OPPOSITION: Students have conflicting opinions about the addition of a lunchtime advisor in the student store.
By Birdy Jones, Staff Writer
Since the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year, Poly’s Associated Student Body (ASB) has controlled and monitored the student store. Each member of ASB signs up to work shifts in the store in order to gain their quarterly volunteer hours. Their tasks in the student store include cleaning the water dispenser, taking orders from fellow students and working the cash register. While these tasks may seem simple, there have been multiple complaints about student store efficiency this year. In response to this issue, Poly’s ASB director, Vanessa Douty, decided that now is the time to place an adult advisor in the student store. The advisor’s task is to supervise the students who are working and to work one of the two registers.
Three-year ASB member and weekly student store worker Yadira Schrom (11) agrees with the proposal, stating, “The new advisor is what’s best for the student store. We need a dedicated adult to sharpen things up. The store needs more attention and it needs to become a more professional environment.”
In contrast, ASB Student Store Representative Malik Alexander (10) feels that there are more negative aspects to having an advisor in the student store. “I don’t like having an advisor in the student store. It says that we can’t be trusted and get things done on our own. Putting an advisor in would be taking away from ASB members’ hours and it says that we can’t be trusted,” Alexander said.
Weekly cash register worker, Helen Krieger (10) also disagrees with the advisor addition, arguing that, “The biggest issue in the student store is the crowds. We get a lot of customers and it gets pretty chaotic at times, but I don’t think an advisor can help that.” When questioned about student store workers making mistakes on the register, Krieger responded, “Just because a few kids screwed up on the register doesn’t mean that the rest of us should be punished by having to be supervised.”
As conflicting opinions form within ASB, students who are not members of ASB typically lean toward having an adult oversee the student store. “The addition of an advisor will definitely benefit the student store by keeping it more organized and preventing future theft problems,” Samantha Cruz (11) states.
From a separate view, but still in support of adult advisory, Marisa Adams (11) verbalizes her opinion: “A high school student being given the title of a ‘leader’ and the ability to run the student store is giving them too much power. Of course working in the student store without an adult does show some leadership, but I don’t really like it. A teacher overseeing everything is a lot better.”
While students’ opinions continue to vary on the employment of a student store advisor, Douty’s plan is advancing. Whether students like it or not, advisory in the student store is on its way. Until the official announcement, the store will remain closed during lunch.