Tim Hwang voted next Student Member of the Board of Education

Wootton junior Tim Hwang defeated Richard Montgomery junior Jiayi Yang in a county-wide election held Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the 2009-2010 Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB), according to an announcement on the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Student Affairs Office website. Hwang will begin his term as the 32nd SMOB on July 1, replacing current SMOB and Watkins Mill senior Quratul-Ann Malik.

Hwang is looking forward to his upcoming term. "I haven't had time for it to sink in yet," he said. "But I'm excited and ready to get started."

During the last two days, 63,386 students from 25 high schools and 38 middle schools voted. Hwang received 35,654 votes, or 56.49 percent to defeat Yang, who collected 27,460 votes, or 43.51 percent. Blair students voted 57.34 percent in favor of Hwang, according to an Election Summary Report found on the Student Affairs Office website.

40-50 Student Government Association (SGA) members and Blair Ambassadors administered voting in the Blair gym, according to senior and Deputy Judge Giulian Garruba. Although the voting was delayed Tuesday morning, SGA members made adjustments to accommodate students who missed the opportunity to vote during their second period English class. "For the most part, we figured out an effective process that minimized the confusion of voters," Garruba said.

Hwang plans to discuss solutions to school issues such as the open lunch policy, High School Assessment (HSA) graduation requirement and Loss of Credit (LC) policy through SMOB 2.0, a coalition of student representatives from across the county. "It's a chance for students to get involved and actively participate in SMOB policy," he said.

Hwang has proposed altering the current exam policy to allow students who receive an "A" on both quarter report cards to complete a cumulative project that will count as their semester exam grade. He also hopes to work with Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) President David Murray to petition for a waiver of the HSA graduation requirement for disadvantaged students.

Yang congratulated Hwang on his election win. "I'm happy for Tim and I hope he is able to accomplish the goals he has set out during his campaign," he said. "I'm confident he'll make a great SMOB."

Yang also identified pressing student concerns that he hopes Hwang will address as the next SMOB. "One area I want to see Tim work with is student advocacy. Issues like student parking, iPods and cell phones and open lunch," he said. "I want to see Tim be a voice for students and get these problems fixed."