The student council is comprised of passionate boys motivated to make the school a better place. This year, Fifth Formers Asa Winikur, Arsh Aggrawal, and Quin Bongiovani, along with Fourth Formers Josh Williams, Devon Li, and Colin Decker, and Third Formers Charlie Neel, Jeremy Chapman, and Michael Abboud all are trying to uphold this standard.
But how do they plan to do that?
It starts with goal setting.
“We’re trying to make sure that everyone finished out the year strong,” Class of 2025 Representative Devon Li said. “We’re trying to prevent Honor Council cases from coming up, and we’re trying to make sure that every student has the resources they need to finish the year on a high note.”
Li also wants to continue to build the school’s sense of brotherhood.
“For next year, we want to build a great community,” Li said. “We want people to show up to events such as sports games and concerts. The goal of the student council any year is to simply make life more enjoyable for the students, along with being their voice.”
Fifth Former Asa Winikur, the student body president for this upcoming school year, is focused on reliability.
“My main goal as student body president is to simply serve the community in the best way I can,” Winikur said. “Whether it takes coordinating form activities, helping run assemblies, or just being there for someone one on one. I just want to be reliable.”
When asked about the same topic, Class of 2026 President and Third Former Charlie Neel emphasized inclusion.
“I want to make sure everyone feels welcome,” Neel said. “I want them to feel that they are a part of the Haverford community. I want to help facilitate the building of relationships between upperclassmen and underclassmen, and make sure that the younger students aren’t afraid of talking with the older ones.”
At the end of the day, the governing student body serves as the voice of the students, which becomes much easier when there is a clear plan for communication.
Winikur has some ideas.
“I plan to take many approaches—including visiting freshman advisories, sending out surveys to the student body, and consistently being in contact with both the faculty and administration,” Winikur said.
Another important aspect of this year’s student council is that they are a team.
“We plan to make the most out of our many ways of communication,” Li said. “We want to be very collaborative in our weekly meetings, as we try to get the most possible ideas out on the table. We also have a group chat, where anyone on the student council can talk about their concerns.”
“I am truly excited to work with a special group of guys next year, and I wouldn’t be able to do this job without them.”
Asa Winikur ’24
Winikur also elaborated on this idea of a team.
“I plan to utilize our student council meetings to the maximum. I also am looking forward to collaborating with the CMP, Honor Council, and Signet Society,” Winikur said. “Overall, I am truly excited to work with a special group of guys next year, and I wouldn’t be able to do this job without them.”
Neel has some goals as well.
“As an underclassman, I understand that I will not be running the show in terms of the student council,” Neel said. “I want to build on the ideas that the upperclassmen student council representatives present, and give my two cents on it.”
