to race to get students to sign up for Inspiration Café; students are the ones who will be getting others to sign up. At least, that is the hope. By having this switch in responsibility, more students are able to become involved with community service, and student government in general. That’s the beauty of the new student government set up. If you enjoy service activities or just want to give back to Latin, the community service council meetings are the place to go.

Going to the council meetings will show you a motivated environment with loads of new goals being suggested. This year’s main goal, according to Yulissa and Camden, is to get the word out through announcements and a service event of the week. “[The council is] very devoted to having one service event per week,” an action that hopefully will give students the opportunity to learn about upcoming service opportunities.  “[Council members] are also trying to build partnerships with service oriented clubs” and work on having them communicate more with the student body so that everyone knows who the club is helping and why. A new aspect that Camden and Yulissa have included this year to accomplish transparency is the three interactions policy. Service clubs, or anyone who wants to hold a fundraiser at Latin, must have Latin students come in contact with those they are raising the money for at least three times. This includes speakers. By making this personal connection, the Latin community will become more aware of the problems we’re hoping to fix. The council hopes this new rule will  make students more inclined and excited to do service, since the students will actually see who or what they are helping.

So get the word out! Come to a meeting, talk to Yulissa, Camden, or me. Look at the service board outside the upper school office and join in on the action! This is a place where upper and lower classmen can come and make a change, even if they aren’t affiliated with a club. Take action, take responsibility, and be a leader through community service council.