Elections for President and Spirit Captain are this Friday, April 17th. Since we cannot conduct our elections in person this year, the Polygon is publishing the candidates’ statements all in one place.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

TAE KIM-GRANT

My name is Tae Kim-Grant and I am running to be your student body president. I want to make poly a safer community for all of the student body. I also want to streamline information so the student body is aware of what’s going on in their community. I also want to continue to tackle the issue of student spaces at poly. I am also someone who is always perceptive to others’ opinions and plan to have spaces available for the students to voice their opinions. 

TESS SUTTER

Hi everyone! My name is Tess Sutter, and I am running to be your next Student Body President. When I came to Poly in 9th grade and saw that there was an opening for a new Freshman class representative, I immediately knew that I wanted to run. From then on, I have been an active member of the student government, serving on both the Student Life Committee and the head of the Admin/Faculty Committee. In these positions, I have learned a lot about both sides of Poly, the administration and student body, and what it takes to get our goals accomplished. Through this, I have gained experience in how to communicate the needs of our student body to our administration, while also working to bridge the gap between the two. One of my main goals for next year is to establish unity amongst all of Poly: athletics and arts, students and the administration. For example, having bi-weekly open student government meetings for both students, faculty, and administrators to attend and express any of their concerns or ideas and a weekly updated Student Government bulletin board in the student center with everything that we are working on so that everyone is always informed. Transparency is key, and I believe that as a community, we can all take steps to improve on that. Additionally, I also want to plan more fun events for an extra awesome year, after this one was cut short. This includes an upper school talent show, celebrations before both plays and musicals, and more tailgates before athletic events. The juniors and I have planned so much for next year and with me as your next Student Body President, I know that we will make it happen. Vote Tess, Get The Best! 

NINA RYAN

My name is Nina Ryan and I’m running for Student Body President this year. This past year I’ve had the pleasure to be a junior class representative and I’ve gained a lot of insight into student government. With this experience, I feel prepared to represent all of you. I think that the only way to create substantial change is by following through on our plans and promises and, if you elect me, I will hold myself, my fellow student government members and the administration accountable. Not only do I plan to make real change, I also want to make Poly a more enjoyable and stress free environment for all students. I plan to do so through fun school-wide events such as a winter dance and a “drive-in” movie night. Additionally, I want to make students’ workloads more manageable so we’re all able to take advantage of the countless extracurriculars offered at Poly. If you vote for me, I will devote myself to improving our school and advocating for YOU! To see more about my policies, check out my Instagram @ninaryan4president

JULIA SCHNIPPER

Hi everyone! My name is Julia Schnipper and I would like to be your next student body president. I have been at Poly for 6 years and on student government for 5 years. I absolutely love being a member of student government and trying to make Poly the best place possible and I would love the opportunity to do that next year as your president. My campaign platform boils down to 3 mains ideas: community, improved student experience, and accountability. I will plan a variety of events next year, such as a back to school bash, movie nights, more tailgates, bake sales, and a Poly points system that will create a grade-wide competition with opportunities to earn your grade points by attending Poly events and games, and earning the most money during bake sales (with an ice cream party for the grade with the most points). I will also build a community out of the classroom by creating a Poly workshop series with discussions, lectures and forums on topics that are included within classes. I want to create a 5+ system where if 5 or more students email a teacher stressed about an assignment, it will be moved. After being on student government for so many years, I truly believe I have the experience to actually make an impact on the Poly community and get things done. I have already changed this year’s club schedule, planned numerous community forums and events, got white boards for the deans offices (they were ordered right before spring break) and will do so much more next year. I will get things done by regularly inviting administrators to our meetings, regularly getting student feedback, and by restructuring our meetings so that the last fifteen minutes are devoted to emailing faculty and administrators and setting up meetings with them. As your president, I will devote everything to making Poly the best place possible. Vote for Julia!

SPIRIT CAPTAIN CANDIDATES: 

JORDAN MASTRIANO AND TESSA WEISS

Hi, our names are Jordan and Tessa and we are running to be your 2020-2021 spirit captains! Both of us are apart of the two time NYSAIS champions Girl’s Varsity Soccer Team. We know how upsetting it can be to play for an empty crowd, but how exciting it is when friends and family are in the stands! Some of our ideas for the 20-21 school year include:

-more tailgates for football games

-grade-wide spirit competitions twice a year to make transitions between semesters more fun

-more support at games for sports that don’t get the love they deserve!!! Such as giving teams public shoutouts the day of/before a big game!

-more student vs teacher competitions, more school-wide spirit weeks with updated and funky themes

-making big events such as homecoming, oasis night, and the Fieldston hockey game even more decked out in Poly decorations, gear, and colors

-Creating more opportunities for grades to raise money for their prom funds

Overall, we just want to increase our school spirit! Vote for us for YOUR 2020-2021 spirit captains!

GAVIN MITCHELL AND LUCAS YAFFE

Hi, our names are Gavin Mitchell and Lucas Yaffe and we are running to be your spirit captains for the 2020-21 school year. Being rising seniors, we want to benefit from all that we can during our last year at Poly. We want to make a positive change to the community, something that would have a lasting impact. The role of spirit captain really speaks to us, because we love Poly and really want to strengthen the spirit in our already tight-knit community. We think that spirit is the heart of this community and something that really brings all of us together. From cheering on our friends at sports games to attending and supporting our friends in school productions, spirit is essential. We feel that we can bring the hype to every school event and spread this hype to all of our students. Since freshman year we have been going to the pep rallies with high hopes of seeing and feeling school spirit, but year after year we have been sadly disappointed. Our goal is to turn pep rallies into a fun experience for everybody and bring more spirit to all of our events. We will bring the pep in “pep rally” to life. Next, we want to start a highlighted Friday night game or performance for all of our sports teams and performances, not just basketball and football. We want to highlight a different game or performance every Friday to support and cheer on, which will give us another opportunity to come together as a community. Lastly, we would like to introduce a new system where students can be rewarded for showing their spirit. We would utilize a point system. For every Poly game or performance you attend, you would receive a point, and at the end of every month, we will reward our top three fans. As the self-proclaimed “people’s choice” we promise to bring the most spirit Poly has ever seen! #MitchellYaffe2K20 #ThePeoplesChoice

ROBERT MAGNUS

Robert is the only candidate running solo for Spirit Captain and the only candidate who does not play on a Varsity or JV team. Despite not playing on any team, he loves to go to as many games as possible to cheer on Poly’s teams and help lead the crowd cheering on the teams with his signature amount of energy. In addition to cheering on our athletic teams, you can also find him performing in the Upper School theater productions and as a member of Blue Notes, Acapella, Concert Choir, and Advanced Concert Choir. You can also find him in the hallways and Student Center happily greeting everyone he knows and passionately singing.

His goals for next year include: bringing more energy to pep rallies through his insane amount of energy, have more tailgate-esque events throughout the year in order to support our various teams, allow more time during the school day for forums, in-school previews, and extra assemblies, make more club times available for clubs to meet, provide more support and spirit for all of our talented artists, debaters, and e-sport athletes in addition to our athletic teams, and any other goals that YOU want to happen since he will be making critical decisions on behalf on the entire Upper School.

Remember to vote online in tomorrow’s election. Check your email!