Since the 1970s, two CSW students are elected each year to join the board, and they have full voting privileges. It’s an opportunity for students to cultivate leadership skills and for board members to receive a fresh on-the-ground perspective. (For more information about the CSW board structure, read “Giving Students a Seat at the Trustee Table,” from the Winter 2019 issue of Independent School magazine.) Student trustee candidates must submit a petition signed by 25 classmates, give speeches, and participate in Q&A sessions with current students, faculty, and staff members.
Before each election cycle, the outgoing student trustees prepare a speech or presentation about their experiences to give students an idea of the work they did and to encourage their classmates to run. This year, outgoing trustees Ruby Russell (day student representative) and Kexin (William) Feng (boarding student representative) wanted to do something more dynamic, digestible, and fun than a traditional PowerPoint presentation. They created the animated video with friend and fellow student Sky Faas-Bush.
Elections for the 2020–2021 school year were held virtually. In April, students shared candidate statements during an all-school assembly on Zoom, and a ballot was emailed to students. The new student trustees, Miriam Levine (day student representative) and Ashley Ho (boarding student representative), will begin this fall.
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Sketches from the animation include images of students and the school mascot.
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