On December 14, Student Council held an open meeting with Head of School Eric Temple to promote transparency and accountability. All students and faculty were invited to attend the meeting.
In a group discussion between Temple and Executive Council members, Temple addressed the importance of communication between Student Council, the administration and the school community. He, along with Director of the Center for Civic Engagement Christine Godinez Jackson, said he would brainstorm more ways to improve dialogue between Student Council and administrators.
Temple also mentioned an ongoing project the administration has taken on in collaboration with the Communications Department and Student Council. To increase knowledge of equity and inclusion initiatives the school is pursuing, such as the creation of an ethnic studies course and assaultive language policies that will set clear consequences for the use of harmful language (e.g. identity-based slurs), a dedicated Equity and Inclusion Webpage will be created as a space where all diversity, equity and inclusion work will be visible to the school community.
The open meeting ended with a discussion on the student body’s return to campus during the spring semester, with a focus on how the school can encourage students to continue following COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Student council members offered their input on this, advocating for stronger messages from Temple to the school community about the risks and consequences for breaking COVID-19 guidelines. Multiple council members also expressed that there should be harsher punishments for students that put other classmates and community members at risk with their actions.
Attached here are the meeting minutes, written by Student Council Secretary Felix Fein.
