Throughout this school year, everyone has been doing their extracurricular activities and completing their classes virtually. But since everything is being done through a screen, how has Student Government helped the school? Well, let’s find out from our fellow Student Government members.

Senior and President of Student Government, Ethan Suh, has expressed how they have been working on “continuing final exams, addressing e-learning and how people have adapted.”

They have tackled some of these situations by sending out surveys regarding e-learning and posting on their Instagram, @nilesweststudgov, regarding how some students don’t feel welcomed at Niles West.

“It has come to the attention of Student Government that many students do not feel welcome at Niles West. If you need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to a staff member, peer, or any member of the Student Government and Cabinet. Also, if there are any issues, please inform Student Government to tackle those issues,” Suh said.

Another thing Student Government has been working on is changing the Constitution. Vice President Hita Bharwad has spoken on how the Constitution for Student Government needs “changes that are more relevant” because the “requirements [to become an executive member] are unfair and not very inclusive.” 

In addition, the final exam policy will limit “senior ditch days and require at least an A or a B to not take the final, depending on the type of teacher too,” said Bharwad.

Now regarding the actual club, there have been “a lot more members” which is great because they are “continuing the legacy,” Suh said. 

“A lot of freshmen have joined, so we are pushing them to talk by doing breakout rooms which are more comfortable,” Bharwad expressed. 

On the downside of there being many new members, that means “not many are talking,” Suh said. And it’s especially “hard to include underclassmen since they tend to feel shy.” Because many of the new recruits are freshmen, they probably don’t talk as much because they might not know anyone. It can be intimidating being with people much older than you. Regarding students, it is “not much of a struggle to reach out, but there is “little [they] can do virtually,” Bharwad said. 

Overall, they are “working on students joining them next year and working on improving minority experiences,” Bharwad said.