By Anya Markovitz, Year 10
Animus Stuco, consisting of seven students from 12th grade, were just chosen as LGB’s stuco pick for 2018. I had the chance to interview members Camila, Eli, James, Josh, Laura, Natasha, and Monty about their goals for this year.
How did you form the team and why did you decide to run for stuco?
“We actually created this group chat with all the members of Animus on November 17, 2017. So we’ve really been thinking about this for a long time.”
“I think this group is a really good team because we all kind of target different people, we all have different interests. For example, James is a mathematical genius, and Eli is incredibly smart but he also loves fashion. We’re very diverse.”
What goals do you have for this school year?
“We want to improve the student life in general. We always notice things around campus that bother us, for example the stools in the science lab are breaking and very uncomfortable with no back support. Little things you see daily that bother you but really matter. I think we’re also really detail-oriented as a group, and that’s what we’re gonna focus on.”
How do you plan on listening to the students and incorporating their ideas into your own?
“Starting next Monday, we’re going to have a virtual suggestion box online, which can be anonymous or not. We’ll be able to receive questions and suggestions from students there. We’re also very active on our instagram account (@animustuco), people have already been asking us questions there. You can message us suggestions or things to campaign for.”
Why were you personally motivated to become a voice for the student body?
“For me, I’ve been here since Grand Villa so I know how the school functions. I’ve seen so many problems happen with the school especially with past stucos, so I’d like to make a change I know that people are asking for. We know the issues we want to change.” – Camila Ensink
“I think it’s just an interesting experience to be part of stuco, it’s as simple as that.” – Josh Ophir
“I’d say I’m mostly motivated by the fact that the last few stucos we had were just bad. There were just so many empty promises made and I’m really motivated by just implementing the ideas that you put out.” – Monty Pierce Jones
“My dad did it, which kind of got me interested. I was hesitant at the beginning of the year but then Camila really roped me in and the more I got involved, the more fun it became. It’s really interesting and we hope to make a change.” – Eli Rimer
“There are a lot of things at the school in the past few years that have been frustrating, like the misorganization of the football tournaments or Bal de Neige, and I think we have a chance to change that.” – James Mullen
“For me, I think as a student there are things that we notice that are important to us that adults don’t necessarily realize that it changes our high school experience. So I think being in this position will give us a voice that we can use to make changes that are actually going to help the school.” – Natasha Hibner
What traditions will you keep from last year’s stuco, Remote?
“We’re gonna keep the Valentine’s Day roses that you send to people, the movie nights, music in the caf. We’re gonna keep the traditions but improve them, kind of give them a little twist because we’ve had these going on for years now. We don’t want to do the same Bal de Neige that people don’t enjoy, we want to change it up to be more like American proms and homecoming, with a king and queen. And of course we’ll make our own traditions, like the silent party, bonfire night, and movie night on the pitch.”
Do you have a message for your competitors, Atom and Full Send?
“They were really good competition. On the last few days, you really had no clue who was going to win. Some days it seemed like Atom was definitely getting the vote, others it looked like Full Send was gonna win. It was a very tight race. We really brought the worst out in each other.”
What does the name Animus mean?
“Animus is a latin word, meaning soul and spirit. The symbol of the eye is there because normally the eyes are the key to the soul, and our name means soul. We also want to bring back school spirit. Our logo and name encompass what we wanna do.”
