One small room, a group of committee members, and one constitution. No, this is not the creation of the United States Constitution that our Founding Fathers worked so arduously to create for the benefit of our country. It is the Walpole High School Student Council Constitution Committee. This year, the council faced new challenges when it joined forces with the Walpole High Student Government. Resembling the infamous events that occurred in Philadelphia so many years ago, some members of the council met in Ms. Kerry Mcmenimen’s classroom to discuss solutions to some of the constitution’s flaws. “We are trying [to] streamline the council and integrate class reps into the council.  We wanted to look at what these officers actually do,” Ms. Mcmenimen, or most commonly known as Ms. Mac, said about the Committee’s purpose and objectives.

As a result of the Committee, several changes to the Walpole High School Student Council Constitution have been proposed and may be implemented next year. These modifications include the termination of some Student Government positions—an action that, if completed, is predicted to cause little change in the dynamics of the council as a whole. Nevertheless, it is yet another decision the council must consider in order to perfect the system of electing class representatives.

The Constitution Committee, a predominantly student-populated group, consists of volunteer student council representatives as well as their adviser, Ms. Mac. The Committee meets to analyze the pros and cons of the constitution in hopes that the discussion will procure solutions to the problems at hand. After compiling a list of proposed changes and amendments, the list is then sent to the entire council at the following meeting for approval, where the majority takes the vote. The group does not meet regularly; on the contrary, it assembles only when the need arises.

This year, the Student Council was faced with a dilemma that made the need for a Constitution Committee imperative. With the addition of the Student Government, the Student Council, or “Stu-co” as it has come to be known, grew drastically in size. When asked about the effects of adding these officers to Stu-co, Ms. Mac said, “[things are] excellent, as they say ‘ the more the merrier.’” However positive the outcome, the council still gained about 12 new members, as each grade elects four students to fill each government position—president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. This got the council thinking about the roles of each student officer. The general opinion of the Committee was that during freshman and sophomore year, there are few opportunities for the treasurers and secretaries to fulfill their obligations, resulting in the popular belief that the positions should be cut. With no specific responsibilities, some officers were confused as to how they differed from any other Stu-co representative. The council knew it needed to find a solution that would incorporate the class officers and Stu-co representatives alike, which was made a reality by the Constitution Committee.

After just one meeting, the group proposed changes that will be voted on at the next Stu-co meeting. “Currently we are considering getting rid of the positions of treasurer, secretary, and vice president for the freshmen and sophomore classes and just having co-presidents and Stu-co reps,” Ms. Mac said. These modifications are not definite and will be among the many topics that must be addressed at the next Stu-co meeting.

Like all infamous documents before it, the Walpole High Student Council Constitution has to be amended as governments progress. Thanks to the Constitution Committee, the council may be able to integrate student officers and Student Council representatives more efficiently, resolving the issues that were just recently brought about as a result of welcoming class officers into the council. Although nothing is definite, the committee hopes that the rest of the council will be willing to adopt their modifications. With the changes, the members hope the newly modified constitution will support Walpole High, the Student Council, and the rest of its student body for years to come.