In September of 2018, UNIS students ran for Student Representative positions and Senate officers choose their Events Committee members to establish the Senate for the 2018-2019 school year. Members of the Senate will be working together with the goal of improving the high school by organizing more events, improving communication between students and administration, and listening more to student concerns.

One of the main areas that newly elected Student Representative Hye Min Lim wishes to address this year is the new catering service, Epicure. Lim said that she has “heard a lot of concerns about the canteen and how the food prices are too high.” She confirmed that the Senate is working with the school to find ways to improve the catering system.

Lim also wants to improve the social environment at UNIS to be one more friendly and diverse. Her goal is to encourage students to interact more.

“I feel like many UNIS students are too close in their own group of friends so I really want to try to make a place for everyone to say ‘hi’ to each other.”

The Senate President Bea Campilan had also given some insight on how she and the leadership team selected this year’s Events Committee. According to Campilan, there are specific criteria that members needed to fulfill to be chosen. The officers were looking for students who are good at publicizing, creativity, and planning. Not only was the team looking for students who fit within these three criteria, but also students who can communicate their ideas effectively.

“It does matter to us how you are able to convey your ideas because even if you have amazing ideas in your head and you are super creative, it does not matter if you can’t communicate it with the rest of the team because then nothing would happen,” Campilan said.

When Campilan made her decisions, she didn’t only look at whether the candidates fulfill the criteria, she also wished for balance in the Senate.

“What we do is that we try to build a team, not just get the best individuals. So we try to find a balance with all the Events Committee members. We try to find people who are good at planning, who are good at creating, who are good at publicizing,” Campilan said.

Overall the elections of Student Representatives and Events Committee ended on a positive note as the Senators have goals they will focus on for this school year.