This year the AHS student government is making some serious changes to the school and the Student Senate program itself. The hope is that there will be more student responsibility arising from this change, and that students around the school will feel more comfortable with speaking out to voice their concerns.

In past years, the student government had a virtually unknown presence around the school; however this year the program has hyped up school spirit, increased communication between administration and students, and devised ways that student voice was better-rounded from the diverse personalities in the school.

Student Senate has held two communication lunches (students are encouraged to sit with others they normally wouldn’t), sponsored a pep rally, and have begun the process of getting a mascot in the school. The main goal of the program this year is to help unite the school.

Projects that AHS Student Senate is currently working on include creating a mascot for the school, having more of a web presence, increasing communication between students and administration, and increasing the communication among students. The idea behind these goals is not only to create a more comfortable environment for all students in the school, but to also make student senate a more influential group.

The group is trying to maintain the amount of contact between the students and the head boy and girl of AHS, but they are also trying to present the entire group with a more united image that will potentially bring more of the school together.

Aside from these goals, Student Senate is making an effort to comply with and discuss the demands and complaints of the general AHS population with administration. One of the big accomplishments of Student Senate was gaining the return of tutorial. This task was achieved with the help of parents and teachers speaking out about the issue.

There is another major change for the members of Student Senate. For all of the those in the program that do not have a restricting schedule, there is now a mandatory leadership class that focuses on tackling the issues the Student Senate has before them. This class can be taken by Student Senate members, but is also open for those students who need a period to fill or are interested in being a part of what happens in the school.

Student Senate is now meeting twice a week, Mondays at 7:30 and Wednesdays at 7:15, in order to accomplish more in the most efficient way possible.

“We hope that this year we can get a lot done for the students in the school. All of us are passionate about getting our voices heard, and we are working harder than ever to make the school the best place it can possibly be,” Magana said.