After weeks of campaigning, the ASB President-Elect has finally been decided: junior Tori Crisostomo-Rickman will be the ASB President for the 2017-2018 school year.

Rickman ran alongside fellow juniors Claire Beswick and Jasmine Samsami, all of whom have experience working with each other in the Advanced Leadership class and all participate in multiple organizations, productions, or sports outside of academics.

The ASB (Associated Student Body) elections have always been the biggest elections of the year. Positions on the executive cabinet are filled by the leadership students who are hoping to make a lasting change at our school and uphold BHS traditions. While most elections occur in the second semester, in the winter, leadership students from all areas of BHS compete for the top spot: ASB President.

Many sophomores, juniors, and seniors remember the intensity of last year’s election between Kershner and senior Tyler Vanderley. The campaign lasted for over a month, complete with daily videos, stickers, and a massive social media driven campaign. Kershner beat out Vanderley in a close race, and is currently serving as the 2016-2017 President. It was clear that this year’s election had not been so publicized, which mainly had to do with the scheduling of our school calendar this year. Kershner explained that elections used to be during dead week, but due to the changing schedule and the stress that it placed on candidates right before finals, the election schedule was moved to be one less week.

The role of the ASB President is not to be taken lightly. The president is, as outlined by the BHS Constitution, the spokesperson of the student body. They hold the position that can make a true change that affects every single person in the student body. According to current ASB President Johnny Kershner, that kind of responsibility requires a lot of character and drive.

“The one big thing [for a president] is initiative, commitment, and passion for ASB and for the job. A knowledge of how things work, what’s going on at school, and an individual opinion of what you want, and what you want to see happen or changed,” Kershner said.

Rickman could not be more excited to be the next ASB President. As an involved student at BHS, she hopes to see the campus grow under her leadership.

“I would like to see BHS become a place where spirit activities and lunch time events are frequent and always occurring. I want to see students get used to a positive, spirited environment. My main goal is to erase the stigma that BHS is ‘unspirited,’” she said.

Rickman is now President-Elect, whose duty is to prepare for the next school year under the current president. According to the ASB Constitution, the President-Elect learns under the President for an entire semester so that they will be prepared for the next year.

Kershner shared an overview of his relationship with the President-elect next semester: “They join our cabinet, working as an executive that year, coming to all of our meetings and voting on all of our minutes and everything. They start leading student council meetings towards the end of the year as well.”

With plenty of leadership experience, Rickman knows the ins and outs of BHS and how it works. She served as Rally Commissioner her sophomore year, and is currently a Co-Buddies Commissioner alongside Julia Servulo. She is excited to now take charge and lead the student body in a positive, more spirited direction. But Rickman understands that while she is more than excited to take on the role, it does come with a lot of weight.

“There’s so much responsibility and I really don’t want to let the student body down,” Rickman said. “Nevertheless, I’m confident that I’ll be able to represent the student body to the best of my abilities.”