At the end of last school year, Luca Broder (‘20) was elected executive council president. The Blotter is keeping up the tradition of a Q and A to help students get to know their president.

Blotter: What is your favorite class at Berkeley Carroll?

Luca: Definitely Coming of Age in the Novel. Dr. Hughes is the best, and you get to read some of the classics like Great Expectations. 

B: What does Berkeley Carroll mean to you?

L: To me BC is a place that provides you with everything you need to grow as a student and as an individual. Coming from PS 321, I remember what it felt like to have 35 kids in a class. Being able to meet with teachers and engage with a small, tightly knit community is an amazing thing that I think a lot of people take for granted. 

B: Why did you decide to run for Executive Council President? What does this role mean to you?

L: I care about BC and wanted to have an active role in my community and not just ride along in the backseat. I saw President as the best way to do that. I also see myself as someone who doesn’t fit into one group or clique, and as someone that everyone can be comfortable reaching out to about their wishes for BC, and someone that can turn those wishes into action. 

B: As you know, last year a number of students of color expressed that they often feel unsafe and excluded in our community. How will you and the executive council work this year to help our community begin to heal and move forward?

L: It’s our responsibility as the executive council to create spaces for honest conversations about race at BC. We hope to continue to do that through BC talks, and working with the Equity Council. The worst thing that could happen to the BC community is that we slowly set back into our old comfortable habits, and we forget the students of color who spoke up last year. If we forget, something like that will happen again. It could be two years, it could be five years, but it will happen again. The best thing that we as a community can do is engage with the spaces available to us to share our opinions and discuss our experiences. And the executive council is always looking for feedback from its students about how to best achieve this.

B: What are some of the first things you want to achieve that students can look forward to this year?

L: We’re working on more fun school-wide events like the student-faculty volleyball tournament and karaoke competition. A more serious goal of mine is to institute a student activism policy. Right now when there is a walkout that students want to participate in, for example, there is a sort of grey area. We want to clearly define the school’s stance on this, and institute new guidelines in the student-faculty handbook. 

B: What are some more long-term goals?

L: I am looking to create a policy on anonymous grading. Unfortunately, unconscious grading bias is a real issue, so by instating blind grading into classes where it is feasible, you could avoid any possibility of a teachers perception of a student influencing that student’s grade. 

B: In the past, executive council presidents have sometimes been unable to make good on their promises. How exactly will you work to ensure that you fulfill your goals as president?

L: I’ve already gotten to work! On the smaller side, events like the dodgeball tournament and the Halloween contest have been great successes and long term goals like a student activism policy are underway.

B: How exactly will students be able to express their concerns to you and the executive council this year?

L: We’ll be sending out an anonymous feedback/suggestion form soon, so if you have any questions or concerns you can feel free to leave them there. Other than that, ask me in the hallway, I’m always happy to talk. 

Stay tuned for more on Luca and the Executive Council!