CLICK HERE TO READ A LETTER TO THE EDITOR REBUTTAL BY KRISTIN TOMECEK

Like all of you, I was in attendance at the S.A. Officer speeches last Monday, and probably like most of you, I left there a little confused as to what was going on. Sophomore Kristin Tomecek, who ran for secretary, gave her speech in a rather unorthodox fashion. She began by stating emphatically that she was excited to be running for office and looking to make serious change in the school. She even threw in some pop culture references that seemed to get the attention of the audience.

Then she broke into song.

She began to hum the theme song to Titanic. At this point I began to feel uncomfortable with what was going on, but it didn’t stop there. Tomacek took it one step further by singing the lyrics to the song.

At this point, I began to feel angry.  Angry at what, though?  Was it because the speech had been turned into a mockery?  Was it because it seemed as if the student body had become judges for American Idol?

I took a few days to think about it, and I think I have come to the root of the problem.  I am not angry at Kristin Tomecek, the other candidates, the teachers, or Student Association.

I am angry at us, the student body.

It is the role of Student Association to represent the opinions of the student body and do everything in their power to make the high school experience a more enjoyable one through their numerous fundraisers and the planning of prom. Why is it, then, that the beneficiaries of their great work do not care about who is in office? We see this assembly as a thirty minute break from class rather than as about being informed students and becoming a part of student government. It is our responsibility as students to look out for the best interests of the school, not only for ourselves but for future classes that will be affected by our decisions.

It is the job of the candidate to gain the attention necessary to attract votes and appeal to the different groups to whom he or she is speaking. In this case, because we as students are more interested in what stunt a candidate can pull while speaking rather than their position on a topic, these candidates must feel obligated to do these things.

Tomecek  isn’t the only one to have done this. RB has had several class officer speeches over the past few years that included these theatrics. The problem, then, obviously does not lie with one particular person or one group of people. The issue has to do with our society and the culture we have at school.

Voting for class officers is really something that should be encouraged more at RB. Voting takes place during lunch, and the voter turn out from what I saw, was minimal. It’s disappointing to know that a large majority of our school couldn’t care less about who is in office. Student government is something that should be taken more seriously within the confines of RB.

SPONSOR’S NOTE:  Clarion would like to correct Cameron Kritikos’ original statement in his column that Kristin Tomecek sang the lyrics to “My Heart Will Go On” during her SA speech.  While using the melody of the song, Kristin sang her own original lyrics.  Her lyrics are re-printed in her letter to the editor, linked at the top of this article.