From collaborators to competitors—Blain and Lauer both after the presidential role

As comes with every spring, birds are singing, flowers are blooming and eager candidates are preparing for the upcoming, annual ASB elections. On March 29, Samo students will gather in Barnum Hall and listen to a panel of their various classmates to then vote on next year’s ASB board. Perhaps the most anticipated of speeches are those to be read by ASB President hopefuls; this year, Aidan Blain (’20) and Parker Lauer (’20). Both current ASB members, the two friends have strong resumes and qualifications, yet they each bring something unique to the table. Aidan Blain Blain will be going into his fourth year as a Samo ASB member. He has previously served as Freshman Class Vice President and Sophomore Class President, and is currently Student Member of the School Board. His current position sees him attending board meetings every two weeks and participating in legislative days outside of school. On Tuesday, March 12, Blain embarked on yet another legislative day, arriving in Sacramento in order to advocate for school board policies at the state capitol. Outside of school, Blain keeps up his political involvement as well. As a member of Youth & Government, he was recently elected Youth Governor of California and will preside over 3,500 students across the state.  Blain has also received a Teen Innovation Grant from The Jewish Federation, funding a website he is developing, called “iamateenvoter.com”. The website is aimed toward future teen voters and Blain hopes to get them more politically interested and involved, providing links for voter registration and pre-registration, a discussion forum and soon, opportunities for political involvement in Southern California. Aside from politics, Blain is a varsity track and cross country runner. He loves the sport and has been involved in it all his years at Samo. His opposition, Lauer, is also a track and cross country runner. “Parker’s one of my really good friends. I wish I wasn’t running against Parker, but I am,” Blain said. Should Blain win the election, he hopes to get the general student body more involved in decisions and increase school spirit in doing so. “I think a big problem with our school is that students aren’t included in decisions as far as rallies, spirit days, dances, all that stuff. Nobody wants to do it because no one cares. But I think if we involve students on another level we can solve that problem. I hope to get students more involved and have them participate in the deciding of our events so that they can enjoy them,” Blain said. Blain would love to be elected as ASB President for the upcoming school year, and feels he has the right ideas, experiences and connections to serve the school well. “I think I would be the best president for our school. I think I know the most about our school. I know how it works, how it runs and how we can improve it the most. I think that I have the experience, the skills, the knowledge and connections to do that,” Blain said. Parker Lauer Lauer is an extremely involved Samo student, participating in immersion, mock trial, cross country and track, theater and choir in addition to ASB. She will be going into her third year as a Samo ASB member. As a sophomore, she was Class Vice President, and she currently serves as ASB Secretary. Her job entails taking notes at meetings and overseeing the community service, activities (plans appreciation weeks, carnivals and dances) and manager’s (keeps the ASB room organized and calendars upcoming events) committees. Being president of her high school is something Lauer has dreamed about since kindergarten, and she believes that through both her experiences and values, she can make a very positive influence on campus. “I’ve gotten to know so many different groups of people with different types of perspectives and I think that’s something really important in a leader—knowing, understanding and being tolerant to different types of cultures, opinions, abilities and talents so you can really reach out and say ‘I don’t have to do exactly what you do, but I’m here to listen to what you have to say and represent you in the best way possible,’” Lauer said. Lauer hopes to implement a system that allows clubs and ASB to work together more, in order to increase student involvement in campus activities. She would love to make their voices heard and discuss ways in which their ideas might be put into motion. “If we reach out to the kids who reach out to other kids, then we’re doing our job of representing everyone,” Lauer said. Despite her confidence in her ability to lead the school strongly and genuine desire to do so, Lauer’s first choice is for the students to be happy with their elected president no matter who it is. “I’m for the students. While I think I have the qualifications for this position, I think it’s the students’ choice for who they want to see represent them. I think Aidan’s an amazing candidate. If he wins, then that’s what the student body decided. There’s nothing I can say against that. That’s their power, they vote for who they want to represent them. If they think he will do the best job possible, then I should be happy about that,” Lauer said. Through her role as ASB secretary, she has learned just how valuable communication is, and if elected, Lauer hopes to increase communication around campus.  “I think knowledge is one of the most important things on a high school campus. There are a lot of things thrown around that are unclear, and I think the solution to that is communication. I hope to work on developing forms of communication between ASB and the rest of the student body,” Lauer said. ASB Elections will take place on Friday, March 29. All freshmen will report to Barnum Hall during first period, sophomores during second period and juniors during third period.