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Julia and Jonathan on Future of FSG Presidency

By Max Schindel
With the FSG election season heating up, campaign posters are
covering the walls of Fieldston and talk of the current candidates is
abuzz. As their term nears its end, the current FSG Presidents, Julia
Rosenberg (VI) and Jonathan Hazin (VI), have their own hopes for the
future of the FSG Presidency.
On Thursday, April 14, the Upper School will hear speeches from the
eight pairs running for the FSG office. The speeches are to come from
the following pairs: Ben Kava and Theo Matza, Alex Greenberg and
West Duchovny, Bryce Kassalow and Brandon Ko, Beth Awano and
Azeez Adeyemi, Jacqueline Weitz and Sandra Weinstock, Andrew Celli
and Tyler Friedman, Donnie Rice and Nola Nelson, and finally, Tommy
Eldredge and Justin Thomas.
Julia and Jonathan had advice for voters to help them analyze the
candidates who they only get to hear from for four minutes on stage.
Julia emphasized the importance of looking past the speeches and
actually evaluating the people running.
You want confidence in a leader, Julia said, but also openness and
an ability to collaborate with students and teachers.
In addition to this, Jonathan acknowledged the importance of the
speeches and how difficult they can be to write.
Coming up with an idea is not so bad, Jonathan said, but finding a
way to get that idea to resonate with people, that is the challenge.
The process of ranking candidates during the voting process can be
very difficult. Jonathan spoke about the all-important night between
the speeches and voting.
Take some time to reflect, Jonathan continued. Eagle TV films it
watch the ones youre on the fence about.
With their experience after almost a year of being FSG Presidents, they
were also able to give some advice to the candidates.
The students are the priority, Julia stressed. Sometimes you have an
idea of what you want to get done, but if it will not benefit the students
as much as you thought it would, you just scrap it.
Jonathan added that he was surprised by the amount of patience the
job demanded.

Things take weeks, months, or even several presidencies to get


done, he said. You have to keep on pushing.
So, what are Julia and Jonathans plans for the rest of the school year?
Julia said that there were projects that she and Jonathan wanted the
next FSG presidents to continue working on.
Gender neutral bathrooms is something we havent finished and is
under the jurisdiction of the QSA, she said. It will require coordination
between the presidents and the QSA to bring it to Cairo and to pass it.
Finally, Jonathan spotlighted the importance of physical accessibility on
campus.
There have been some significant changes, he said, hopefully we
can adapt the same mindset that the administrators at Ethical and
Lower have had in changing this campus.
When asked to reflect on their term, they solely wished they could get
more done, speaking to the patience presidents need. Issues and
projects were very time consuming. Theres just not enough time in
the day or the year you have to prioritize. A very fitting answer
based on the responsibility placed on the students this week. Students
will hear strong platforms from each pair of candidates, and in voting,
will have to prioritize the issues they feel are most important to the
school.

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