Neil joined not in eighth grade like he intended because of course, Covid happened. But we don’t need one more of the “I squirted super glue in my eye once and almost became blind” incidents or falling off a cliff while hiking (how can that ever happen to someone, I wonder) or breaking five bones at a time. Just chaos, chaos!

He wishes he had the attention span to read more but ‘reels have ruined him’. Ironically, he can also stare at a wall when he is bored. It is hard to believe, but he can make baskets 10 times in a row but DP killed his opportunity to be in the basketball team. Also, the sports teams he supports in all of these always lose. 

Joining Woodstock wasn’t how he expected it to be: he hoped it to be more liberal, outgoing and engaged with the community outside of the community, which is returning now but wasn’t there due to the effects of the pandemic. Woodstock is a school with its own identity, and it should be maintained is how he feels: he wants new students joining to see Woodstock the way it has been. Changes for the better are necessary, but the identity of Woodstock should be maintained.

Talking about community engagement, he feels that our interaction with the community around us is limited; we need to extend our reach beyond the schools and organizations we are working with. While interactions with the community can be both positive and negative, we still learn from it is what he feels. It is also important for initiatives at school to follow through. He mentioned how the NHS didn’t follow through with most of its initiatives, like the Peer Support System, and that is what he wants to ensure doesn’t happen. He also talked about how  NHS parades and events increased the school spirit, and more of those events need to take place.

In his speech, he mentioned how he wants to improve the sports culture and improve the facilities. Only having the right facilities doesn’t significantly improve the situation. He agreed and said that there was a time when Woodstock was so big on sports and other activities, which has changed due to the rigorousness of the curriculum we follow. Also, there is a lack of sports coaches and even teachers in general. While basketball and football are primary sports here, other sports facilities are also not maintained. This is something that he wants to work on if elected.

He talked about creating more leadership opportunities for everyone, to which I asked what he felt about new students not being able to apply for most leadership opportunities. He said that he was once a new student and feels it’s important to settle in. However, CFI allows new students to apply for many positions every year and that’s something that can be done for many initiatives as it gives us ideas to work on and take different effective approaches. Additionally, he said that “We can also expand leadership opportunities and bridge the gap between the student body and StuCo using social media as a tool to communicate what is happening at StuCo, along with other media channels as it is more accessible.”

If a group of students alleges discrimination and bias in the selection process for school leadership positions, including StuCo, he will try to implement a filtering system to reduce biases in the selection process to a minimum. Having interview rounds and ensuring a staff member is present will ensure the bias is at a minimum, and it will also ensure that the candidates selected are competent for the role, fostering effective communication.

Asking what his strengths are, he said that he feels confident and comfortable communicating and has been here longer where he has seen the mistakes and the progress the past leaders made, allowing him to take on the information and build on it. He would need to improve on already existing initiatives. 

Interviewed by Narayani, co-editor of The Woodstocker