Near the beginning of each school year, witty election posters flood the hallways, stickers adorn students’ shirts and bags, and campaign slogans echo across social media, all for Grady’s Student Government Association elections. The campaigns climax as the fourth homeroom of the year rolls around, and students cast their votes for SGA positions. There are numerous students and teachers, however, who believe that the mission of student government is lost within the chasm of rushing to run campaigns, win popularity contests and pad college applications.

SGA’s role at Grady includes organizing spirit week, homecoming and participating in community service throughout the year, in addition to any student initiatives launched by the representatives of each class. Program specialist Kaye Myles and U.S. History teacher Lou Sartor co-advise SGA; Myles insists that it will continue to be run by students this year.

“This is your school, not mine,” she said to SGA members during a meeting on Sept. 10. “I want you to work this year.”

Executive president Lauren Alford plans to begin her term by fixing small things, such as maintenance problems, but her long-term objective is to make Grady a more spirited community.

“I believe the main point of SGA is to reach out to every student and help the students find out what’s best for them at the school,” Alford said. “[I want to] bring everyone together . . . and have everyone enjoy Grady and then graduate and be like ‘I went to Grady, and it was awesome.’”

This desire for heightened school spirit is a common refrain of the staff and the student body. Communications teacher and debate team coach Mario Herrera contrasts Grady to other schools he has worked at and said there is a lack of a cohesive and combined Grady effort to build and stustain school spirit. Herrera said SGA can have more influence if its primary goal for Grady is “living through the motto, ‘Individually we are different, together we are Grady.’”

In the past, the purpose of SGA extended beyond existing as a school-spirit committee. Literature teacher Lisa Willoughby, who has taught for 27 years at Grady, remembers when the SGA had an influential role within the student body. She said SGA started the recycling program at Grady, petitioned for more girls’ sports to be offered and worked to get a vegetarian lunch line in the cafeteria. She said the reputation of SGA has since changed.

“I think the administration and faculty sort of perceive them as a group that organizes homecoming and the prom,” Willoughby said. “But I think it’s not entirely the fault of the students. Some of it is that they perceive that they don’t have power.”

According to a Southerner survey of 189 Grady students, 59 percent of students admit that they don’t know what SGA does, and 50 percent believe that SGA does not do a good job of representing the student body.  Junior Alex Loomis agrees that SGA has no point and no real effect on the school.

“They never actually do anything,” Loomis said. “When have you ever actually heard of anything that SGA has done?”

Art teacher John Brandhorst similarly lacks knowledge regarding the roles of SGA officials once elected.

“All I know is the elections happen, and I don’t hear anything else,” he said.

Myles said that for some students, the intention of running for SGA positions is to pad their resumés for college applications. Loomis agreed.

“[The purpose of SGA is] to give students something to put on their college applications to make it look like they’ve done something useful in high school,” Loomis said.

Alford said that at some points, her campaign felt overwhelming and some of her relationships with friends were strained.

“I was so stressed last week,” she said. “I was running against one of my close friends. I feel like when it comes to elections, because it’s sometimes like a popularity contest, it kind of breaks people apart.”

In the survey, when asked a free-response question about why they voted for who they did, some students responded with reasons such as “They will represent the student body well” and “They are a well-rounded person.” On the other hand, some students stated “I was bribed and forced” and “They had the most interesting names.”

Brandhorst said SGA can be improved by adding job descriptions for everyone in SGA. He said right now, some student positions do not appear to have a purpose.

Loomis said SGA can more effectively represent the students by making a suggestion box that would allow them to set goals based on the desires of the student body.

Alford said she has thought about ways to make the school more spirited this year and has been in contact with assistant principal David Propst about working more with the administration. Others, such as Brandhorst, however, still believe that some members of SGA need to reconsider their motives for running.

“If they’re not looking to publicly represent, then what are they running for?” he asked.