Glenbrook South Student Council president sorry for class' missed opportunities

For Glenbrook South Student Council President Sung Jun “Sunny” Choi, the timing just wasn't right this year.

Protests and debate that erupted after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis occurred too late after the school year for the Equity Collective that he helped found to sink its teeth into it. And the coronavirus presented itself happened just in time to cancel projects Choi and his peers had worked hard to bring about.

“Seniors especially, I think, when the news broke that we wouldn't be going back to school, we wouldn't be having a prom, we wouldn't be having a proper graduation. I would say we were disappointed,” said Choi, who is headed to the Air Force after holding officer positions three of his four years participating in Glenbrook South student government.

The Equity Collective group, dealing with equity in race and gender, is among several efforts he led during an unusual 2019-20 school year.

“As far as my opinion goes I do feel that there has been injustice in this country for a long time and finally people are starting to speak about it,” said Choi, called “Sunny” for as long as he can remember.

“I think that we are heading toward the right direction, and we as the younger generation are responsible to continue going toward equality and equity.”

When he arrived at Glenbrook South as an incoming freshman some of the school's seniors encouraged him to join Student Council.

“It's tough. We worked four hard years to get to this point and we aren't able to have the ending that we'd hoped for,” Choi said.

In addition to the annual Spring Fling that culminates council projects over the term, pandemic-borne school closure also canceled the former Turnabout Dance, which Choi & Co. had spent two months planning and overhauling due to diminished interest.

The upgraded WinterFest combined the usual semiformal dance with multiple disc jockeys, art stations, inflatable games, Nintendo tournaments and a silent disco. It wasn't for awkward couples any longer.

The date was March 14. School closed March 13.

“We put a lot of work into it, we were trying to see what we could have done, how this change would have reacted with the students,” Choi said.

“Although we weren't able to get there, I think I'm very proud of Student Council this year, how everyone worked through it. We were willing to make the change and I think next year with the new board, with the new Student Council (and new president, Danny Hood), they'll do great with WinterFest.”

This school year was decidedly less than great. Still, Choi refused to view it as a negative.

“I feel like we took it in, we're ready to move on and we know that there's bigger things ahead of us,” Choi said.