History and importance of ASB at South
In September of 1954, Salem welcomed its second high school, South Salem High School. Established on opening day, South’s Associated Student Body, (ASB), emerged. ASB was quick to focus on creating long lasting school traditions that would be passed down for generations. ASB formed the “Saxon” mascot, school colors and the Clypian newspaper. South’s original ASB President Jim Anderson was the first to receive a graduation diploma at South Salem.
Students elect ASB members who advocate for student needs and concerns, ensuring a student-centered environment. ASB fosters student leadership, helps boost school spirit and acts as a bridge between the general student body and administration.
There are five different positions that students from each grade can run for: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Spirit Chair.
Roles of ASB
ASB President acts as the primary student representative. They lead the student council, managing meetings and organizing school events alongside the other ASB members. ASB Vice President acts as the second-in-command, assisting the president in leading. The Vice President represents student interests to administration and chairing committees. The ASB Treasurer manages the student government’s finances. Including the development of the annual budget, tracking expenditures for activities and overseeing fundraisers. ASB Secretary is the primary officer responsible for managing records, documentation and internal communication for the student council. ASB Spirit Chair is responsible for planning, promoting and executing events that foster school spirit and student engagement.
Senior ASB Runners
South Salem High School student, Tuesday Garrison ‘27, is running for ASB President. During her freshman year, Garrison ran and was elected to be Sophomore Class Vice President. Garrison ran for Junior Class President her sophomore year but was not elected to the position. Garrison ended up taking the role of co-junior Spirit chair, alongside Junior Jaya Krishnamurthy ‘27.
“As President my goal is to unite and include all of South students through every grade level. As I am running for ASB president, the role encompasses all areas and grades of South and my biggest goal is that next year we work on, including the freshman and more things so that they are more well equipped for their next three years at the school. I also hope to work more on clubs and diversity within the school and make sure every opportunity and activity is available to everyone,” Garrison said.
Gisabelle Espericueta ‘27 is running for the role of ASB Vice President alongside Garrison. Both Espericueta and Garrison share similar goals for the South.
“My running mate is Gisabelle Espericueta and together we hope that as we leave South as seniors, you remember us not as ASB officers but the work we did to make you have a great lasting impression of South Salem high school,” Garrison said.
Running Head to Head
On the other side, South Salem High school junior William Schumacher ‘27 is also running for ASB President alongside Ronak Pathak ‘27.
“ASB is a sideline organization and we are always in the background and I feel like we do not have the leadership that ASB strives to be. If ASB wants to have their leadership show their program to kids who may be interested, they can show up,” Schumacher said.
South Salem High School Junior Cecilia Lipman ‘27 is running for Spirit Chair alongside Junior Vivian Ryan Nguyen ‘27. This is Lipman’s first time running in the ASB election and with her position, she plans on honoring South as a community.
“Vivian and I are running for Spirit Chair because we appreciate the community, we have here at South and we want to honor that through fun events like assemblies, dances and grade specific events. We believe our community is something to be proud of and therefore celebrated,” Lipman said.
This year, ASB election day is May 18.
