There are many student-run organizations at Communications High School (CHS), each offering a variety of leadership opportunities. The school’s election patterns suggest that the connections that students make with peers and upperclassmen help them obtain these council positions.

Fiona Griffin of Middletown, founder and president of Music Club, makes the distinction between networking and biased council decisions. She pointed out that being known as someone who is qualified for a certain position and receiving a position from a friend, regardless of qualifications, are two different things.

She does not believe that her method of assembling a council was biased; she was genuinely looking for qualified students.

“I just thought of kids that I knew that did music, and then I went to them and just begged. I kind of got lucky; they all said yes,” Griffin said.

Junior Ahren Gaikwad of Howell, founder of Table Tennis Club, explained that after establishing the club and getting situated, he ran it on his own in its first year. “At the end of the year I hosted a tournament, and that’s where I got a lot of interest from other people, and then I ran an election,” Gaikwad said.

Gaikwad’s method of allowing members to vote and select the next council democratically is used by many clubs at CHS, and it seems to eliminate bias on a personal scale, if not on a broader scale of popularity.

Sophomore Isabella San Filippo of Wall Township was elected president of her class council following an unsuccessful campaign for the Student Government Association (SGA). San Filippo found the SGA election process to be difficult but overall fair.

“There’s so much that goes into it, from making the trifold, to making the posters, to the video and it’s a lot of work to put everything together,” San Filippo said.

San Filippo added that she was excited to continue to serve on her grade’s council, and that she loved planning and organizing events for her peers.

“Losing is a part of life, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out,” San Filippo said.

Those who were active in leadership roles at CHS agreed that students received their positions based either on merit or vote, not primarily as a result of their connections and friends.

Senior Jordan Juliano of Long Branch argues that the connection culture at CHS reflects real world experiences.

“Connections do play a role in deciding councils and positions,” Juliano said. “However, that’s a part of life. A lot of jobs require networking and connections.”