Sticking to Spirit

Student Council returns to full force

The TC Roberson student council faced a variety of challenges following the pandemic. Students and
advisors are hopeful to return back to some sense of normalcy and bring the student body back together
once again. Being separated last year due to COVID-19, student morale and school spirit have taken a hit.

Junior Class Treasurer Ayla Solomon shared insight on what it was like to be a member last year, “Some
of the biggest challenges from last year from the perspective of a Student Council member was that the
pandemic left many in low spirits. It was hard to encourage the students to participate when school itself
hadn't even truly returned to normalcy. COVID guidelines were hard to work with when organizing an
event, and the options were limited when it came to going virtual,” Solomon said.

Joining Mr. Taylor Sluder, new advisor to Student Council, Woodworking teacher Mrs. Madison
Cawthon-Thomason told her take on the effects of the guidelines, “I think definitely event planning has
been harder. Just to plan events and have them canceled or not know if they’re going to take place until
the very last minute,” Cawthon-Thomason said.

In addition, Student Council itself saw less interest in membership then it had in previous years. New
advisor to Student Council, Social Studies teacher Mr. Spencer Jackson shares his thoughts on the
benefits of being a member, “I think it's a great way to get that early taste of what it’s like to not only
participate in democracy, but to be an American [...] it’s still a good idea to know what it’s like and it
builds leadership qualities too. At the end of the day, high school is about developing your social skills
and your leadership skills, and that’s a great way to do both,” Jackson said.

With this year’s Student Council elections, some of the biggest goals for the group are to raise interest and
“to bring people together again and get them involved,” Jackson said. To do this, Mrs. Cawthon
Thomason believes that it is “a good idea to blast what some of those events might be, even
though they might not be for a couple of months.”

Looking into some of the events for the year, such as Homecoming, Prom, and Pep rallies,
students and advisors are excited to return to planning.

“I am looking forward to Student Council this year because we will have input on major events
like Prom if they are able to happen,” Junior Class President Carter Dixon says.

“I am looking forward to just being able to interact with everybody from the Student Council in
person. Even just with our version of "normal", to be able to bring the students together and have
fun in the process is extraordinary. I want to be able to contribute more ideas and thoughts this
year, as well as have the opportunity to get real feedback from the student body.” Solomon says.

“I’m looking forward to this year in hopefully taking part in some tailgates for the football
games,” Cawthon-Thomason says.
Last year was challenging for everyone, but this year brings more opportunities. Students and
staff have the ability to socialize and be a part of their school.

“Getting back to normalcy, getting back to, you know you hear those questions buzzing around
the hallways like ‘Hey, you going to the game this Friday?’, ‘You going to the game?’, ‘You
going to the volleyball game?’, and so on and so forth, you have people excited about more than
going home to watch Netflix or play video games. You have them want to be part of this bigger
community,” Jackson says.