The golden-hued hallways of Francis Howell North hold many things: wisdom, friendship, and the occasional chicken nugget. Or orange peel. Or empty bag of chips. But 
not for long, if the members of Students For Students (SFS) have their say. This new organization was founded by FHN’s administration to provide a student voice in improving the school. One of the first challenges the group is tackling is the school’s physical condition; named “Respect Our House,” this campaign seeks to bring student awareness to their daily surroundings.
“With ‘Respect Our House,’ we’re encouraging everyone to take more pride and take more responsibility in the school,” Erin Steep, FHN’s Dean of Students and SFS’s sponsor, said. “If [students] see a mess, don’t just walk past and ignore it.”
According to Steep, data from student responses to the school-wide climate survey indicates that students do not view FHN as being “clean and in good condition.” The leaders in SFS want their classmates to help do their part in making FHN a cleaner place by taking personal responsibility in throwing away trash and recycling and also by giving more respect to FHN’s custodians and maintenance workers. SFS’s student leaders are taking an active role in the “Respect Our House” campaign.
“I have noticed [SFS members] staying after the bell and cleaning up trash from other lunch tables,” Steep said. “They’re really leading by example.”
The most visible component of “Respect Our House” is the “Clean Table Award,” a snack prize given to a lunch table showing exceptional cleanliness. Junior Elise Gertsch, a member of SFS, has helped reward deserving students with this prize. Like all SFS leaders, Gertsch plays an integral role in spreading the message of “Respect Our House” and SFS’s other initiatives.
“It’s fun to see the happiness on people’s faces when we give them the ‘Clean Table Award,’” Gertsch said. “But more than that, it’s exciting when you can tell people are interested in what you have to say [regarding SFS’s goals]. That’s when you can finally notice the progress for the change we seek.”
(infographic by daniel bodden)
