Skate the Lake
Student Government hosted an ice skating night at Evergreen Lake
Photo courtesy of Andrew Dickson
As the sun sets over Evergreen Lake, students make their way across the ice. Whether attendees had years of ice skating experience or had never set foot on frozen water in their life, the event gave them the opportunity to test out their skating skills. “I hadn’t skated for about a year, so I tried figure skates for the first time,” freshman Paul DeStefano, one of the night’s student organizers, said. “It hurt my ankles, but I pulled through and I thought it was an overall successful night.”
Rather than dressing up in dresses and suits for the annual spring dance, students laced up their ice skates on January 25.
Student Government, Conifer’s governing student body, hosted an ice skating night at Evergreen Lake to replace the spring dance. The event was free of charge for all Conifer students, including both admission and skate rentals.
“Student Government wanted to replace a spring dance with a free activity for students to have a great time,” senior Andrew Dickson, student body vice president, said. “After two weeks of organization, we were able to get free tickets and skate rentals for all students.”
The idea to host a skate night came about soon after last semester’s Sadie Hawkins dance. The dance’s low turnout motivated Stud. Gov. to host some kind of event that would truly interest students and cater to their interests.
“Last semester, we were all feeling really pressured because we felt like the events we were hosting weren’t really exciting to students,” junior Despina Norway, a member of Student Government, said. “After the last dance, we noticed that lots of students were going ice skating and doing other activities that night other than going to the dance. So, Stud. Gov. got together and talked about other things we could be doing that are actually more interesting for students. That’s why the event was free; we did it for the students, not for profit.”
The event ended up exceeding their expectations, with a turnout of about 75 students.
“Our attendance was much higher than we expected,” freshman Paul DeStefano, another member of Stud. Gov. said. “We were actually pretty surprised by how many people came, and people had fun.”
In addition to this event, Stud. Gov. has been working on a variety of other projects to enhance school spirit and improve the community. For instance, many members will be taking on a project to set up a “senior prom” at a local retirement community, and they will be working with the peer counselors to organize activities for Day Without Hate in April.
This has been a major year of growth for Stud. Gov., characterized by new organizational practices and a surge in motivation from its members.
“We have made it to where people in Stud. Gov. need to be committed,” Norway said. “Instead of just planning events because we have to, we are playing an active role in the school. Everybody in the group truly wants to be here.”
