ASB revisits past ideas with new perspective

Karina Rower

For a more indepth conversation with Sky Gomes, listen to the newest episode of The West Linn Weekly Wakeup, available on all podcasting platforms.

Like every year, a fresh Associated Student Body (ASB) president is stepping into office, and along with shifting faces, a new advisor is now leading the class. Sky Gomes, senior, will be ASB President for the class of 2023. 

“I just want to be [an ASB President] that everyone feels like they can come to,” Gomes said. “That’s my main goal this year.”

Elected yearly by the student body, ASB is a group of students that plan events and advocates for their peers. ASB consists of 14 total officers, six seniors, five juniors, and three sophomores. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ASB’s ability to organize school wide events was hindered due to health and safety protocols. Now in the 2022-23 school year, as restrictions are rolled back, changes are being made.

Blake Williams, activities director, is now in charge of both the leadership classes and advising ASB after longtime advisor Annie Kaiser stepped down to oversee the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

“Just this past weekend was the first time that we really had a time to connect with her,” Gomes said. “She actually just got hired last week.”

Concluding the 2021-22 school year, events like May Day were returning in a capacity close to their original form, spearheaded by last year’s ASB President, Lucinda Fein. Each ASB officer has an area of focus, in which they take the lead on organizing events and connecting with students, and many events that had been shelved or postponed due to the pandemic are now being planned. 

“Every president is different and brings very different ideas to ASB,” Gomes said. “[Fein] had a lot of really good ideas that just didn’t get executed. Cole Peters was president the whole entire COVID[-19] year. So he also had a ton of plans that he wasn’t allowed to do, so [we’re] just trying to bring all of their past ideas, along with my ideas and the rest of ASB’s ideas to try and continue to make West Linn a better place. The best we can.”  

The West Linn Weekly Wake Up, hosted by editors-in-chief Audrey Lippert and Karina Rower, has returned for the 2022-23 school year, and will be posting bimonthly episodes.