Anonymous wrote:Speaking as the parent of a girl in 8th grade (and as a former MS girl myself), the question and some of the answers here are truly insulting.

I suggested the friendship brackets and I’m a high school teacher. I don’t know if it will work but it’s worth a try.

Every year I watch the student council elections. You see kids who take it very seriously and make videos about their experience and what they will do. Then others make creative or funny videos that may or more likely don’t say anything about why they are running. They get elected. It doesn’t seem as much about popularity but more about who has the best videos of the year. Kids care about what gets their immediate attention.

How about candy? He could hand out candy for votes.

Anonymous wrote:If he can't even follow through on talking to a few girls at school to get their thoughts, how does he plan to represent them if he gets elected?

He said he did talk to girls. OP just thought what he said responses were sounded “lame.”

If he can't even follow through on talking to a few girls at school to get their thoughts, how does he plan to represent them if he gets elected?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my first thought was Taylor Swift. Get some catchy lyric and put it on a poster. Or hand out some version of friendship bracelets for his campaign and encourage people to trade them. These would get my 7th grade daughter’s attention. Fyi those are beaded bracelets with her song titles that they trade at concerts. He could get creative with that idea somehow.

Absolutely this. Every girl admires and loves Taylor Swift.

I sincerely hope you're joking, because there is no one thing that every girl loves. And my middle school girl is largely indifferent to Taylor Swift.

Anonymous wrote:Feminine hygiene products in the bathrooms

This. My kid is actually on the county student govt and this is one of the things the girls are pushing for. More products and better diversity of the products.

They also want more clean water dispensers and new uniforms for girls sports teams (their cross country uniforms are about 10 years old).

Anonymous wrote:Also went to Taylor Swift with posters saying something like "The Problems?" It's me, hi, I'm going to solve the problems, it's me.

Adding that my DD is on student council but they just sign up at her school...which is probably for the best if this is what I have to offer the next generation.

Also went to Taylor Swift with posters saying something like "The Problems?" It's me, hi, I'm going to solve the problems, it's me.

On one hand, I agree with posters who say that whatever he does needs to come from him, not your advice. If he were posting on here, then I'd consider answering, but this feels like overinvolvement to me, even if you're coming from a place of enthusiasm.

On the other hand, I feel compelled for some reason to note that I think what would motivate my DD to vote for a guy is if she thinks he has integrity and isn't a jerk. Rightly or wrongly (I say also as the mother of a son), she thinks many boys in her MS are rude and sports-obsessed (again, I'm sure she's missing a lot here), but she values the boys who are polite and reliable. So if your kid is already considered by his classmates to be these things, great! And if not, maybe it's something for him to think about if he wants a career in politics.

Feminine hygiene products in the bathrooms

Anonymous wrote:Forget the posters/campaign slogan. Go up to kids, even the ones he doesn't know, and say "I'm Larlo, I'm running for student government. I'd like to ask for your vote." Then engage in whatever conversation follows that. Then go to the next kid and ask for their vote. Don't skip anyone because they are too cool/not cool enough/already going to vote for someone else/already going to vote for you/etc.

The overwhelming majority of kids will never be asked directly for their vote and really don't care who is on their student govt. So ask them.

Yes, I love this!

(I did tihink the friendship bracelet idea was cute, too.)

Forget the posters/campaign slogan. Go up to kids, even the ones he doesn't know, and say "I'm Larlo, I'm running for student government. I'd like to ask for your vote." Then engage in whatever conversation follows that. Then go to the next kid and ask for their vote. Don't skip anyone because they are too cool/not cool enough/already going to vote for someone else/already going to vote for you/etc.

The overwhelming majority of kids will never be asked directly for their vote and really don't care who is on their student govt. So ask them.

Anonymous wrote:Speaking as the parent of a girl in 8th grade (and as a former MS girl myself), the question and some of the answers here are truly insulting.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my first thought was Taylor Swift. Get some catchy lyric and put it on a poster. Or hand out some version of friendship bracelets for his campaign and encourage people to trade them. These would get my 7th grade daughter’s attention. Fyi those are beaded bracelets with her song titles that they trade at concerts. He could get creative with that idea somehow.

Absolutely this. Every girl admires and loves Taylor Swift.

Agree, and not to be rude, but there may be someone running who actually understands what the girls value, rather than someone who is pandering with ideas from his mom…

I agree with this. I understand wanting to support him, but the real value in student government isn't the title, but the lessons learned while campaigning (stepping out of his comfort zone, talking to new people, learning diverse perspectives and figuring out how to represent everyone within the limited scope of MS options).