Marcellus High students leave their mark with new school constitution

From left: Senior Faith S., sophomore Abby V., and senior Dani F.

There were no gavels or powdered wigs, but Marcellus Senior High School might momentarily have been mistaken last week for the Pennsylvania State House in 1787, when the founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia to draft the nation’s first Constitution.

While others enjoyed a day off from classes Friday, about a dozen civic-minded students – Student Council officers, transition team members and representatives from extracurricular and athletic organizations -- gathered to hammer out the details on a new constitution for the high school, under the enthusiastic direction of Principal John Durkee.

“We’re rewriting the school constitution. We saw a need to revamp it, to give students a bigger voice,” Mr. Durkee said, as students clustered into small groups to begin crafting the new document’s language.

Under the high school’s current system, homeroom representatives are the main source of information dissemination. Meanwhile, class governments, student council governments and extracurricular groups all function independently of each other. Durkee, Student Council Adviser Heidi Busa and Assistant Principal Deborah Glisson wanted to realign representation to create a line of communication for school-wide initiatives. And they spotted a natural bridge with extracurricular and athletic groups, in which some 90 percent of Marcellus students participate.

“Bring all these stakeholder groups together and the communication to the student body exists,” Mr. Durkee said.

The student effort fits into a larger district push toward accountability and transparency, according to Marcellus Central Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig J. Tice.

“It’s all part of getting students actively involved, which is long overdue,” Dr. Tice said.
The chance to leave an indelible mark on the school appealed to many of the students who agreed to help, including senior Faith Seeley.“It’s a good thing to say we had a huge role in this,” Faith said. “I like the feeling I have some influence over the school and students.”

Rebecca Nolan, senior class president, said the new system will help relieve the “same small group of volunteers” to whom so much necessary organizing usually falls.

Holly Grosholz, a junior, said: “It’s important to have an organization where students have a say on what goes on in the school.”

Sophomore Abby Vensel, 15, had something other than her legacy in mind when she agreed to help.
“I’m a sophomore and I don’t want to be stuck with a government I don’t agree with for the next two years. I want it to be open and changeable,” Vensel said.

Sean Koloski, also 17 and a junior, wants to make a difference that endures at the school so that his 11-year-old sister will reap the benefit when it’s her time to enroll at Marcellus High. “I want to come back in 10 years, and have it still be this way.”

“So many students go their whole career complaining the teachers don’t listen,” added senior Dani Felty. “They listen to us here.”

The group, which has been meeting for the past couple of months, will continue to do so until the students feel the charter is ready to be ratified.Ms. Busa, Ms. Glisson and Mr. Durkee “are taking this a meeting at a time and letting the kids determine when it's ready,” Mr. Durkee said. “It's their government.”