As I sat down in an empty locker bay with Gaia P. ‘23, some deja vu set in. This time last year, I interviewed her and Ami A. ‘23 over a Zoom call regarding their new roles as junior grade representatives. Now sat before me the new student body president, and I had a few questions to ask.

First, I wanted her to explain her role as student body president. This is a position we all know of, yet, if asked, many cannot say what it entails. She explained that as student body president, her goal is to make the school a happier and lighter place. Stressing that she works with the entire student government, Gaia made clear that she is not in charge of any of them and they work as a team. Her main goal is “to bring back the spirit that used to exist at BT.”

So, I asked her to elaborate on that and explain how she plans on accomplishing this goal. She mentioned that “it doesn’t really take much” and the student government just wants people in different grades to bond, regardless of who they’re friends with. This can be accomplished through multiple fun activities such as playing music in the halls as people walk in and randomly bringing in ice cream. 

With these goals established, she explained what her short and long term plans are. Emphasizing the great outdoors, Gaia wants to add more tables outside where people can eat during lunch and prepare lots of fun, outdoor events. In addition, she’d like to bring back the Rosh Chodesh brunches. Then, for the long term, she would like to focus on altering the Wednesday schedule because “it’s really long.” On a different note, she seeks to place attention on students’ mental health by working with teachers to stop assigning too much homework on the same day. To foster school spirit, she said she will work to make sure we have the Weiner tournament next year and “do more fun stuff and make school more fun…and the hallways less gloomy.”

This begged the question on how she plans to cooperate with the faculty to accomplish all these amazing ideas. Gaia explained that it may be difficult to see it from the outside, “but the faculty does have our best interests in mind…you just have to find a compromise.” Relaying student government’s commitment, she stated they are constantly speaking to Coach Creeger and Dr. Koplon to reach their goals. “At the end of the day,” Gaia said, “we all have the same goals in mind, it’s just a sense of getting them done.”

The way she described her job seemed like a lot of work and she spoke about why she chose to run for this position. Her justification for running was to grant everyone a place and a voice. Gaia said she had many ideas and wanted to implement them. Nonetheless, she asserted that “just because you’re not in student government doesn’t mean you can’t get stuff done.” Next, she expounded upon how honored she was that the student body chose her. As student body president, she hopes that she is always accessible, “someone who they feel comfortable talking to because [she’s] always here and open to everyone’s ideas.”

On a final note, she wanted to address that if anyone has any ideas, the student government would love to hear them because it could be something no one has thought of before. “So, if you have something to say, say it,” she emphasized, “most of the time, you can get it done.”

Congratulations, Gaia, on this impressive role of student body president!