The Marionette staff feels that Student Council appears to be struggling to fulfill its role of improving student life and promoting school spirit at Harding.

There are a myriad of reasons for this assessment, poor oversight at the spirit assembly and poor communication are among a few, that prompted the Marionette staff to discuss what they feel to be problems with simple solutions.

Let’s get the milk-chugging contest out of the way first. The chug is a simple competition of speed, stamina and lactose tolerance. Its rules are as follows: one student is chosen from each grade and given a half gallon of milk to drink. Whoever finishes drinking all of their milk first — without throwing up — wins the event for their grade.

While no real confirmation exists, we believe that the rules were made this simple so a winner would be easily decided. However, it would seem STUCO has forgotten their own rules completely after they announced Teraj Booker a winner.

Review the evidence which we have gathered and decide for yourself, but consider this the Marionette Staff’s formal demand for the retraction of Teraj’s victory, and that the title be returned solely to junior Justin O’Toole.

Alas, our woes do not end there. This one instance merely serves as an effective anecdote for STUCO’s poor judgment.

The staff reported on several positive initiatives earlier in the year. Most notable of these was the suggestion box that was put up to receive student input. STUCO brought this idea about at the beginning of the year, but projects like these have lulled or stopped completely. Where are the positive Post-Its in the bathrooms? Did STUCO stop caring, were they disappointed in the student response? No one seems to know.

What’s worse is that nothing has taken the place of these cool, new ideas, which is disappointing because it sends the message that STUCO stopped trying. Establishing traditions takes time, more than a couple of months at the beginning of the school year.

They need to recommit to their push for leadership and interaction with the student body. The suggestion box was a good first effort on STUCO’s part, but they backed down because of a lack of participation and frequent complaints.

Incorporate new ideas into assemblies. There is a place for the familiar, but to those of us who have been around for awhile things like the scavenger hunt get stale without something fresh alongside it. Test the logistics of these ideas too, because no one wants to see the same level of awkward execution that was displayed by musical chairs.

The Marionette wants to see more ideas that focus on school spirit as a whole instead of grade based competitions. They feel that the spirit of competition removes focus from the spirit of the whole school and makes the purpose of spirit week mute. Get students and faculty involved in  competitive, silly events.

The Marionette staff disagrees with how STUCO is operating, but we also wish them success in the future, as the student council is currently in the selection process for freshman recruits. We hope for the best in the future of student government at Harding as well as the current student council.