To the Reader,

My name is Joe Vento, and I’m the President of the Student Union at North Kingstown High School. I have been advocating for issues and expressing grievances on behalf of the Student Body for over three years now. You may have heard of Student Union before, or you may not have. However, I can almost guarantee that you have probably heard of things like school safety measures, the cell phone policy, in-school recycling, and distance learning guidelines. These are just some of the many issues Student Union discusses within our Student Government organization and with our Administration. In fact, many times the High School Administration will act on our suggestions and implement changes that meet our requests. To learn more about Student Union, I encourage you to go to this site:https://sites.google.com/students.nksd.net/north-kingstown-student-union. 

It has been an honor to be the head of this functional and reputable Student Union for two and a half years, but I recognize a change in leadership is necessary. 

I am now a Senior in the Class of 2021, and looking forward to leaving North Kingstown in just a matter of months. I fear that if I were to continue as the President of the Student Union much longer, my own interests combined with the potential danger of “senioritis” would stifle some of the progress the Student Union could be making. That is why I am deciding to step down. 

In order to determine a new leader for the Student Union, which has up to 30 members at any given meeting, an Election will be held on October 29, 2020. This would be the first modern Student Union Election at NKHS. To become an eligible voter, you must have attended at least 2 Student Union meetings (in school or virtual) in your high school career. In order to become an eligible candidate in the election, the guidelines are the same as above. The candidate registration deadline is October 15, 2020.  A “Town Hall” style debate will take place between October 15th and October 29th, where candidates will be asked about their own goals for the Student Union. There are already four candidates in the race. The individual with the most votes will become Student Union President and the individual with the second most votes will become the Vice President. However, Seniors cannot occupy both positions, as that presents a leadership void for next year’s Student Union. Any student who attends North Kingstown High School is eligible to vote and run given they meet the above requirements. 

If you have an interest in school policies, government, making a change, or all of the above, I strongly advise you consider joining the Student Union to vote or run for office. Now I will supply some advice: Making a change is not as hard as you think. It simply requires being dedicated and motivated, while sticking to your gut and following your heart. If you do so, you can’t fail. 

P.S.- It looks great on a college resume.

-Joe Vento