The following letter was written by Associated Student Body (ASB) President Mohammed Abid and was distributed to students during their fourth period class on Friday:

My fellow Paly students,

Many of you are probably wondering why I have taken the time to write to you concerning the state of our ASB. Nearly two years ago, I made the decision to run for ASB President because I felt proud to be a Paly student and I wanted to do everything in my power to improve everyone’s experience here at our school.

When I look back on all that has happened this school year, I am proud of what ASB has accomplished. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the state of our ASB is strong.

This school year, we have been fortunate to have new staff working for our ASB. Our new advisor, Ms. Davies, has made a smooth transition into her job and has become adept at handling the issues that face Student Council. She is well versed in the procedures of finances, clubs, events, and is a valuable asset to us.

We have appointed a new Tech Communications Officer, Jon Shan, who has created a website (asb.paly.net) for us to reach out to the student body, giving students access to our recently ratified constitution, forms, applications, dance information, and forums for everyone to voice their opinions. Within six weeks, 400 unique visitors have entered this site.

We have also created a Facebook group with 240 subscribers who receive weekly updates and give feedback and opinions on school events.

We have ratified a new constitution that is legitimate, practical, and clearly defines our roles and responsibilities.

In addition, we have cleaned up our beleaguered financial system, ensuring that ASB money is spent on the majority (51% or more) of Paly Students. All ASB finances now follow strict guidelines defined in our ASB Constitution and Accounting Manual. These documents are available for viewing in the Student Activities Office (SAO).

Both Ms Davies and our new Auditor, Mrs. Sing, have both been trained in fiscal management, and are working with our Treasurer Morgan Pichinson and the PAUSD Business Office to ensure the integrity of the ASB student funds. You have our assurance that all student body money will be wisely spent.

Financial allocation of student body funds is the role of the ASB Officers, who represent the majority of students and ensure efficiency within the system. A financial spending summary will be issued later in this quarter. Hopefully this will be the foundation of trust that future ASB Officers can build upon.

The most common question people have asked me in the past three semesters is, “What does ASB do?”

The core function of the ASB Council is to serve the student body.

The ASB officers both plan and host the Welcome Back Dance, the Homecoming Dance, Prom, and the Last Chance Dance. Smaller dances take up to a month of planning and Prom takes an excess of 3 months to plan.

ASB also plans and hosts school-wide events including Club Day, Field Day, and Spirit Week.

ASB assists in PTSA sponsored programs such as Turkey Trot Day, Teacher Appreciation Week and the International Festival, where the officers plan and execute the Flag Ceremony. All club activities, lunchtime entertainment and rallies are also approved and or planned by the officers.

In addition, ASB officers are responsible for managing clubs. The entire council approves new clubs and tries to ensure that they operate according to district policies and state laws.

Recently, ASB has been focusing their efforts on Prom and the search for a baccalaureate speaker. I have also been directing a great amount of energy towards completing my Student Activities Center (SAC) game room proposal. This proposal has been approved by the ASB Officers and the school administration, and now ASB is in the process of getting equipment. Currently we have a ping pong table from Mrs. Antink, and foosball table that Mr. Berkson has graciously offered. We are currently scouting for a large screen TV, as well as some sofas. By next year, students should notice a drastic change in the SAC.

The Paly ASB Officers plan meet with the leaders of Gunn’s Student Executive Council (SEC) to compare notes, to draw from each other’s strengths, and learn from each other’s weakness. This dialog between our two student administrations should help us in our continuing quest of improving our programs. The ASB Council has been under strong criticism recently from Paly’s own school media, which has accused the Council of not representing its constituents with regard to the prices it sets on all Paly related events. Let me be clear: ASB is not responsible for setting the parking permit prices. This is the role of the Paly Administration. Parking permit money is given by the administration back to the ASB to assist in student scholarships and for all school events. Please keep in mind that Gunn’s parking permit prices are still $40 higher than ours. The money collected by ASB comes from ASB cards, (which have been kept at $25 for several years now), and from school dances, with the exception of Winter Formal. I understand the frustration people are having over seemingly expensive prom tickets. All the money received from Prom ticket sales is used to pay for the food, the elaborate dance d?cor and the DJ. The money you put into your prom ticket does not even cover all the expenses. ASB will be tapping into the general funds in order to make up for this deficit. In short, the money we spend on prom will be worth the many upgrades you will see when you attend. ASB also negotiated the 15% discount for the Cloud 9 Limos prices. Members of the prom committee spent good deal of their school time to find the best limo service at the lowest price to pass on to you.

There have been an increased number of requests for Prom scholarships this year. Next year we plan to allocate 10% of the prom ticket price to a special fund built to financially aid students who otherwise would not have the chance to attend Prom.

We have also been criticized for not advertising. Due to the lack of 4th period representation, ASB is seeking alternative methods of reaching out to the Paly student body. New methods include the ASB webpage and digital bulletin displays around campus (this idea has been approved but requires funding).

Lately, it seems that no matter what ASB does, people find one way or another to criticize it based on their preconceived notions about ASB Officers in general. As Student Body President, I appreciate the criticism; it has been a catalyst for discussion and improvements yet I now ask for your support of our policies and your understanding that our policy decisions are meant to benefit you. Student Council understands there will always be room for improvement. I am calling now for you as a member of the student body to be involved by supplying us with plausible and appropriate ideas and advice on how to accomplish the tasks at hand. In doing so, we can all see improvements within our system.

Remember. ASB stands for Associated Student Body; every single student is a part of ASB. Now is the time to rebuild trust.

Sincerely,

Mohammed Abid

ASB President