The wait is finally over; the 2014-2015 school year is here and so is the brand new Upper School Council. When planning out the year the members of the council felt a bit ambitious and we put a lot on our plates.

Last summer, USC worked to implement the mentoring program, looking through over a hundred surveys and applications to match freshmen up with upperclassman mentors.  Along with the mentoring program, the council also worked on bringing Wi-Fi into the cafeteria to lessen the crowd in the library during tutorial, and provide a venue for the student tutors program, which is awaiting re-implementation. The issue was brought up to the tech department at the end of last year and because of the efforts of both the administration and the council Wi-Fi is now available in the cafeteria.

During the first few meetings of the year the council worked on creating a theme for this year’s Speaker Day. After days of discussion, the council came down to two options: “Heroes and Leaders,” and “Immigrant Experience and Cultural Diversity.” After voting, option two was chosen to be the theme for 2015. The council is now working on contacting speakers for the day, and already has an extensive list of potential speakers.

While working on Speaker Day the council also made a subcommittee to work on changing the dress code. The subcommittee consists of students from all grades and both genders. The committee will work hand in hand with students and faculty to propose a comprehensively revised dress code by the end of first quarter. Our main objectives are to remove all gender biased language, and to clarify the enforcement policies.

USC has allocated funding to several student groups so far, including Science Alliance and Gender and Sexuality Acceptance.

Our final goal is that by the end of the year the 2014-2015 Upper School Council will go down as one of the most ambitious, successful, and motivated councils the school has ever seen.