Debate team member and library employee Andrew Scarafile was recently elected class of 2016 Student Alliance President.

Scarafile has served in student government for multiple years.

“I have always been interested in student government,” said Scarafile. “My freshman year I was president of student senate and sophomore and junior year I served on the Student Alliance board.”

Now, as president-elect of Student Alliance, Scarafile thinks he can be an effective voice for the student body. He believes he can make changes that not only he would like to see, but that the majority of the student body would like to see as well.

Sophomore year, Scarafile was a Student Alliance board member, and by junior year he was head of the Policy Committee. Leading projects such as the renovation of the second floor rotunda (adding refurbished seating and outlets attached to the seats), Scarafile has already made his mark at New Trier.

According to Scarafile, he knew he wanted to run for president when he completed his first project as president of Student Senate.

“My freshman year I ran Spring Fest. We raised record numbers and I was even in a dunk tank. I knew that if I was able to do this, then imagine what I could do on Student Alliance Board, or even as president,” said Scarafile.

As president, Scarafile said he hopes to find a new food vendor, as Aramark’s contract is up for renewal; to improve the process for student athletes taking leave from kinetic wellness; and to revise the extracurricular code.

“There are a lot of inconsistencies with the discipline policy in the extracurricular code,” said Scarafile. “We want to better define punishments in the extracurricular code. For example, offenses for the same violation have different punishments depending on the person.”

As of now, students involved in multiple activities will receive consequences for all three activities while a student in one activity will only be punished for that single activity.

Student Alliance would like to limit consequences for one activity per offense rather than all activities being banned due to one offense.

The extracurricular code improvements are not only limited to discipline, but also to when the discipline takes place. If a student is in violation during their off-season, according to Scarafile, their punishment takes place during their next season. Student Alliance is debating whether the student receiving delayed consequences is fair.

Food services is another issue Scarafile is examining. As of recently, Scarafile has already put together a committee that has toured schools, searching for a better food vendor.

“One of our big issues with Aramark was the non-compete clause. Students could not raise money by selling the same foods that Aramark sells. We are looking for a vendor that will not have as many issues with students, along with better quality and better prices.” Some of the contenders include Chartwell and Organic Life.

While Scarafile has his work cut out for him, he feels that he can truly make a difference by providing a voice for the student body. “Inspiration comes from within; you have to drive yourself if you want to succeed,” said Scarafile.

“I am a very driven person and know I can use that drive to help New Trier.”