WATSONVILLE — In traditional school elections, the entirety of the student body makes check marks next to the name of their preferred candidate, thus choosing their leaders in a popular election.
But such elections offered neither a realistic look at “real world” elections nor a way for the students to get to know their candidates.
Two years ago, Pajaro Valley High School aimed to fix that.
This week, the students held the school’s second annual election convention. The convention started Tuesday with a “primary” election, during which students chose three self-nominated candidates each to run for Associated Student Body (ASB) secretary, vice-president and president.
Those students took questions from a group of student delegates Thursday, who later voted for the winners.
They will take their seats next year.
“This is a way to give the entire student body a voice,” said Pajaro Valley High School Activities Director Julie Brusa Wallace.
Nuria Garcia, 17, said the forum was a way to learn about their potential leaders.
“This is important because it shows who our school’s leaders are and gives us a way to interact with them in a more personal way,” she said.
ASB president Melvin Tangonian said that the election was an important event, since the new leaders will represent the school to the community, and serve as the voice of the student body.
“This way, you get to express who you are,” he said. “Before, student input was not there.”
