The Truckee High ASB elections are held annually to determine the next ASB president. One of the candidates running this year is Matt Mohme. Mohme has goals and things he wants to accomplish if he gets elected, and he believes that his ideas can positively influence leadership and ASB, giving him a reason to run.
Mohme has been to a wide array of schools and has seen and been influenced by the school’s leadership and student body. Seeing how they work and what is wrong with them has influenced Mohme to want to change the system at Truckee High.
Mohme says, “I’ve gone to many schools before, and I just want to bring new ideas to leadership.” Since Mohme has been a new student several times, he would like to introduce a program for new students. The new program would help students new to the school get comfortable with it and show them what classes, sports, and clubs are available through an event catered towards the new students.
The event could be small or big, depending on the amount of new students. Besides students new to the school, he wants to introduce new students to the ASB program and leadership.
Mohme aims to make the programs more attractive to students and strengthen the already present community. He would like to accomplish this by rewarding existing and new students based on their participation and the ideas presented.
Along with those two ideas, he wants to increase community involvement and input into the programs so that the members don’t just make decisions.
I’ve gone to many schools before, and I just want to bring new ideas to leadership.
— Matthew Mohme
These ideas would strengthen the connection between students and leadership and bring more influential decisions to the school and its programs and classes.
This is Mohme’s first year in Truckee High’s ASB and leadership programs, and he wants to bring a new perspective to the elections and the leadership role.
Currently, the presidential elections are held using a ballot system, which is then passed onto a selection committee that chooses what positions would be best for the candidates.
The elections are now more of a popularity contest because most students will vote for their friends, and the inputted votes don’t entirely decide the vote.
Mohme doesn’t have much influence in the programs, but he’s trying to change that by running to bring his ideas to help the programs and the school.
Mohme’s most significant problem with the elections is their equity and validity, so he aims to change that.
One idea he has right now is a “tier” election process. This process would work by having teachers choose candidates they deem fit to run for president and then release their candidates to the students. Once the students know the chosen people, they vote on students they see fit, praising students who are a better fit. Finally, the candidate’s options would be sent to the school’s admissions committee, ASB, and leadership members to decide on the president and other roles.
“This can be worked on, but this is my best idea for now,” says Mohme. While this election system is still influenced by student popularity, it is still stronger and more foolproof than the current system by breaking the decisions into sections rather than just having the students vote once.
Mohme’s experience brings him these ideas to better connect and strengthen Truckee High’s ASB, leadership, and school. These aspects are the core reasons for his running and for showing Truckee High what he will provide if elected.