This interview was conducted at 7:30 PM on Friday, April 9 in the Ohrstrom Library.
Ryan Murphy: Hi everybody, I'm Ryan Murphy for The Partisan sitting down with Annette Chun. She is one of our top ten Student Council Sixth Form Officer finalists. Annette, thank you for being here.
Annette Chun: Thank you for having me, Ryan.
RM: Congratulations on making the top ten — that is a huge honor. Glad you are here. How are you?
AC: You know, I've been doing pretty roller-coastery — I think that's the best way to describe it — but I'm doing pretty well right now.
RM: Good, good! I want to just dive right in here, and we are going to start with your statement. In your statement, you stressed the "opportunity for our grade to improve our school community as a whole." Can you explain that opportunity, for those who might not understand?
AC: Yeah, of course. I think that you can relate to this — we are the last of the SPS student forms to have experienced a year without COVID, in our freshman year. Something that has been missing this year due to the pandemic, obviously, is the practice of old traditions and events, such as going to in-person Chapel, and going to seated meals, and really being able to build relationships with each other based on that. We haven't really had a chance to do that this year. But next year, obviously we are not really sure how the COVID situation is going to look, but I think it will be a lot better, and it is an opportunity for us not only to bring back old traditions, but also to bring more events or activities that can really help boost student morale as a whole — to build relationships through new events. I'm not really sure of specific details because I would have to work with the Sixth Form Officers and other members of the Student Council in order to collaborate on trying to connect the SPS community as a whole. I think next year will be the chance to do that, because it won't be as tight as this year for sure.
RM: We have that opportunity, and you, as a candidate for Sixth Form Officer, might potentially be in a position of power to...make good on that opportunity, shall I say? If you were to be in that seat as sixth form officer, what kind of tone would you want to set, given that opportunity?
AC: I definitely think that we have to set a more uplifting tone in order to rebound back from this year, because the thing that makes SPS special is how close-knit we are together as a student body, and in order to do that we are going to really have to work together and collaborate, not only as a grade, but also a family. I consider the people at St. Paul's, and the people in my grade, to be a family, and I think we really need to build that interpersonal relationship with each other...and also sense the positivity, and the equal opportunity for everyone to advocate for what they want from the school.
RM: You talk about that family — what can the Student Council do to nurture and bring that family back together?
AC: It's not just the student body that creates the SPS family, it's definitely the faculty as well that helps to nurture that, so when we are having Student Council meetings, we are going to have to open the table up to more students — not just the members of the StudCo, and not just the faculty that are present there. I think when we are going to talk about certain issues that may concern even the simplest things, like in the Upper, or maybe more serious things, like regarding the Dean of Students office, we are going to need to bring people who are directly involved with the places of importance in order to hear their opinions. If other students want to contribute to that… Because it's really not just a matter of us trying to make decisions, it's a matter of us trying to collaborate with the rest of the community in order for us to accomplish that. I think building that space at the Student Council will help establish those connections, and to really build those relationships.
RM: So would you say collaboration is a goal of yours?
AC: Yes, I definitely think so, and that's the way which we have to move forward, and that's how we are going to move forward.
RM: On a very similar note, you mention again in your statement here that our relationships "have grown looser due to COVID." How will you — or how should a Sixth Form Officer — help the student body heal after all that we've really lost here?
AC: I think later I also mentioned advocating for the students' opinions, and that also requires direct communication with the administration and balancing the interests of the students while understanding the intents of the administration in order to enact change. That's the way in which we can try to rebuild these relationships, not just within the students, but also within the students and the people who are in charge of running this school. Again, it's a matter of really trying to understand each other from different positions, because we really don't have different opinions and we may not understand each other as well from a student's perspective to a faculty's perspective or from an administrator's perspective to a Sixth Form Officer's perspective. Really seeing the intentions and being able to communicate them directly with each other is the way in which we can really rebuild those bridges.
RM: You talk about communication, and communication is a big part of the job. How do you best communicate?
AC: I'm someone who really enjoys direct communication with people I want to accomplish a certain goal with. In order to do that we are going to have to have more meetings with the Dean of Students office, because I know that the Student Council meets with Rector Giles every week, maybe every week or every Student Council meeting. That will really help us understand, understand and have them put forth their input as well, because they understand some parts of the school that we don't. And collaborating with them to make that change — again, emphasis on collaboration, I've said that a lot of times. It is really important because we don't want to have that disparity of not knowing what they want and them not knowing what the students want, and we just need to work together in order to do that.
RM: Transitioning a little bit... You've held leadership positions here. You've been a LinC leader. How would you say that being a LinC leader has, or hasn't, prepared you for being an SFO?
AC: My position as LinC leader has really helped me understand the importance of not only educating our community, but also trying to find ways in which we can help improve our community through understanding the students through the curriculum that is taught. Also, we need to form a bond with the dean who is in charge of running these classes. It's a partnership that we have to establish, and something you have to collaborate on together in order to...revise the curriculum in order to help the students understand what makes St. Paul's St. Paul's. Whether that be gender identity, race, socio-economic class — I think those are the topics we mainly cover, but even adding other things as well through the decisions of the students and the deans. We need to build that sort of interpersonal relationship, before we can really openly communicate about what we want to change and what we need to add with the deans, and understanding where they are coming from, while we understand that there are certain restrictions that might need to be discussed in order to make those changes. Because obviously, and I've said this before, we don't really know the challenges that they are dealing with certain issues among the administration that don't allow us to do that. We need to find a way to make a change but keep those challenges in mind.
RM: You mentioned making St. Paul's St. Paul's. For you, and you can take this as broad as you want, what does make St. Paul's St. Paul's?
AC: Yeah that is a really good question... I think since my third form year what really makes St. Paul's St. Paul's is the community that brings us together, and how much we appreciate the relationships that we have built together. The moments that we have shared, even the littlest things — like the soft-serve ice cream machine that I don't think people really know about. Just really appreciating the small things in life… And again, I've said this before, but bringing that back is going to be essential in rebuilding the sense of family that is at St. Paul's, that really makes up our experience.
[Librarian interrupts]
RM: You can have that twenty seconds back, if you want.
AC: Okay... Well, not only that, but in last night service, when we bid the seniors farewell, that feeling of loss that we feel is like the feeling of understanding that next year is going to be the new year when we are going to have to rebuild that sense of family again, and welcome the new students, and the younger students that are going to fill in the generations of tradition that have been left behind. Family, empathy, and understanding of one another is really what makes St. Paul's special.
RM: Last question. You made it to the end — congratulations! We'll end on something a little lighter, although equally hard. Do you have a favorite St. Paul's memory?
AC: Oooooooh...
RM: One of many, I'm sure...
AC: Definitely my favorite St. Paul's memory was when we were all in Chapel, it was our fourth form year, and everyone had been trying to guess when cricket was. I had totally mis-guessed cricket — it was not the best week for me, and it was some random day, like a Thursday or something, and the Rector came up, and she walked up, and she was like, "guys, guess what?" Then she held up the little box of crickets and then they started chirping, and then she had the cricket bat, and everyone just went berserk. I think that is a really special memory, and we had that online this year, but it really does emulate the same feeling of victory, especially after you're toiling through tests, and you're looking forward to it, but you completely miscalculate. It's that moment of suspense.
RM: Awesome. Well, Annette, thank you for being here. And best of luck with the speech on Tuesday and voting on Wednesday.
AC: Thank you, Ryan.
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