Mirrors in the Boys Bathroom, A School App, and More at the Forum

With student elections recently coming to a close and with almost double the voter turnout, involvement in student government appears to be at an all-time high. To parallel this, the monthly Student Forum, a democratic tradition at SDA, took place today at lunch and discussion largely revolved around increasing student awareness and participation. There was also concern over the lack of mirrors in the boys bathroom.

The discussion over the absence of silent disco at this year’s Winter Formal quickly escalated to a more general discussion of how to increase student awareness, especially since many students were unaware that a poll about silent disco for the event had even taken place.

Many students claimed the problem lies in the failure of some homeroom teachers to make announcements. “A lot of teachers don’t say anything. They don’t care,” said junior Lauren McCormick.

As an alternative, students proposed the idea of bringing back morning intercom announcements; however many countered with that people can simply not listen. James Bert, a senior and ASB vice president said, “I’ve been doing [homeroom announcements] for four years…It can be heard, but it can also not be listened to.”

“The best thing is to communicate with your homeroom teacher and a lot of students don’t do that,” said senior Rami Ibrahim.

Principal Adam Camacho introduced the idea of creating a “school app” that he said has received wide support from the SDA Foundation. “It’s one efficient, centralized way…to really highlight the stuff that’s important,” he said.

In the meantime, Camacho stated that he will be looking for technicians to help develop the app, something he hopes can be completed soon.

The topic of mirrors in the boys bathrooms (or lack thereof) was also discussed during the forum. Camacho stated that “aluminium reflective mirrors” are a possible alternative to glass mirrors and are more affordable. However, he expressed that vandalism is still a worrisome concern.

“But girls have mirrors,” said senior Stephen Read. “I find that kind of sexist …I think that contradicts what our school stands for.”

Student body president-elect junior Jeremy Romero also brought up a possible reintroduction of the lottery system for admitting new students to SDA. He expressed concern over growing class sizes and the inability to continue renovations indefinitely.

The December forum took place in the music room, as the typical meeting spot (the art room) has been relocated. Future dates and locations will be announced on the Forum Instagram, @sdaforum, their Facebook page, and signs around school.