Change was one of the most important elements of Blaise Malley and Kyle MacMillan’s speech when they were running for ISU Presidency. Now, as they draw up their plans for the 2015-16 school year, they maintain the idea of change: “I feel that for any institution, especially a school, student led change is a gradual effort. Changes including the quality of dances, school spirit, regarding rules or regulation, or modernization occur through a cooperative effort of both the students and the faculty,” MacMillan says. That being said, they do not want to drastically affect the fundamental functions of the school and take it too far. “I wouldn’t say we are changing anything about the direction of the school,” Malley claims, “but more making changes to the way ISU operates and changes within WIS to make the school as positive as possible for students.”
The co-presidents have already started to make good on their main promise to fix the nets above the far side of the field. According to Malley and MacMillan, the already-existing nets have been fairly ineffective thus far: “we waste five minutes of every lunch getting balls from the pond area. It’s so easy to fix, and there’s no reason not to,” says Malley enthusiastically. However, the ladder near the nets shows the progress that the co-presidents have already made within a month of being elected. They are also eyeing their future plans of improving the paying method on Thursdays and Fridays. MacMillan discusses allowing “credit or debit cards to be accepted during pizza and grill days” in an attempt to make items more accessible for people who forget to bring cash.
Despite the clarity of these aims, there have been questions raised about the pair’s lack of experience in student government. But the co-presidents have no issues with their identity in the WIS community. “I think our speech and posters gave the students a good idea of who we are,” declares Malley. He acknowledges the potential issues, but also focuses more on their upside: “I’m confident that we bring a fresh perspective on things and can make all the changes that we want.” Meanwhile, MacMillan’s opinion of their advantage regards their long connection to the WIS community: “Blaise and I have attended WIS our entire lives. We hope that our understanding of the school’s values and goals will be reflected by our time.”
We will only be able to judge the Malley and MacMillan presidency next school year. But if they follow through with their campaign promises, these new faces could prove to be extremely beneficial for ISU and the WIS community.
By Rohan Subramanian
