senior shilpi agarwal was a council representative for four years at a large public school in a stable Houston community. She says the administration only went through the motions of gathering student opinion, giving students a false sense of power but no real influence. Agarwal says she got involved because she had an interest in law and politics; it turned out to be “more a waste of time than a good experience” and “something to put on a college application” rather than an opportunity to learn about good governance. She decided not to get involved in Stanford’s ASSU. But, Agarwal insists, “National elections are completely unrelated to student government, so I haven’t been affected by my experience. Politically, I have been affected more by classes in college and the overall college experience.”

Class president for two years at his public high school in Dallas, Andrew Rogers rates his experience a good one despite the school’s high dropout rate. While he felt elections were all about popularity his freshman year, he says, “By the time I was a senior I had built up a reputation as a guy who could get things done.” Rogers, ’06, credits his involvement with teaching him “how to run a program, how to assume more responsibility and how to motivate people,” and helping him understand elections and government. “I look at issues more often and I look at track records; I know if [candidates] can carry responsibility.”

Senior Gabriel Martinez was a class president and treasurer at his public high school in Martinez, Calif. “It was a popularity contest, just like the national elections,” he says, and it was hard to get people to vote on substance. While Martinez admits enjoying occasional perks of his positions—“abusing power,” he jokes—there was a serious side. When the principal was fired, student officers organized a walkout and march to protest not being consulted on the choice for a replacement. “We didn’t succeed,” says Martinez, “but parents organized a recall of the school board and the superintendent eventually was let go.” Martinez says he learned that people’s decisions have consequences—adding that his own shortcomings “made me realize how necessary voting certain people out of office is.”