Peabody students take reins of city government, press for a day

PEABODY-Seventy-five Peabody High School seniors and their professional counterparts filled Wiggin Auditorium Thursday to participate in the city’s 37th Student Government Day.As the tradition goes, students were elected by their peers to team up with a local government employee, be it the mayor, superintendent, police chief, or local newspaper reporter, and shadow them for a full day to get a taste of what their life is like. The students took tours of their counterpart’s office, sat in on meetings, and in some cases, were even put to work.”It’s a pretty good program,” said Mayor Michael Bonfanti in an earlier interview.After spending the entire afternoon learning the ins-and-outs of their equivalent’s job, the pairs gathered back at City Hall for a catered dinner and honorary ceremony. There wasn’t a seat to be found as friends and family members of the participating students watched.The high school’s chorale kicked the night off with the “Star Spangled Banner,” followed by “America the Beautiful,” and Billy Joel’s classic hit “For the Longest Time.”Mayor Michael Bonfanti and Superintendent Milton Burnett then took to the podium to share a few words.Bonfanti explained the important roles that students can have in government and urged them to “get involved, have a say, and make a change.””I am your Mayor,” he told them. “My door is open to you.””What I decide daily affects each one of your lives,” Bonfanti continued. “All of you are reaching an age of maturity where you have the ability to voice your values about city officials through voting. But all of you have had a voice in the mayor’s decisions to allocate money by your achievements in the school and community environments.”Burnett spoke to the hundreds of listeners about the affects government has on education, and in turn, the quality students Peabody schools produce.”We create the informed individuals that make government run,” he said.Mock meetings of the School Committee and City Council followed, with each student willingly taking their turn at the microphone.Topics of discussion focused on student safety and increasing academic standards with additional Advanced Placement classes and requiring a third year of science.City Councilors focused on making Peabody “greener,” by increasing the amount of recyclable materials collected and adding trash receptacles to the bike path.Student David Smith closed the evening like a true Mayor with a lengthy, attention grabbing speech about what Peabody has meant to him. He recalled his thoughts of Peabody as an innocent, young grade schooler, and how his opinions became jaded over the years. However, he now realizes all his city has to offer.After a round of applause, and perhaps some teary eyes in the audience, another successful Student Government Day went down in history.John Bell is a senior at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. He wrote this story with the help of Item Reporter Jenny Amaral as part of the city’s Student Government Day. Bell will be pursuing journalism at the University of Colorado this fall.