Student Spotlight

Student Spotlight By Carson Hutton

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UA student Ashley He selected for governor’s Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council

Photo courtesy of Ohio.gov

Governor DeWine announces Student Safety Advisory Council

In July, Governor Mike DeWine announced the students who will be part of the inaugural Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council within the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC).

The group is comprised of 16 student safety advisors from high schools across the state. Each will work with the OSSC to identify school safety concerns and come up with solutions to address them.

One of those 16 students is Upper Arlington High School’s own Ashley He, who leapt at the opportunity after hearing about it at school.

Growing up with lockdown and weather drills, He believes the drills leave much room for improvement in teaching the student body key lessons in safety.

“I have always felt these drills and preparations felt very isolated,” He says. “Of course, there’s no stopping hurricanes or tornadoes, but school safety goes so beyond that.”

He pursued a council position because she believes that accidents, incidents and natural disasters are not the only threats to students’ abilities to go to school.

“School safety isn’t just fire drills, but also whether or not a student wants to come to school in the morning,” He says. “It is putting measures into place to safeguard students from not just physical, but also emotional, social and mental harm.”

Creating plans isn’t enough for safety, and a big part of the reason she wanted to make her voice heard is to create a positive impact on students’ mental health.

“I think that in the conversation about school safety, the voices of students are often underrepresented, despite being arguably the most affected by it, along with teachers and other faculty, of course,” He says. “I wanted to join the conversation, to mobilize with other like-minded students to make real change.”

DeWine says one of the council’s main goals is to involve students in policy making, as they know better than anyone what is happening at school.

The governor initially wanted a team of 10 for the council, but increased interest bolstered the student count to 16. The opportunity to collaborate with the other 15 council members is a major bonus for He.

“I want to connect with students all over Ohio, I know that there are so many incredible and motivated young people all over Ohio who want to make a change in their schools, who care about school safety and making every school a place where all can feel welcome and accepted,” He says. “I have already met 15 of them through this fantastic opportunity I’ve been given.”

She looks forward to the opportunity to be the voice of her class and help make students feel safe and at home when they’re in the classroom.

He said she is very lucky Upper Arlington provides her with so many resources, and that she hopes to create a bigger space for students in high-level conversations.

“I’d like to help mobilize a system where meaningful student feedback can be taken into consideration. Our schools’ administrators and our students have a common goal: ensuring Upper Arlington Schools are places where students can learn in an accepting and safe environment,” He says. “If we can bridge the gap between us, I think we can see even more real and meaningful progress.”

“School safety isn’t just fire drills, but also whether or not a student wants to come to school in the morning. It is putting measures into place to safeguard students from not just physical, but also emotional, social and mental harm.”

Carson Hutton is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@ cityscenemediagroup.com. Some things are better in pairs, like when you bundle your auto and home policies for up to 23% in savings.* Plus, the more you bundle — the more you can save!

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