Unpopular kid running for class president in high school.

[Anonymous]

The not popular (but not "unpopular") kid that won my son's HS election a few years back made a spectacularly clever campaign video. It put him on the HS map.

[Anonymous]

This was my son in HS, a while ago. He lost, but the election was surprisingly close. The whole experience was a big boost for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He needs to stand in front of the school every morning and shake as many hands as possible as kids arrive. Have three friends around him with signs with his name (only, no slogans) Name recognition is everything.

Yes! Kids won’t attend any rally. Yhey are only interested in getting home but they will remember a name.

I think this is a great idea. I work with local politicians and honestly, it's the same at our level. It's a popularity/name recognition issue. And if he doesn't win this year, he's put in the time to create a name for himself and it might really help him next year.

I used to know a labor organizer who had worked on some kind of organizing issue in Philly in the 80s and did a lot of door knocking and public meetings. Around the same time there were city elections and she got tons of write in votes from the area, just because she'd made an impression on people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The not popular (but not "unpopular") kid that won my son's HS election a few years back made a spectacularly clever campaign video. It put him on the HS map.

My DD did the same thing in 9th grade to get onto the student council and was class president every year since. She was never in the popular crowd but the first video was clever, memorable and got her onto the council. She then worked hard and made sure she was inclusive - she worked hard to find kids who would participate and kids who had talents (like drawing). She became well known and was liked by many. By the time her junior year rolled around, she ran unopposed.

[Anonymous]

+1 He just has to make his name known in a large school. Especially freshman year. If the vote is even a little close, he should feel happy about it and try again. I know freshman year, I was just keeping my head down and trying to keep up with my new workload. If anyone had run against the kid that won president that year (he was class president for the 3 years of middle school) and that person seemed even a little friendly, I would absolutely have voted for them.

[Anonymous]

My DS ran twice and lost on both occasions. The entire SC has been exclusively female for the past two years. No judgment or complaints, just stating facts.

Losing didn't stop him from getting into the top 25 schools. He wrote one of his supplemental essays about the experience. It was a very funny, honest piece.

[Anonymous]

I mean politics is a popularity contest.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by popular? A lot of times being "popular" means being cool but that does not mean they have a large quantity of friends.
From what I've seen it sometimes comes down to the speech because most people voting in a big school are strangers. I've also see votes cast along racial lines if it's a school that tends to be more segregated.
Less about "popularity." Some of the popular or "cool" kids in DC's HS ran this year and didn't win. They were close I heard but the other kids who might not have been as well known had good speeches which they broadcast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is in 9th grade. Come up with a list of 4 things he would like to support for the 9th grade and print up regular sized sheets of thicker colored paper (construction paper thickness). Get to school early the next couple of days and ask 9th grade teaches if he can post them somewhere in their classroom.
Have a stapler and tape immediately available if the teacher says yes.

Student government is less a popularity contest and more a have a plan contest and ability to speak up. Do find out if the kids speak before their class at any time. If so -- work on that too, obviously Probably the big issues right now are getting back to activities that were in place before covid and have not yet been brought back.

This is responsible advice for someone taking the position seriously. Unfortunately, most 9th graders do not take it seriously. He would be better off putting something outlandish like More vacations! No homework! And something with his name

[Anonymous]

^I actually do remember the name our our HS class present. His only main talking point was he promised us a certain meal, a favorite, would be served in the cafeteria every day. That’s what he flooded the school with and made all his campaign speeches. Obviously we all knew it wasn’t true but you can imagine it “Vote for John for hotdogs every day!” Something like that.

[Anonymous]

OP, Don’t assume he won’t win! Back in the day I ran for class officer against one of those so-called popular kids. I won, because the majority of other kids not only liked what I had to say, but were making a statement against the whole “popular” thing. Remember, just because someone is “popular” in high school doesn’t mean they’re well-liked. Good luck to your son!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sucks but it’s 100% a popularity contest. Your kid sounds awesome. I hope he wins.

Alternatively sometimes the write in joke candidate wins…