After countless reruns of campaign videos and sweaty lunches spent in the quad by the candidates, working for every vote, Devin Aaron will be next year’s ASB President.
While Aaron has made an effort to get to know the student body throughout his time here at CHS, including the days spent campaigning around school, not all of the voters had the chance to speak with him about what he wanted to do with his presidency. His campaign video was extremely successful in communicating this.
In the video, Aaron mentions his experience as the class president for two years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023), the successful fundraisers he coordinated, his relationship with the school district, his participation in advocating for the new bell schedule, and promises for his conduct as president. A couple of points stand out, though.
“If elected, I’ll be adding a “Coyote Credit” system, where you gain credits for attending school activities, sporting events, performances, and participating in spirit days. You can earn free gifts such as t-shirts, HOCO tickets, ASB cards, or Off-Campus passes,” Aaron promises in the video. “The grade with the most credits has the possibility to go to the beach during the school day. Also, if students want, we can propose to move finals before winter break.”
“Coyote Credit” was already approved by the school board and will be implemented next school year. Certain logistics are still being worked out, but Aaron has been advocating for this far in advance to ensure that it will be utilized immediately upon the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
“From my communication with administrators, we will be having the point system next year. Students will be able to manage their points on an app called 5-Star Students. It’s actually really easy for us to track, so we’re able to see how many students go to events, if the same students go to events multiple times, what demographic needs more time…,” Aaron said in an interview with the courier..
The more controversial idea he pitched to students was the proposal to move finals to before winter break.
“We’re contacting other surrounding school districts, and finding out why their finals before winter break is working for them and how it would work for us. Our district likes the way the system is working right now,” Aaron said. “But if students, teachers, and administrators at Calabasas and Agoura are all on board, we have to go to a district board meeting and propose it and that has to be approved by their board of education. It’s a whole process that cannot be guaranteed but if students want it, hopefully it will happen.”
Throughout all of this, Aaron prioritizes the student body’s voice and is working on cultivating a more collaborative relationship between students and ASB, which he plans to develop through committees around campus.
“[I will be] emphasizing to the class officers that they should be forming committees with students around campus, [with] anyone who wants to get involved in designing apparel, homecoming, etc. Anyone is allowed to join, and to put in suggestions. Something easy like a lunchtime meeting where it just gets more people involved,” Aaron said. “There were so many people that ran for elections or wanted an interview and unfortunately less than half made it through. Those students, and so many more, want to be involved.”
The ASB president is essentially the bridge between students and administration. It requires someone who is passionate, creative, and enthusiastic about the job, and Aaron feels he will fill that role well, and has set his sights on being ASB president since freshman year.
“It was a goal of mine since I walked into class. I’ve been in ASB for three years, and I really liked the position [the past ASB presidents] held and the way they were able to manage the class,” Aaron said.
Throughout his time in the class, he has seen the various methods certain ASB presidents used to approach the job, and he has a well-rounded approach to it for his fourth and final year. Something that he has addressed and communicated enthusiastically is the social aspect of the campus.
“I want to address the problems that [students] see. I don’t love how student activities are being promoted through the administrators lens. I think student activities should be pushed out from a student. So students connect to students and administrators connect to the rules,” said Aaron.
Already, Aaron’s actions on campus and his fresh ideas for the upcoming year has impacted students on campus, with several of his classmates voluntarily campaigning for him, drawn in by his intentions and passion for Calabasas High School.
“I’ve been waiting for this, I’m definitely ready,” said Aaron. “If anyone has any concerns or needs, I’m open [to talk].”
