“Politics: is the process and method of making decisions for groups. Although it is generally applied to governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions including corporate, academic, and religious.” It is therefore presumed that SCHOOL politics is the process and method by which student leaders make proposals and decide on behalf of the student body all in consideration of one thing — the students welfare.

Student politics and governance gave the students a chance to be directly involved in the policy making of the school or the academe. Student leaders were selected and elected by their co-students from election at large. However, there are instances that the school administration can set guidelines as to how the student leaders will be selected.

In any case, like any other scenario in the classroom or the school premises and compound, being as student leader engaged in school politics will give the students the high and low of their student political life.

In an article published by the Tristan Jepson Foundation called Survive the Law, the pros and cons of student politics were identified:

PRO’S:

1. You’ll get to meet a lot of people in the school. It is an opportunity to establish good ties and relationship with them as they will be the ones whom will help you lead effectively. Election is one of the nerve wracking activities in school especially if you are running for a certain position.

2. Shyness disappears, and confidence starts its peak and build up. The campaign period is responsible for instilling confidence in you and believing that you are capable and fit for the position.

3. You will be aware of the pressing concerns of the student body, thus being able to discuss them not only during campaign but after the winning moment. By doing so, you’ll see that discussing about current issues and trends won’t be as awkward as before.

4. The TEAM can contribute an added inspiration to every member. The level of passion, desire and motivation is contagious and can be passed on to the whole team, thus creating a unified, coordinated and one solid group with a common mission for the student body.

5. Becoming good sports. To every election there are two sides of the coin, the face of winning and the phase of losing. To wherever the journey leads you, you will gain experience and friends. As they say be “Magnanimous in defeat.”

6. Persistence and perseverance. If one is directly motivated by the end goal and the outcome of every journey, the student politics can be of great contributory factor to becoming focused on your life goals, eventually.

CON’S:

1. Be ready to be scrutinized. If privacy is your game, then student politics is probably not in your track. Elections and even the after-election effect is a way for the opponents to destroy one’s dignity and credibility. Be always ready to defend your self whenever it hits below the belt.

2. The drive to convince them to cast their votes on your favor seems to be a lifetime journey. The hardest part of student politics and election is ensuring that you have their votes enough to make you earn the position you fought for.

3. It will break your heart if someone from your team was not elected.

4. Accept the fact that not all your programs and platforms will come into life. It is still after the final deliberation and decision of the school administration. But what seems to be in favor is you have unlimited chances to propose.

5. Not all ideas you perceived tangible will be born. There are ideas conceived on your time but will be born in some other’s time. Timing is also important.

While there are pros and cons of students elections, its still up to the students to create a positive perspective out of a negative consequence. Student politics and leadership is the only thing in the academe that prepares a student into the scenario of the real world.

Be not afraid to decide to become part of the change in the system of the academe, never mind the losing nor the winning after all “Its better to lose than not to have tried at all.”

By: Aileen L. Lumaban | Teacher III | Limay Nationahl High School | Limay, Bataan