Lucia Mejia

Treasurer

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PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES: Do you have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students (i.e. college fairs, scholarships, and campus policies to promote clubs and student involvement)? If so, explain:

I believe that providing development opportunities for students is vital for not only their academic growth, but also their personal growth. Students need to be further informed on college and career opportunities. I feel that hosting college fairs on our campus will inspire more student initiative because it will be an easily accessible opportunity for them to learn about colleges and what they offer. Currently (that I know of) there is only one college fair offered to all grade levels by our school and it is not during school hours at Kamehameha Schools Maui which is at least an hour away from Lahaina. Another opportunity that may provide more college and career readiness is mentorship programs for all grade levels. If we can establish opportunities for internship or job shadowing students will have firsthand experience which may help them prepare for their future. Thirdly, providing more literacy to financial support, scholarships, etc. is so important to students wanting to apply to college. We need to ensure that financial barriers do not hinder students involvement and ability to attend college. Lastly, promoting clubs and student involvement is so important for our students and campus overall. Implementing campus policies that require or strongly advise in joining a club will encourage involvement. Promoting clubs through events open to anyone whether in the specified club or not may allow for students to get a feel for how the club works and whether they would be interested in joining or not. Leadership workshops also foster skills for students wanting to lead clubs or for students in student council. These are just a couple ideas regarding these subjects on our campus.

EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why?

I believe we need more school events involving our campus life and our community. Lahainaluna has so much pride and I believe we need to strengthen that by providing events that tie our community (whom many are past alumni) and our students together. Looking at schools across the island and on other islands I have garnered ideas that we may possibly want to look into in the upcoming year. For example, King Kekaulike is hosting a Spring Pa’ina in late March. I believe something similar to this would be an excellent event for our campus and community. It could also be a creative fundraising opportunity. I am running for treasurer for our junior class which means I will have the role of our finances for our junior prom. Keeping receipts and records for our purchases and creating fundraiser opportunities are very important steps to ensure a successful junior prom. Not only do I find importance in having a victorious junior prom I also believe it is equally important to create fundraiser opportunities to help finance this event. These are the three main things I deem most important for next year.I would like to make parking more organized and fair to students. Although there is a policy in place to reserve permits for the parking many students do not have a permit. Whether this be because of the cost, not wanting to sign up for one, or not having their license. By regulating that people have parking permits we can ensure safety when parking and driving through our parking lot.

PARKING: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make on the parking and car policy?

I would like to make parking more organized and fair to students. Although there is a policy in place to reserve permits for the parking many students do not have a permit. Whether this be because of the cost, not wanting to sign up for one, or not having their license. By regulating that people have parking permits we can ensure safety when parking and driving through our parking lot.

ENVIRONMENT: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, or safety on campus?

I am very interested in the beautification of our campus. I believe we do have a littering a problem and I aim for that to change. I am not entirely sure on the details but I did sign up to be informed on the creation of the surfriders club (excuse me if I am wrong about the name) which I believe is an environmental club focused on cleaning our community and campus. This club could be amazing for service projects focused on the beautification of our campus and I would love if student council could partner with this club to bring attention to this issue and the importance of it. I don't believe our safety is an issue that should be worried about on our campus considering we have a fairly safe environment. We have an extremely beautiful campus and the way we treat and respect it should be a priority.

PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy?

If elected, I would work towards a balance phone policy that acknowledges benefits and distractions accompanied by phone use in class. While I do understand the value of having access to phones for educational purpose and emergencies, I also recognize that they can be a major distraction, including for myself. However, simply enforcing a stricter policy may not be the best solution, as students may not follow the rules (especially if it is such a sudden jump from no phone policy to a strict one). I feel the best approach is classroom based. Therefore teachers have the flexibility of managing phone use according to their teaching style, student behavior, or lesson plan.

SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches?

Our school lunch is a vital issue that I have closely looked at with another fellow student council member, our grade level president, Brianne Lagazo. This is in response to Bryson Aquino's earlier article in Kalama Hawai'i that discussed our school lunches and what can be done to improve them. Sophomore president Brianne Lagazo and I created a petition (that garnered student council signatures) to ask for more nutritious, bigger portioned, and more appetizing lunch. I hope to delve deeper into this issue this year or in the next year to ensure our students are provided a good lunch!