Ever thought about overthrowing your student government?

[Wisconsin9]

No that my friend is honestly bullshit. My schools had "Fair and free elections" but the teacher administration secretly ran the whole show. We were puppets.

I hear ya. I recall this model congress we did back in middle school. During my two week tenure as senator, I proposed one law multiple times: a bill that would allow the death penalty to be applied in cases where people were caught loitering or littering. Early on, it never even made it out of committee. But that didn't stop me. So I would reintroduce the bill every school day, and filibuster every and any law regardless of what it was or who it was proposed by. Finally, I got the bill out of committee and the senate passed it (I think because they were annoyed of my insistent use of the filibuster). My teacher, unamused by this, said how stupid the bill was and kicked me out of the senate. Everybody else was a voting member of congress for another week, while I was demoted to a non-voting delegate (I actually had to wear a sign that said that).

Damn you, Mr. Spuler. You fascist!

The one person actually trying to imitate actual Congress gets punished for it.

[Daistallia 2104]

Why does student council etc matter?
I mean, okay I am member of it but pretty much everyone is there for free pizza and CV (mostly former). Its not like student council has any power anyway.

Depends. Student government usually wields a lot more power at the college/university level. Sometimes, like I mentioned above, they have fairly significant power. (The "coup"/recall I mentioned was over an issue of the dispersment of student-aid funds.)

[Forsher]

I hear ya. I recall this model congress we did back in middle school. During my two week tenure as senator, I proposed one law multiple times: a bill that would allow the death penalty to be applied in cases where people were caught loitering or littering. Early on, it never even made it out of committee. But that didn't stop me. So I would reintroduce the bill every school day, and filibuster every and any law regardless of what it was or who it was proposed by. Finally, I got the bill out of committee and the senate passed it (I think because they were annoyed of my insistent use of the filibuster). My teacher, unamused by this, said how stupid the bill was and kicked me out of the senate. Everybody else was a voting member of congress for another week, while I was demoted to a non-voting delegate (I actually had to wear a sign that said that).

Damn you, Mr. Spuler. You fascist!

The one person actually trying to imitate actual Congress gets punished for it.

It's the secret liberal agenda.

Here, someone being true to life. Reality is bad. Therefore by punishing this guy I can persuade these young minds to not find reality accepytable.

Quite clever really.

[United Dependencies]

What would honestly be the point? Why would anyone beyond the members of student government care?

[Mirkana]

Since I was a part of that government...no.

This. Although I did think about leading the student government in a coup to take over the school...

[Daistallia 2104]

What would honestly be the point? Why would anyone beyond the members of student government care?

Depends. RTFT and you'll see several cases where it was important - Ifreann's student government put the campus bar out of business, another poster's student government favored one department in the dispersment of equipment funds, and the local college I mentioned just a couple of posts above was trying to change the dispersment of student aid.

With some student governments there might not be a point, but with others it may be important.

[Mike the Progressive]

I hear ya. I recall this model congress we did back in middle school. During my two week tenure as senator, I proposed one law multiple times: a bill that would allow the death penalty to be applied in cases where people were caught loitering or littering. Early on, it never even made it out of committee. But that didn't stop me. So I would reintroduce the bill every school day, and filibuster every and any law regardless of what it was or who it was proposed by. Finally, I got the bill out of committee and the senate passed it (I think because they were annoyed of my insistent use of the filibuster). My teacher, unamused by this, said how stupid the bill was and kicked me out of the senate. Everybody else was a voting member of congress for another week, while I was demoted to a non-voting delegate (I actually had to wear a sign that said that).

Damn you, Mr. Spuler. You fascist!

The one person actually trying to imitate actual Congress gets punished for it.

Well having a sense of humor helps.

[Astralsideria]

I'm not in school any longer, but when I was, our School Council was a joke. Parts of it were elected, other parts of it were appointed, other parts were opted-into, and it was entirely conceivable that a member of one branch should be unaware of the very existence of several others. I was in the fortunate position of having been appointed to among the most senior of the unelected branches, and of having a good rapport with the staff members who led several other branches. I used this position to have the entire system abolished and replaced with a system of my own design, organised as a Student Parliament with a cabinet government. Unable to secure election for myself, I took the appointed position of Secretary to the Cabinet. When the Minister of Environment left about a month later, I was able to have the Cabinet vote me in to replace her. As I reformulated the department as the Department for Parliament and the Environment, and took the title of First Minister for Parliament and the Environment (having appointed a Junior Minister to help run the department). I used this role to push through several much-needed reforms of Parliament, including holding a proper session of Parliament (to date, the only one there's been, as far as I know), in which, when not answering as First Minister for Parliament and the Environment and Leader of the House (having scheduled the entire day's business personally), I took the chair of the House as Speaker. The next year, a new set of reforms came into effect, making the Head Boy and Head Girl nominally joint heads of Parliament. Neither of them particularly cared for the setup, however, and neither really understood it. I was therefore able to secure for myself the de facto position of Head of Parliament. Following my own departure, further reforms have been enacted, all of which I would approve of, and would have implemented myself had I had time. Sadly, my flagship legislation, the Environmental Policy, was blocked by the new head. This was a policy which would have taken firm action to tackle littering, affirmed (by means of a tangential rider) the enduring rights of the Student Parliament, and, in early stages of its progress, even given the Student Parliament a limited income for discretionary spending (mostly, I admit, by my own department). If I'd moved a little quicker on that, instead of on parliamentary reform, the Acting Head would have signed it into effect. Still, I overthrew the old system and replaced it with a better one which continues to this day. And I managed to appoint, rather than have elected, my own successor. That's something, I guess.

EDIT: I seem to remember I was only able to draft the Environmental Policy by having the last item on my departmental agenda always read, "That the Department do now adjourn its Meeting, and for connected Purposes," the connected purposes being specified in writing, but not spoken, as "that Authority be given to the First Minister for Parliament and the Environment, and any others whom he may designate, unilaterally to continue the Business of the Department, without Oversight, between now and the next Meeting". I am willing to concede that I was stricter on imposing democracy in other people's departments than in my own. On the plus side, I'm gone now, and, in the absence of anyone there to say, "I wrote the constitution for this body, and I tell you this is what's meant to happen," everything works a lot better now. The teacher who ran the unelected body I was in at the start is now Coordinator of the Student Parliament, acting as a benevolent Sir Humphrey, centrally coordinating Cabinet and departmental meetings, and acting as Parliament's advocate among the powers that be. At this early stage in my life, at least, it's something I'm very proud of.

[Risottia]

A government of the students, by the students and for the students.

No that my friend is honestly bullshit. My schools had "Fair and free elections" but the teacher administration secretly ran the whole show. We were puppets.

Excellent.

[Earth Mercenary Alliance]

I remember once recently at my highschool and 10 times in primary school a revolution happened and everyone shit their pants in protest

It was a communist vegan revolution

Just kidding xD

[Greed and Death]

Only in this case http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... entCouncil

[Maroza]

Once because I was wondering how they would react to such a thing. Not that we would get away with it.

[Greed and Death]

Once because I was wondering how they would react to such a thing. Not that we would get away with it.

Just form an alternative student council and see.

[Choronzon]

...what would be the point?

[Daistallia 2104]

...what would be the point?

I'm sorry your reading ability is so poor that you haven't been able to RTFT.

[Mike the Progressive]

...what would be the point?

Change.

[Geilinor]

No, I have not thought about overthrowing my student government. Nothing egregious has happened.