By Ryan Strong

It is my contention that the current STUCO system is without a doubt one of the greatest catastrophes to befall the school. With its simplistic use of the popular vote and its lack of complexity, there are few checks and balances and nothing to stretch the mental abilities of students. As a result, the system must be completely revamped in order to ensure that a proper political system is established, with as many complexities and nuances as possible.

We shall begin with the election of the President. The election of the president of STUCO is one of the most essential areas of reform. In fact, all other elections for STUCO executives will be abolished besides the election of the President. This will be explained in subsequent paragraphs. The simple fact is that current electoral contests are based merely on the popularity of the person, rather than on the actual qualifications. Thus, only upstanding students should be allowed to elect such a sacred position. However, the major issue that is that this situation could result in a brutal oligarchy. Thus, an electoral college will have to be formed in order to allow only those upstanding members of our school.       

The way in which an electoral college will work is simple. Students will be divided up according to their common ground groups. Then, one elector would be apportioned per 10 students, with rounding instituted for decimals. Then, those students that would gain three recommendation letters from three of their teachers would work to caucus together within their common ground group to form slates of electors. These slates would be equal to the number of open elector seats, and would revolve around agreement on those pressing issues facing the school. On election day, electors would make speeches together in the thirty different common ground groups, and then voting by secret ballet would occur. That slate which won the greatest number of votes would then be selected as the electors of that common ground.

This, however, is only the beginning of the process. Regional- nay, numerical- caucuses would then be formed. Thus, six numerical caucuses from the common ground groups would be formed being: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30. Each of these numerical caucuses, which would only include the electors who had been selected, would then select one candidate through a process of single- transferable vote with one winner per caucus. These candidates would also have to be upstanding students of the school, and would have also submitted an application to be President. It should be further noted that chairs for SHASMUN would be selected to moderate debate in each caucus. Of course, none of the chairs who would moderate debate and selection in each caucus would be a member of the specific common ground caucus that they were moderating.

One day after the selection of the six candidates, all electors would meet in the PAC at 7:55. Promptly, they would be locked inside in order to prevent interference from the outside world. However, the election proceedings would be live streamed to the Commons in order to prevent corrupt bargains. Then, they would listen to speeches from each of the six candidates, question the candidates, and discuss among themselves. All of this would be presided over by the Secretariat of MUN. After four hours of debate, voting procedures would begin promptly at 12:00. Using single-winner single transferable vote, a winner will be selected who gains the majority of the electors votes after various transfers. The new president will then be summoned, and they will then immediately dissolve the electoral college.

After the election of the President, the election of the legislature will proceed. Each grade will be granted five senators. These senators candidates will have the same requirements to e candidates as will the president. Then, on a day chosen by the president, grade level meetings will be held to elect the five senators. Voting will be through single transferable votes with multiple winners, necessitating the distribution of fractional votes in order to ensure that full proportionality is achieved. The vote quota that will be used is (Total votes/(Number of Candidates +1))+1. After votes are counted, the senators will be declared the winners.

However, the system is still not complete! After the election of the senators by the general public, the president will summon them to a session of congress. There, he will nominate one of the senators from the senior grade in order to become Chancellor of STUCO. He will then request that the congress cast a motion of confidence in the new Chancellor. If it fails, the President will have to nominate someone else.

If it any point the Chancellor or the President displeases the Senate, the Senate may cast a motion of no-confidence in the Chancellor. If this motion passes, the Chancellor is fired and the president nominates a new Chancellor.

Finally, in order to decide on anything, “legislation” must be passed in STUCO. The President will submit the legislation , which will contain the actions required for STUCO to the senate. The Chancellor will then read it out to the Senate. After three hours of debate, the Senate will either reject or accept it by simple majority, leading to the actions either being taken or ignored.

This, of course, is merely a simplistic overview of the entire new political system that will be implemented. I made no mention of the appointment of the Commission of Public Safety or the Supreme Court. But that is a tale for another time.

Editor's Note: The views expressed in this opinion article are the author's own and are not not representative of Pudong Press' views or beliefs. 

By Kenneth Shu and Grace Deng
 
As graduation quickly approaches for the seniors, the school is already beginning to plan graduation for the juniors. Some ideas by the administration have the junior class up in arms. In this article, two Pudong Press writers contemplate the possibility of graduation at SAS’ Performing Arts Center.
 
A PAC Graduation: A Brilliant Idea in the Making or A Disaster Waiting to Happen?
 
Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard about this news, either by physically being at the PAC when it was announced, or from your overly enthusiastic parents who are still mad at you for not accompanying them to the meeting. But, if you haven’t, then, here it is:
 
We might end up having our graduation ceremony in the PAC.
 
Now, now, hold on. It may not be that bad of an idea. Before you all start charging with pitchforks and torches, just hear me out and read this article. In the following document, I will be presenting a case both “for” and against this “PAC graduation”, how you choose to interpret the facts is your choice… entirely.
 
So let’s begin with the pros to a PAC graduation.
 
Having a PAC graduation saves money. We won’t have to pay any extra funding for the venues or catering, and everything will be conducted under the jurisdiction of the school. So yes, it would definitely reduce the costs and expenses of the graduation.
 
Furthermore, it’s (probably) more convenient. Consider this--our school is closer to us than Hongqiao, and we already have busing systems to the PAC. That means no more waking up at 6am to get prepared, or angry bus drivers trying to figure out how to navigate Puxi. Plus, we would have the entire venue all to ourselves, which would be pretty nice—especially if we really hate Puxi “that much”.
 
Nonetheless, there are plenty of cons to this plan.
 
First off, it’s the school that’s saving the money, not us. This isn’t much of a con more or less a fact. I know the school needs all the money it can save, which I am in support of. However, if that money is used on marketing, as the trend currently goes, then that is not okay. If the school is willing to cut spending for the graduation, and choose to reinvest that saved funding in marketing—and not on teacher’s pensions, or staff salaries, or club subsidies, or student equipment (hint, hint new couches)—than I, and perhaps the entirety of the student body, would be peeved.
           
Second, trying to fit a couple hundred individuals in a crowded hall that everyone commonly gathers in on a biweekly basis, to be frank, kind of ruins the majesty of such events. A graduation event may seem like a community meeting, but it isn’t. To simply treat it as such is a bit of a let down to say the least.
 
Third, we won’t be able to be with our Puxi brethren. Now I know that not everybody likes Puxi—case being that they keep beating us in sports (but not in basketball or badminton) and that they keep magically getting all the Ivy League acceptances. But perhaps it may not be that bad of an idea to mix the two campuses together. It cements bonds, bridges the cross-river divide, and allows us to meet with some of our friends from The Eleven in a final kumbaya before we all leave and depart for the foreseeable future.
 
Graduation is supposed to be a majestic event. It is, after all, a major milestone of every individual’s lives (hopefully), and as such it deserves the utmost treatment and respect. Chances are, unless you’re Selena Gomez, you’ll only graduate once. That graduation ceremony better be the best and most memorable one possible.  
 
We all cherish that moment on the stage before the gazing eyes of hundreds of proud and cheerful parents, teachers, and students. Standing up on that stage and receiving that hard-earned diploma is the culmination of all those years of hard work, early mornings, and late-night binge writings. Think about it.
 
 
PAC Graduation: Not a Brilliant Idea, but a Practical One
 
By Grace Deng
 
The first time Dr. Lee announced the idea of a graduation in the PAC during Junior’s Night, cheers rose from the crowd.
 
Those cheers were not representative of a unanimous agreement.
 
Immediately after Junior’s Night, my phone lit up in discontent. The Class of 2019 chat was ablaze--one student claimed they wouldn’t even go to graduation if it takes place in the PAC. Other students immediately began protesting the idea with the administration, sending emails directly to Dr. Lee himself. Even more students just laid out their complaints in the class chat, despairing over the mere idea of graduating in the Performing Arts Center. I noticed a common theme among all of these students: the ones I knew who were complaining have never gone to a public or local school before.
 
As someone who always thought that they would graduate in a high school gym or field like most public school students, graduating in the rather bourgeoisie Performing Arts Center seemed like a step up to me.
 
My friends back home don’t even have a junior prom because there isn’t enough funding. Brittany Do, a junior and friend of mine at North Creek High, was excited about the possibility of even having a graduation venue.
 
“It’s pathetic how out of touch our class is with the real world,” fumed junior Brent Cheung. “We pass through Shanghai, a city with extremely high inequality, every day and we still are throwing tantrums over not getting our graduation at the most extravagant and luxurious venue.”
 
I know this school is used to a cushy, beautiful, and frankly overly priced graduation venue. I understand that students want to graduate in the best venue possible. And students are rightly angry in that they won’t be able to graduate with their Puxi counterparts, that we might not be able to fit everyone in the PAC (which is debatable—we already know we can fit the whole high school in there with room to spare), and that we’ll have a less expensive or elegant graduation than our past counterparts.
 
But the truth of the matter is: a PAC graduation is a much better graduation venue than the vast majority of high schools across the world. There are benefits too. We don’t have to travel to Puxi, we don’t have to arrange transportation, and there’s something poetic about graduating at the very institution we are graduating from.
 
As junior Jason Kang points out: “I don’t care where we graduate. It won’t change the fact that I’m finally graduating.”  
 
So a PAC graduation might be hectic, crowded, and cheap, but it shouldn’t matter--because graduation isn’t about the caviar or the chandeliers. It’s about celebrating the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one with the people who matter most in your life. Think about it.