To what extent do you agree with this statement: “I feel safe at my school?” Yearly climate surveys feature questions like these in an attempt to provide students an opportunity to voice their opinions directly to the administration. These surveys, along with similar opportunities such as ASB elections, are effective but often overlooked ways to make changes on campus.  Students should value opportunities to make their voices heard by school authorities and celebrate that students have the power to initiate change.

Climate surveys help students inform administration of their needs and wants.  This is evident in the bell schedule change which will be implemented this following year due to student and teacher interest in last year’s survey.

With the power to alter aspects of school life through a single climate survey, opportunities such as the climate survey empower students by providing a chance to voice their thoughts regarding their education.

School climate also greatly contributes to a student’s learning experience by ensuring that students feel that they are in a safe environment, which can be fostered through surveys, as they allow for students to anonymously express their opinions about the current school climate.

Although students are granted administration-provided opportunities to channel their opinions, it is ultimately up to the student body’s determination and resolve to take initiative.

Woodbridge High’s Woke Club aims to invoke change concerning the political dilemmas within society.

“Woke club is a political activism club, and at our meetings, we talk about what is going on in the world and how we can be good citizens and how we can be involved in politics to make a change in our world. It’s really important for young people to feel like they have a voice,” said junior Izzy Eyre.

The club organized a walk-out to protest gun control regulations and spread awareness of the recent Parkland, Florida high school shooting through a walk-out on March 14 and numerous letters to government officials.  

Through these actions, it is apparent that students hold the potential to create opportunities that allow them to voice their opinions. While climate surveys are important, it is ultimately the convictions of students that prompts progress on a large scale. Students who yearn for difference need to realize that their voices are influential and can truly make change.