Last week, Student Body President Carrie Bather made an announcement over the loudspeaker announcing that the Student Council would bring in a banner for students to sign promoting unity within our school. “I thought it was deemed necessary due to the happenings and behavior of last week,” Bather said.

Bather is referring to, of course, the divisive rhetoric and reaction from students of both parties surrounding last week’s election results.  

Although there comes immense leadership with the position of Student Body President, Bather wasn’t alone in making the decision. One of the teacher advisors for Student Council, Ms. Kaia Preus, also deemed it a necessary tool for uniting the school. “BSM is a place where every student should feel welcomed and safe, and the ideas set forth by the Alma Mater show us the ways we can treat one another with love and respect,” Preus said.

The Student Council saw the negative rhetoric as a chance to build community with one another. “We have all been given an incredible opportunity to be here and to be part of this community, and I think that it is important to love one another fiercely and hold one another up. The banner is a great reminder of how to do that,” Preus said.

Although Student Council initiated the banner, which students were able to sign in the main office, Ms. Becca Meagher, the adviser of the peer ministry program, also helped further the idea. “I think the banner was a conglomeration of ideas—the use of the Alma Mater on the banner came from the idea that there was a need for some sort of unification statement. The Alma Matar offers BSM clear directives on who we are and how we should treat one another,” Meagher said.

Indeed, BSM strives to be a place of unity for students from all backgrounds, beliefs, and values.