In March, the Student Union announced a new system for electing club board members, which The Classic previously reported on.  The old system, according to Aki Benjamin the 2025-2026 Club Liaison, did not dictate how clubs elected the new board. Instead clubs were left to decide their own systems. Whether that be allowing the president to decide the new board or running their own elections. 

This differs from the new system, where positions, like Vice President or Secretary, are decided after a speech is delivered from each candidate and an election that all club members vote in. The only role not subject to this process is the role of President, which the current president will decide with an interview. 

We believe implementing this new election-based system will mean less bias when selecting new board members and ensure that clubs are run by people who are dedicated to the club. 

With the previous system, new board members could have been selected solely on how well liked they were by the president. Giving students the opportunity to vote for who represents their club encourages candidates to consistently demonstrate commitment and responsibility to earn trust from members, rather than appealing solely to the president of the club. 

Moreover, elections allow candidates to truly engage with other members and work to learn everyone’s concerns and goals. Altogether, this helps foster accountability, as elected officials should represent everyone’s desires while ensuring that no member feels overlooked.

However, this new system has brought complaints of unfairness from students who had run for these positions. 

Some argue that a speech may not be a full representation of a candidate, and disadvantages introverted students from opportunities within a club. Qualified candidates, that may not be as proficient in public speaking, do not have much of a chance to portray their qualifications to their club. 

Gallery • 4 Photos

Ryan Chen

Students promoting Public Forum Debate in the courtyard during the Club Fair last September. Since the club began at THHS, membership has grown.

While the reliance on a speech seems unjust and misrepresenting, we believe that public speaking is a crucial leadership skill. Even a position like treasurer, that revolves around the finances of a club/organization, requires good communication to collaborate with other board members and possibly people outside of the school. Therefore, if someone isn’t able or willing to speak in front of the same people they want to lead in the coming years, then they may be missing a key qualification.

While we don’t wish to disadvantage candidates that are especially skilled in the position they’re running for, we need to ensure that club leaders are good public speakers and composed in front of an audience. An election process gives worthy candidates the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the very people that they will have to represent in the coming years. 

Overall, we believe this new system ensures fairness when electing board members. Being a board member of a club demands commitment, and the club election process, unlike the past system of electing board members, requires candidates to demonstrate that they possess this commitment.