On Sunday, October 14, 2018, the John Adams Social Action for Students Safety (SASS) organization put together a free discussion with the SBCSC school board candidates. The panel was comprised of students and teachers who asked hard-hitting questions to the candidates. The group intended on informing both students and the public on the candidates in an effort to increase voter awareness and urge the eligible to vote.

Candidate Stuart Greene of District 5 is running unopposed. He is a recently retired English and African studies professor at the University of Notre Dame who has volunteered in SBCSC schools. Stan Wruble, an attorney and the current president of the school board, is running against Oletha Jones in District 2. Jones is education chair for the St. Joseph County NAACP. She is a founding member of the Community Action for Education (CAFE) group who has been active in SBCSC schools for a very long time. John Pinter and Ruth Warren are running against each other in District 1. Pinter is director of the United Religious Community of St. Joseph County and works as a professional consultant for various nonprofit organizations. Warren is a retired South Bend administrator and teacher.

Greene is the first to mention students getting involved: “We need to listen to students. I think we need to hear the extent to which students feel a sense of belonging in the school: that they have a sense that they matter, that someone is watching out for their futures, that someone cares about them. And oftentimes school is the place where they feel that. It’s also the space where they don’t feel that. So I think there has to be some involvement for board members to get inside classrooms and inside the school. there has to be an “in”, a coordinated way to have discussions with all stakeholders about undocumented students, students with special needs; to gauge a classroom plan, to look at the issue of disproportionality; to have open and honest conversations about implicit violence, about race, about LGBTQ rights.”

If you’re 18 or older or if you know someone who is, don’t forget to register and vote early or on November 6th and make your voice heard!