ASB President Candidate: Dilay Akcora

We have been relying on Dilay as a strong representative in ASB for the past three years. It’s no surprise that after being ASB president for Lincoln Middle School and Samo Sophomore Class President that this strong-minded leader is taking on the challenge of running for ASB president.  Akcora’s motive for running for this position illustrates the type of leader that she aspires to be. “If I did not decide to run for ASB president, this leader would have been handed to us and we, the Samo students, would have not undergone an electoral process for who we think the president of our school would be. It was important for me to run in order to provide a fair election for Samo students. Secondly, the female representation of leaders at our school is not as sufficient as it could be: there has not been a female leader of Samo in half a decade.” Akcora confirmed that Samo students agree with the type of role she plays in the Samo community. “My peers have indicated that I am more than qualified to be ASB President due to my hard work ethic, strong sense of responsibility and my ability to problem solve. However, I think the most prominent quality that a Samo president should have is the courage to stand up for what they believe in. I possess this characteristic, and to quote Eminem, ‘I am not afraid to take a stand,’ I believe and support my peers and their ideas, just like my own.”  Akcora promises to take a stand not just for herself but for Samo as a whole. “By being elected ASB president, I hope to spend my last day at Samo on June 9, 2019 knowing that I contributed to the ninth grader who decided to talk to the Principal about an issue she was having with a friend. Or that a student in water polo made a decision to create a ‘gofundme’ for those who could not afford to purchase a new bathing suit. I want to leave here knowing that I helped students realize the power that they have by being a student. Often when we put a checkmark next to ‘student’ on a form, we feel that we are not as important. But we so are. I want to acknowledge to my peers with the idea that we are not voiceless or powerless, and we are not only capable of contributing to change, but making change.” Akcora’s leadership skills are not just used for ASB, but for many other aspects that help the Samo environment. “I like to contribute my time after school to the Santa Monica community. Almost weekly, I volunteer at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital. At Samo, I am deeply involved in the Theatre and Choir community. I am the founder and president of ‘Future in Medicine’, ‘Ambassador’s Club’ and I am the co-founder of a club called ‘Free 2 Be Me’, an organization that teaches students with disabilities how to dance and allows them to enjoy creative movement and gives them a safe environment to freely express themselves.” In addition, she has used the impact of these other extracurricular activities and incorporated them into her ASB career.  “I have realized that ASB is just one step into creating unity amongst students, and that is why I try to make connections with as many organizations as I can whilst I am at Samo. After helping a sick patient leave the hospital that they have been staying at for five weeks, or seeing the face of a student with a disability be engulfed in a smile because of how much fun they had dancing, it gives a sense of how the smallest things that we do can have an effect on another person. I think that the same thing goes for Samo students. We are one unit, and by being exposed to issues and problems that we want to solve, it is best to understand that we are the ones that are capable of solving them in ways we could not imagine possible.” Akcora showed enthusiasm for Friday’s elections and expressed the importance of this system. Furthermore, she wants to remind students that this is the opportunity to have a voice at Samo.  “ASB elections would be another song that would go like ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’- said no one ever. ASB elections may not seem like they are the important or necessary, but this is so far one of the only times in the year where we are asked ‘What do YOU want?’ And in a world where we are just given answers, formulas and solutions to memorize and keep in our heads, I am well aware that this process of electing who we want is very valuable.  This is why I chose to run. I did not want this to be another situation where we were just ‘given’ an answer, or in this case, a president. We are given many things, and the leaders of our school should definitely not be one of them. That is why, my friends, ASB elections are important. And this is also why you should vote for me, Dilay Akcora, as your ASB president, because I will proudly stand for your rights to speak, think and vote for who you want.”