Students at MIA expressed their need for changes or additions to the school. As is the case in any school, some aspects of MIA are complained about, such as the passing period music, the food provided in the snack shack, the lack of new clubs and sports, and more. That said, when given the opportunity to add these changes and additions, would students really help out? On January 26, 2024, a poll was conducted to answer this very question.
A total of 73 responses were recorded with 25 freshmen, 18 sophomores, 17 juniors, and 13 seniors. Of these respondents, 45 were female and 28 were male. The poll asked these students what sports and clubs they were a part of. Of those who answered the question, 32.9% were not involved with sports, the remaining 67.1% were a part of at least one sport. Furthermore, 37% of respondents said they were not a part of any extracurricular clubs. Of the 63% of respondents who are a part of a club, the majority were a part of a volunteering club such as Interact, Key Club, or SGA. That said, 39.2% of respondents averaged 0 hours a month, 38.4% averaged 1-5 hours a month, with the rest averaging more than 6 hours a month. With this data in mind, more than half of the students are involved in volunteering in some way.
When examining the chart, it’s clear that almost all of the students would be willing to volunteer for changes/additions requested by students. Of the respondent, 35 clarified that they would only participate depending on what is being implemented into the school. This is an important piece of data because only about half of the respondents volunteer. Additionally, the poll asked more which changes or additions students want.
The opportunity for students to fundraise for changes or additions would engage the average student into volunteering. Even for students who do not regularly volunteer, fundraising for things they want would involve them into a volunteering extracurricular for something they are passionate about. Ideally, it would give students more freedom as to what the fundraiser is.
This chart highlights certain changes/additions that students wish to implement. When viewing the mix of responses, it is clear that students do have things that they would want changed or added to MIA. That said, the main issue as to why these changes or additions cannot immediately be implemented is due to funding. All of these changes or additions vary with how much money it would cost. However, the highest rated change is the passing period music. It costs $150 every time the passing period music is changed. Needless to say, it would become quite expensive for the school to regularly change the music. Even so, if given the opportunity, students could fundraise to change the music themselves. This would open up the possibility of a student club fundraising for more expensive changes or additions.
One vital point of this idea is to figure out what club would organize these fundraisers. The final poll question asked respondents what club would be best for this goal. As far as club involvement goes, 21.9% said SGA, 24.7% said Interact, 37% said Key Club. 9.6% said none of these clubs should be involved. SGA is a student run organization and thus would make it easier for students to voice their opinions. That said, the idea of a new club entirely being created, specifically for this purpose, would also be a valid choice. This hypothetical club could accept requests, and the most voted would be fundraised for. These fundraisers could allow any student, whether or not they are in the club, to participate.
Giving students an opportunity to improve MIA in their own way is a sure way to further give students a voice. It is important for the student to enjoy what they are doing at such fundraisers when volunteering as it will make them more inclined to participate. Moreover, it takes less responsibility off the school to find the funding for these changes or additions. In the end, this would be a great opportunity for students to implement their wants, all while being engaged in volunteering.
