#FEATURE: S.Y. 2021–2022 Elections: The Elected Officials of Batch 2024
by Alex Anthony L. Andal and Bianca Marie G. Sacramento
The PSHS-MC Students’ Electoral Commission (SEC) publicized the elected officers of the Batch 2024 Council for school year 2021–2022 last October 18. The council is composed of Xander Rubico (President), Ethan Norcio (Vice President), Benjamin Jacob (Secretary), Sareena Evidente (Treasurer), and Myka Ylarde (Auditor), all under the Hakbang party.
Despite being almost fully adapted to the online setup, a new set of difficulties are being encountered. This became the catalyst for five aspirants to step up and represent the voices of the students from Batch 2024.
Veterans and Newcomers
The council consists of both familiar and fresh faces. Xander Rubico, a three-time Batch 2024 Council Officer, shared his sentiments on being re-elected as batch president for the second time.
“Nang una akong tumakbo sa batch council, noong unang taon ng batch 2024 sa Pisay, ang pangunahing dahilan ko ay makilala at maging kaibigan ang lahat ng aking mga batchmates. Noong isang taon, ang nag-udyok naman sa akin ay ang kagustuhan kong makatulong sa aking mga batchmates upang magkaroon sila ng kaginhawaan sa gitna ng pandemya at mabawasan ang hirap na dala ng distanced learning set-up. Ngayon naman, bukod sa pakikipagkaibigan at paglilingkod sa aking mga batchmates, nais ko rin silang maisama sa pagtulong naman sa iba dahil naniniwala akong dapat nating pahalagahan ang core value ng Pisay na ‘Service’,” shared Rubico.
(When I first ran for batch council, in the first year of Batch 2024 in Pisay, my main reason was to get to know and be friends with all my batchmates. Last year, what motivated me was my desire to help my batchames so that they could have comfort in the midst of a pandemic and reduce the hardship brought by the distanced learning set-up. Now, in addition to friendship and assistance to my batchmates, I also want them to be involved in helping others because I believe we should value the core value of Pisay, which is “Service.”)
He also stated his shortcomings and flaws as a batch officer in the past, making this opportunity a chance to serve his batchmates as redemption. He assured that the current batch council will be open to different suggestions, along with proper decision-making.
First-timer Evidente’s inspiration to run stems from the struggles of her friends while learning on an online platform.
“Well, for me, the reason was really simple: I just saw the experiences of my friends coping with both the pandemic and our academic workload and realized that I wanted to help them in more ways than just listening and offering advice every now and then,” said the current Batch 2024 Treasurer.
She also added that she took the opportunity to run for the council when people from the batch expressed their support for her.
“A lot of my batchmates, even those who I’m not really close friends with, have given me support somehow … so when I realized I had the time and capabilities to help the batch as an officer, I took the opportunity,” she added.
Plans of Action
Given the boundaries that the students are facing, the council shared their plans of action in order to break the said boundaries.
Batch 2024 Secretary Jacob shared some of the council’s plan for this year:
“Most of our plans involve communicating with the batch. For example, we have the batch form Anong Say Mo 2024 for our concerns. We take note of every concern sent to that so we can act on it. Some of our other plans involve the batch itself. One such plan is the continuation of the Academic Committee, which makes reviewers for the batch. However, even with all these plans in our GPOA, you can still look forward to many more activities from us,” he mentioned.
Ylarde, one of the first-timers, further elaborated their plans and shared her intentions with the Academic Committee project: “We, the Batch Council & the Academic Committee Reviewers Division, plan to create separate problem sets for application-based subjects like Physics and Math. We will also make sure that only those assigned to a particular subject will have editing access to its Google Docs to ensure equal work distribution.”
She added that “the BC & the Acad Comm Concerns Division is now receiving and processing acad concerns. Rest assured that they always forward these concerns (while ensuring the sender’s anonymity) to the batch adviser/the specific subject teacher involved.”
Expectations
Batch 2024 Vice President Norcio lastly spoke out about what the batch can expect from the newly elected council.
“The batch can expect that we are doing our best to fulfill the promises we made. Our number one priority is to be the voice of Batch 2024. We hope to reach every batchmate, and make sure that everyone’s opinions are heard,” he stated.
