The students who answered “no” argue that the student body can suggest ideas, but nothing suggested is actually carried out or even taken into account. Another frequent argument is that the administration does not care about what the student body has to say. There was even one person who stated that they feel like the Student Council is like a puppet to the administration.

However, when there are decisions to be made by the school council, a few students have stated that it is only the close friends of the people in the council that do get a say. Students even stated that only a few selection of students get their voices heard. On top of that, some students even believe that administrators make up reasons not to give certain students the help that they need. Other voices of the student body claim that while changes have been made, not all of them benefit the students. Some students actually have the feeling of being totally out of the loop as changes, like Edficiency, are introduced out of the blue, and the students are expected to go along with it.

The 36 percent of students who answered “yes” have stated their reasoning in a few different ways. One argument is that changes are made for the well being of the students. The students believe that the body does have a voice, though not one well heard. Additionally. students insist that there are opportunities to speak up, but not everyone may know about them. Another common argument is that the administrators make decisions for the student body’s best interest.

Principal Mr. Gruetzmacher gladly responded to a few questions regarding the subject. He cleared up some of the few more complained about changes, such as exam schedule changes and Edficiency. With the exam changes, it all was worked around the teachers and who actually gives exams. Open lunch was an unfortunate loss but does not fit into the schedule. Edficiency started as an attendance tool.

Although, the common complaint is that Lancer block has become much more strict because of it, the whole goal between Edficiency and the previous version were both created to regulate student movement. Gruetzmacher has admitted that Edficiency is “about a five”, as it is still new. Mr. Gruetzmacher has admitted that he and the whole administration board do in fact listen to students, but they cannot always change what has been decided.

While there is a silent debate of the voice of the student body, each person does have their opinion and the administrative board does have their reasons. There is a need for better communication between the administrative board and the students, which will hopefully lead to more compromises in the future.