Recently I looked into my school and apparently we actually have a Student Government/Newspaper. The Newspaper sucks, which is probably why I never heard of it, and the Student Government has absolutely no power at all thus doing nothing. I, a more individualist, always disliked the more authoritarian school system. I've always wanted a Student Government worth having and a Newspaper not written by a bunch of morons. The problem is, looking into Google, that many of the Student Governments are batshit crazy or illegitament. Batshit crazy meaning every time they get power they abuse it to the limit and illegitament being that only the most popular kid(s) gets elected, not always the smartest (just like real life!). But, the idea seems to have not been able to mature in Schools (Middle School and High School mostly) because of the lack of willingness from the Principles of said schools. The last thing they need is a bunch of united students forming their own union, commonly opposing the Principle's actions. So they let it decorate a school dance or something rather than influence teacher meetings. If I may go on a tangent here, it seems to fit in with the Rights of a Minor debate. The large arguement against lowering the voting age (for example) being that the teenagers generally have no experiance with Democracy or any Voter-Awareness. However, how can they learn to appreciate Democracy if they can't vote on anything they truly believe in? No one will care if Judy beat Alex in Student Council because Judy and Alex wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway. So they vote randomly and based on who they're friends with. The same could be said for Student Newspapers. Practically every one of them in the World sucks. This is because they either are so terrible no one would dare waste their time working for it, or because they’re so underfunded they can’t get enough copies out more than a few times a year. I would say that, in order to improve Student Consciousness, Independent Thought, and otherwise there must be a well funded and supplied Student Government, aided by an intelligent Newspaper. The Student Government cannot be a useless waste of time, but rather have actual power and say. When the government actually influences the Students then the Students will think twice about voting. When the Newspaper brings out articles about political and economic debates then the Students will learn about them accordingly. Thus a more educated youth. It would teach the power of the vote to people when they are young, rather than making them learn it in their mid-20s after about 6 years of misinformation. Meanwhile, they would understand the big words the politician is saying rather than just judging on appearance like they do now. It does all make sense, in a cosmic sort of way.
I worked as an editor (News for 2, Op/Ed for 2) of our school newspaper. In Kansas school newspapers have the right to print anything a regular paper can print. As a result we had quite a few controversial articles come across our front page, sometimes in protest of school policy. But the thing about news is that you don't use your opinion (unless you're doing an editorial). You get the facts, and you try to do so in the most objectively balanced way possible. So for every student I interviewed who thought that the restriction of their cell phone was unfair, I interviewed staff members explaining how cell phones are a distraction in the class. In some states the newspapers have to get the approval of the school principal in order to go to print, which can obviously lead to less controversy. Perhaps that's how your state is, and perhaps that's why you think your newspaper sucks. Putting the intellectual elite into power isn't democratic at all. Schools are meant to serve a specific purpose. Power given to a student government is entirely on loan from the staff, and the staff obviously has the right to overturn a ridiculous decision. Opposing the principal will likely get nowhere, as 1) there are probably good reasons that the policy you don't like is enforced, and 2) student governments don't actually hold any power. I would say that's a weak argument. 18 year-olds have no experience with democracy. The dividing line is because minors are worthless lunatics that need to be locked up for most of the day, whereas adults are reasoned human beings. Really though, minors simply lack the ability to make sound decisions. There's a reason we call them minors, after all (brain < 1). Some people care about the student government elections. Some don't. Some people care about real elections. Some don't. Giving them more power will just make different people interested. Wow, lol. Please go back to freshman studies. This is simply not a good thing. Like really, we don't want people without fully functioning brains to have greater self-awareness. There are many of these. Just because they don't want to protest every decision the staff makes doesn't make them worthless. Political and economic debates? What? Student governments can't actually change policy, and have no impact on the school economy (apart from fundraisers and the like). To allow them to do so is lunacy; the state didn't hire an administrative staff so a bunch of brainless chimps could run the show. I really don't see how this would change the outlook of students. Adults have been voting the best-looking candidate into office for centuries.
Where I live, the student government doesn't really do anything outside of school events like dances and the elections are really just popularity contests. However, I write for my school magazine (same thing as a school paper) and we usually have some pretty good articles over controversial topics like bullying against gays.
I think if I tried quoting Kalification's massive counter-argument I'd crash my laptop. Oh well, I'll try later.
This assumes that students actually care about political and economic issues and that they actually read the school newspaper. Two assumptions I dont think to be true for the majority of students in the 12-18 year age group.
Everytime I ran for office at my old school I woulf run as a joke. I didn't have the power to do anything exept read the morning announcements and hand out pizza at pep-rallies (to the most spirited kids). I think the students like having a comedic president but the princable hated my gut because of it.
Since citizens ages 18-23 represent the smallest amount of voters in America (those who are eligible and actually vote) I highly doubt that lowering the age will do much good. Our paper is ok, but it doesn't print anything you don't already know. Most students can't even tell you who their state rep. is, and before you say "thats why we need a school paper" they have access to that info through the regular paper, tv, and internet. And really, a student gov. with power? All they will do is whine about school policies like, "No cellphones and to much homework". In reality you (and I for that matter, being 17) are parasites to society until we are over the age of 18.
Man student elections at Uni are a joke, they campaign relentlessly claiming ridiculous promises, end up changing little due to their meagre power. Next year, repeat. 5 years of this pretty much has removed any care I have for student elections. But we do have a funny newspaper, often with decent articles, so its not all bad.
Newspapers apparently aren't so bad as long as the Principle doesn't intervien to much. Governments suck because they can't do anything and promise far to much. ("I will abolish all HomeWork!")
Hahaha... this thread made me laugh. We just had school elections today, but no one in my class voted, all of the incumbents ran unopposed. And in reality the teacher who heads the elections chooses the winners. There is a good reason why. Last year a guy named Greg ran and his speech for Pres. included: a dragon he slew, money, free T-shirts, and a white suit. Everyone voted for him, and he lost. Also a dude named Richie ran, and was voted for, but his speech included: "I may not be talented... but the one thing I do have is sex appeal", "My mom said: Richie, you are a flamer" and "Vote Richie or choke on rubbing alcohol." Yeah....
Is this the bit where I say 'fight the power'? Nah they say that all the time too, I can't be bothered.
I've had experience with student government. Frankly from my time in "office" we were nothing but a bunch of over-glorified party planners.
