Final SMOB candidates chosen

Junior Will Bucher will run against Walter Johnson junior Ben Moskowitz for next year's Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) in a countywide election on April 25.

Bucher and Moskowitz were chosen as candidates in the 30th annual SMOB election by delegates from MCPS high schools and middle schools at the nominating convention, held on March 1 at James Hubert Blake High School.

The candidates were selected on the basis of their prepared speeches, answers to questions prepared by the Special Elections Committee of the Montgomery County Region (MCR) of the Maryland Association of Student Councils and responses in an open question-and-answer session. Bucher and Moskowitz were chosen as the final two candidates out of three preliminary candidates. The third was Blake junior Chris Yates.

Blair sent a total of 17 delegates, plus alternates and observers, to the SMOB Nominating Convention, the largest delegation of all the schools. More than 400 delegates were in attendance, according to SGA President Eric Hysen.

If elected, Bucher will become the fourth Blair SMOB in 22 years, the most recent of which was 2006 graduate Sebastian Johnson.

Bucher, who ran for SGA President last year, but lost to Hysen, is running for SMOB with the goal of fostering communication by making himself more accessible to students. "Students don't realize that the SMOB isn't this big person, and [he's] just another student," he said. "I'm a very personal candidate. Students aren't afraid to talk to me."

Bucher also hopes to better represent student interests to the other members at Board meetings. "[The student] is the only member who's a part of the school system, and I know the needs because I go back to school every day," he said.

Bucher participates in cross country, mock trial and Diversity Workshop. He believes the depth of his involvement in the school community gives him the experience necessary to represent students throughout the county. "As more issues arise, given my range of eclectic extracurriculars, I will be able to represent a large range of student concerns and needs," he said. "Given this, I can not only accomplish the goals that I've set out for but future ones that come up during my term."

Bucher also wants to maintain ESOL and special education programs at their current levels and to improve the current health curriculum. He supports extending the high school cell phone policy to middle schools and revising eligibility requirements.

Moskowitz, the current MCR treasurer and former special elections administrator, is pushing to bring driver's education classes back to county high schools, exempt students from final exams if they take the corresponding AP exam and create a system allowing students to evaluate teachers.

If elected, Moskowitz says he will strive to expand the SMOB's role. "We need to be more proactive in introducing legislation instead of just sitting back passively waiting for other resolutions to arise," he said.

Moskowitz, who was on the committee that overturned the R-rated movie ban in high schools and the PG-13 ban in middle schools, also believes his experience and dedication to student government will give him the advantage in the upcoming election. "We need to look at who can achieve the most and who can get real things done, and I think I'm that candidate," he said.

Johnson has officially endorsed Moskowitz as his choice for SMOB. "He's a great example of what I believe student representation should be about, and he's got an incredible amount of experience," Johnson said. "He's a true representative of the power and potential of youth."

Editor's note: Will Bucher is a staff writer for Silver Chips Online.