It’s election season again! Bronx Science will be holding Student Organization (S.O.) elections for the 2023 school year on April 7th, 2022. There are five positions to fill: S.O. President, Vice President, and Secretary, as well as Senior Council President and Junior Student Leadership Team (JSLT). In a long-awaited return to in-person campaigning, this election season saw a record breaking number of candidates enter the primary round. 

The primaries were held on February 17th, 2022, during which  the Senate narrowed the field down to  three candidates per position. Importantly, the candidates also met for a debate after school on March 31st, 2022, one week before the polls opened. Are you not sure who to vote for, or even who’s running? You’re in the right place as we talked to all the candidates about their motivations, qualifications, and big ideas for the school. 

S.O. President

Elizabeth Matta (@lilimatta4sopresident)

“I really love creating events that help our school,” said Elizabeth (Lili) Matta ’23, “and I decided to run for President because not only am I excited about my initiatives, but also I would make a good leader for our school’s Cabinet.” Elizabeth discussed how the experience she gained as a Senator, Alternate Senator, and member of Cabinet allowed her to be a part of creating events at Bronx Science and become “familiar with all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.” Elizabeth also discussed her experience interning for Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright and Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney. “Those experiences helped me to develop my skills working with adults which is important as the S.O. President is constantly communicating with adults in and out of school,” she said.

Talking about her platform, Elizabeth stressed that “there are changes and improvements I want to make to our school based on what I encountered.” These include a college essay help program and a “train buddy” program for interested ninth graders to be paired together to take the train home. Elizabeth has also proposed improving the cafeteria such as by creating a “Grab and Go” lunch station and adding more recycling bins. Elizabeth also wants to create a student mental health committee to plan events concerning mental health and to suggest reforms for the school to improve students’ mental health.   

Sudiptha Paul (@sudforsopresident)

“I was inspired to run because there are important stories out there,” said Sud Paul ’23, a candidate for S.O. President. “There are stories that need to be heard and stories that I’ve been attempting to bring to the forefront as the current S.O. Secretary. However, these stories need real coverage and a spotlight. I know the position of the Presidency is one that can bring unprecedented coverage to the average kid of Bronx Science.” “I’ve chaired many events including Zen Den, Fresh & Fringle, Sophomore Social, the Opportunity Board and have overseen so many more,” he said. “I have the experience of talking to and listening to the voices of a diverse group of people at Bronx Science, and I think the Presidency will be the ultimate testament to see what else I can show others.”

Sud’s campaign platform is geared towards greater transparency from the S.O. through the implementation of  a master Cabinet Calendar which will be  available to the student body, as well as promoting diversity, environmentalism, and athleticism. “The changes I want to see are ones that the student body wants to see,” he explained. “People are here to have fun with and grow with events that are new and different.” 

S.O. Vice President

Kazuma Morris (@kazmorrisforvp)

“The joy that I was able to bring out of students though my initiatives in Cabinet was so rewarding,” said Kazuma Morris ’23 on his campaign for S.O. Vice President. “All the hard work is worthwhile with all the support I get from the student body. Therefore, I wanted to stand for something larger.” Kazuma also cited his friendship with Presidential candidate Sud Paul as a motivation behind his run. “I feel like he [Sud] deserves everything in the world and working with him next year would be better than any promotion in elected positions,” he explained.

Kazuma said he wanted his platform to focus on helping students deal with their mental and physical health so that they can better focus on what to do in school. “I’ve found a passion in student leadership and it has been so fulfilling. I want to take my experiences and inspire other students to find their hidden passions in this school,” he said. “I don’t want students to feel that they are struggling and therefore not reaching their full potential.”

Andrew Morrissey (@andrewmorrisseyforvp)

“Being involved in cabinet has given me a greater insight about what goes into many of the events that the school takes on,” said Andrew Morrissey ’23, “and becoming Vice President would allow me to further my involvement in these initiatives.” Andrew talked about how being a student at Bronx Science had given him the opportunity to communicate with his peers about what they felt was needed and how to achieve those goals. Andrew also discussed how the Vice President’s leadership roles on the Nutritional Health Council and the Advisory Board come with “a great deal of responsibility that I know I’m ready to take on with my platform as well as my experience in the S.O.”

Some major elements of Andrew’s platform include creating a Composting Program, expanding the school’s Cultural Day to a Cultural Week, facilitating a Bronx Science Lock-in (sleepover), planning an annual Wellness Day, and promoting inclusivity through student-made class contracts. “One of my more fun events is a Bronx Science Lock-in, or sleepover,” Andrew explained, “where students can spend the night at Bronx Science and have fun with their friends in a safe and responsible way.”

Andrew also wants to allow students to further educate themselves on how to maintain mental and physical wellness by inviting professionals into the school to teach students how to achieve  a healthy lifestyle at Bronx Science, and hopes to amplify inclusivity at Bronx Science by requiring teachers to create a list of classroom norms and policies that seek to ensure respect for all Bronx Science students.

Roni Shaman (@roni4vp)

“I know this is incredibly corny but Bronx Science really has some of the brightest, funkiest, and most genuine people and my biggest inspiration is them,” said Roni Shaman ’23, on why he was running for S.O. Vice President. “Bronx Science has more Nobel laureates in our history than in many countries. We’re a completely crazy, wacky, smart group of people, and I just wanted to spend my last year making Bronx Science a better home.” Roni discussed how he saw the job of the Vice President is to make the S.O. cabinet an effective and fun organization. Over the past two years, he has accrued the knowledge of the inner workings of the S.O. in order to do that. Roni also mentioned his leadership experience outside of school, such as as the regional head of his youth movement.

“The central idea of my platform,” Roni explained, “is informing and empowering Bronx Science students.” Roni talked about wanting to bring more of the Health curriculum to ninth graders and sophomores through physical education and advisory lessons, as well as advocating for Health to be a ninth grade course. He’s also planning on expanding Leave Your Mark and having a compost bin in the cafeteria, organized in conjunction with the Nutritional Health Council. 

“Apart from that,” he said, “I have a number of events planned for those who want to be more politically active, including a political engagement event, participatory budgeting, and a get out the vote and voter registration planned. Finally, I’m planning on increasing access to the Holocaust Museum and creating an annual Holocaust survivor speaker so we can hear first person testimony.”

S.O. Secretary

Andrew Friedland (@andrewforsecretary)

“My inspiration for running for S.O. Secretary is the opportunity to improve the community and act upon all of the ideas I’ve come up with,” said Andrew Friedland ’24. “I specifically chose to run for Secretary because it would allow me to work closely with the President, VP, and Cabinet to make my dreams, and theirs, come to life.”

Andrew cited his experience as a member of the Senate for the past two years, as well as a current member of Bronx Science’s Varsity Public Forum debate team and track team to prove his S.O. potential. “These experiences have taught me not only how to be a good teammate,” he said, “but also a strong leader.” 

Andrew framed his platform around raising school spirit at Bronx Science, as well as making the school environment more comfortable for everyone. “I plan to create numerous events to give our community more time to socialize, make new friends, and feel at home, he explained. “As the S.O. Secretary, I’ll be able to chair these events and work closely with the S.O. to foster a more comfortable, accepting, and fun Bronx Science.”

Hayden Klinger (@haydenforsosecretary)

“I have always felt that I am a natural leader, and the times when I feel most comfortable are when I am chairing an event,” said Hayden Klinger ’24 on his run for Secretary, “and as a member of S.O. cabinet, I have chaired many events and put countless hours into the role.” Hayden said that he felt the roles of President and Vice President to be reserved to rising seniors (although there are no such official requirements) and so chose to run for Secretary. Hayden also spoke of his relationship with Presidential candidate Sud Paul ’23, who was his official mentor within cabinet this year. “I worked closely with him many times and feel like I have a very good sense of the position and responsibility,” he said. 

Hayden’s platform focuses on creating and promoting new events for the student body. “I want to create changes that will make people’s lives easier and more fun, and I believe major events allow for lots of fun and a break from stress.” Hayden’s proposals include a ‘Fresh and Fringle’ for all grades, more spirit weeks and pep rallies, a more reliable system of maintaining menstrual products, available information on how to take a drivers test, and working with department heads to encourage all teachers to post assignments on Google Classroom. 

Evan Li (@evanforsosecretary)

“The secretary position is more tailored towards organization and supporting the other positions and members of cabinet,” said Evan Li ’23, “I found that to be best suited for my goals as I can be involved in important conversations pertaining to students and our school. Understanding and listening to what the various SO boards and councils have to say gives me a broader understanding of what our school is missing and what needs to be addressed.”

Evan is a current senator and a member of the Varsity Public Forum Debate team. He mentioned his experience in administration organization as well as with representing people in the school and seeing the way the cabinet runs. 

“I built my platform around Access and Information,” Evan explained. “ I want to organize events that specifically connect underclassman and upperclassmen (going beyond the Big Sibs program), widen the school’s resources for standardized testing, such as regents, SATs and AP exams, and petition for education on racial and gender equity as well as for more town halls on mental health and stigma.” Evan argued that his proposals would give agency to students both academically and socially. “As secretary, my job would mainly be to take minutes of various SO board and council meetings,” he said, “which means I have the opportunity to listen to the opinions of students and staff, which would coincide with my platform as both of them relate to circulation of information.”

Senior Council President

Anny Chen (@annyseniorcouncilpresi)

“As we’ve come back from the pandemic, I had the opportunity to rekindle old friendships. I’m simply proud of how strong the class of 2023 is and how unique they are,” said Anny Chen ’23. On her run for Senior Council President, she said, “I want the best for them. I want to give them a senior year that will make up for our lost sophomore year… and I’m very grateful for their support throughout this process. I’m happy to have made it to general elections, and more than happy to give the class of 2023 the year they deserve.”

Anny mentioned that she’s been her homeroom senator for all three years now, as well as being involved with club leadership and out of school volunteering. Anny described her platform as focusing on “memorable, inclusive, and community-building.” “ For senior year,” she said, “I want to include more events that are feasible and manageable within the year, while maintaining the same integrities and traditions such as Assassins or seasonal events. Under those three traits, I’ve detailed events that pertain to those core values.” As an example, Anny proposed hosting a “token festival” for the Seniors, which would allow them to create small items that they can take home to remember senior year, or give to a friend for memory keeping.

“My platform is specifically tailored towards keeping senior year as fun as possible,” Anny explained, “with engaging events that will give seniors the most out of their last year of high school.”

Kanae Funabiki (@kanae4seniorcouncilpres)

Kanae Funabiki ’23 says she was inspired to run for Senior Council President by a friend who was in S.O. cabinet. “As I watched him help run Bronx Science events and put so much effort into them,” she said, “I felt influenced by and  passionate about  organizing events for this school to become a better place.” Kanae talked about putting an emphasis on having fun events after the college application process to celebrate and look back at the four years of Bronx Science the 12th grade will have spent together. Kanae mentioned her experience hosting events and creating fundraisers for the Japanese Children’s Society as well as her ballet school as qualifying her to be Senior Council President. 

Elisabeth Langford (@lizzie4seniorcouncilprez)

“Since the start of our academic journeys, we’ve always been hearing the number ‘2023’, and this year is finally just around the corner,” said Elisabeth Langford ’23 who is running for Senior Council President. “Throughout these years, we as Bronx Science students have put in immense amounts of hard work and grown close as a community. It’s now our time to come together and celebrate this hard work during our senior year!” 

Elisabeth mentioned her experience on Bronx Science’s varsity swim team, lacrosse team, and treasurer of the business society, as experiences that helped her learn  what it’s like to be a team player and understand what her classmates need in order to have a successful senior year. “I get the challenge of balancing academics with extracurriculars,” she said, “and plan on using this knowledge to incorporate as much senior fun as possible throughout the average school day while also including events for distressing and relaxing.”

Elisabeth described her platform as incorporating “the continuation of current senior traditions along with the addition of new and different senior celebrations.” For example, she has proposed special senior spirit days of the 23rd of each month, a time capsule for us to open when we come back for homecoming, and scavenger hunts leading us through our ninth grade through junior year classrooms. “In terms of distressing and planning for the future,” Elisabeth explained, “I plan to implement a decaf tea cart in the cafeteria for seniors every Tuesday, AKA Tea Tuesdays, a Second Semester Senior celebration, and a contact list of Bronx Science alumni to have available for speaking on their experience at various colleges.” Elisabeth would also like to implement weekly tours of the Holocaust Museum for seniors, as she feels that Bronx Science students are “so fortunate to have a museum in our school on a topic that is so crucial to be educated about, yet so many students leave Bronx Science without even going once.”

JSLT

Sage Blank (@sageblankforjslt)

“I want to make sure that students have a way to be heard by the administration, and to get representation among those who are responsible for creating school rules and policies,” said Sage Blank ’24, who is running to the Junior representative on the School Leadership Team, “JSLT is an important position in bridging this gap between the student body and administration, and so I chose to run for it specifically to help solve this issue.” 

Sage mentioned her experience on the Congressional Debate team as well as the varsity tennis team as “helping me gain a greater understanding of contributing to a team and working hard to meet deadlines.” She also mentioned her on the Advisory Board this past year, which meets monthly with Principal Hoyle and Ms. Cooper, Assistant Principal of Organization, to discuss solutions to different issues around the school, and is a group of around 30 students from all grades. “Having a position on this board has granted me a greater understanding of the issues facing Bronx Science students,” she said. “Through the advisory board, I have learned to speak up for the beliefs of the student body, a skill that is crucial to be  JSLT.”

Sage described her platform as being focused on making Bronx Science “a place that the student body truly loves and feels gives them opportunities to grow and succeed beyond high school.” Her platform ideas include creating a JSLT suggestion box –  a google form that the entire student body has access to. to contribute suggestions or issues that they would like to see brought up at SLT meetings in the future. Sage also wants to focus on increasing community engagement  by working with the surrounding elementary and middle schools to create partnerships to provide SHSAT tutoring, reading buddies, and advisors to younger students. Sage also discussed introducing a Student Led Diversity Initiative to encourage students to share and teach about their culture during important holidays, via Wolverine TV, morning announcements, and the SO Instagram account.

Malena Galletto (@malenagallettoforjslt)

“I have seen too often that student government organizations fail to do what is necessary for the school community. It is very common to see school leadership make changes that are fun or targeted at raising school spirit while leaving the fundamental needs of students unaddressed,” said Malena Galletto ’24, who is running for JSLT. “I decided to run because I wanted to personally advocate for students.”

Malena discussed her membership on the Speech team, which has allowed her to expand and her “ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with other individuals.” “Being in the play and various clubs in the past two years at Bronx Science,” she added, “has exposed me to many different groups of students whom I feel I have formed a close bond with.”

Malena aims to create a network to encourage connections among the Hispanic community here at Bronx Science, including students, staff, and parents, as well as to increase accessibility of SLT meetings and the information discussed in them through distributing meeting notes, times, and locations through social media, Wolverine TV, and “Next Week in Preview” emails. “Overall,” she said, “I want to increase the transparency between students and staff to create a more inclusive school environment.” 

Jessica Singh (@jessforjslt)

“Choosing to run for a student leadership position at Bronx Science stood out to me as soon as I finally got to step foot into the school in person,” said Jessica Singh ’24. “The diverse and amazing group of students with wonderful ideas motivated me to lead. I want to ensure that our ideas are heard. Thus, I chose to run for JSLT. Amplifying the voices of students within adult leadership and the NYC Department of Education means the world to me.” 

Jessica highlighted her experience in student government both in middle school and as a Senator for the past two years. Jessica also mentioned her experience doing the morning announcements each day since we have returned to school, saying it has helped make her well versed in school events and planning.

Jessica called the goals she wishes to implement as JSLT the “Science Alliance,” explaining that her overall goal is to “lower the stress at Bronx Science and add more fun events and access to opportunities.” She plans on tackling issues with cut correction, course selection, COVID protocol, and our bathrooms, as well as adding more calm periods with gym meditations, more food and drink options with the vending machines and dispensers, and adding more booths and tents for students. 

“All these goals would fit under JSLT material as many of them are DOE-specific,” she explained. “For example, the DOE regulates the dispensers and vending machines, so I would bring up this issue with them at our monthly meetings. Adding more lines for entry, better COVID-19 protocols, and better water fountains would also be something they help our school with.”

Are you not sure who to vote for, or even who’s running? You’re in the right place as we talked to all the candidates about their motivations, qualifications, and big ideas for the school.