This year’s Associated Student Body (ASB) announcements have become a popular topic of discussion among Carlmont students. The conversation was sparked by the Public Address (PA) system’s adjustments over the summer, which switched Carlmont to a digital system.
“They sound clearer, louder, and more people can hear them,” said Jim Kelly, the ASB activities director.
Over the PA system, ASB aims to provide students with a general set of school information through the morning announcements that play daily before lunch. According to Kelly, a student-led announcement system encourages students to listen and engage with the broadcast content.
“Because there are people your own age talking and promoting things, it gives more credibility,” Kelly said.
Max Fetterly, Carlmont’s ASB president, is one of the members responsible for reminding the student body of upcoming events. In ASB’s announcements, students are encouraged to participate in various activities, such as attending sports events or clubs during lunchtime.
ASB members who regularly participate in broadcasts engage students by incorporating trivia segments and alternating announcers to prevent broadcasts from sounding dull. According to Fetterly, using trivia to remind the student body about upcoming events increases interest compared to directly notifying.
The information ASB shares is determined by what the Carlmont administration, teachers, and clubs want students to be aware of. Since ASB wants to share various important updates, they allow teachers and clubs to submit requests to have their specific events announced.
However, not all classrooms are able to hear announcements. Freshman Max Margolis finds it hard to hear as the announcers’ voices get muffled over the PA system.
“At times, ASB’s voices don’t really come through,” Margolis said. “I usually have to look at Canvas to check the notifications.”
Some students question whether ASB’s broadcasts are necessary, as they can find most of the information from other school resources.
“I look at my Canvas announcements a lot more than I do any other form of announcements that the school sends out,” sophomore Lucas Clavel said. “Those just feel a lot better than the announcements we have in our classrooms.”
Emma Keenan-Grice, one of Carlmont’s art teachers, agrees that when ASB makes announcements, the sound quality is not clear in F Hall, where both performing and visual arts classes are held. Keenan-Grice added that she had been unaware that ASB had begun sending out reminders for students to purchase Advanced Placement (AP) tests.
Many students and staff have found the PA system to be inefficient. Fetterly expresses that he tries to check for volume by listening to himself while he speaks.
“You have to find the right volume to be talking where it doesn’t disturb people, but still loud enough so that people can hear you,” Fetterly said.
Inconsistency with volume raises questions about the effectiveness of the PA system during emergencies, when it is crucial for all students to hear instructions from the administration.
“In terms of emergency response, it’s a lot easier on the system,” Fetterly said. “If you need to broadcast to the whole school, you press the general page button that goes to all the speakers in the school. But I’ve found that the speakers tend to be somewhat inconsistent through the halls.”
This is a safety concern for students during school emergencies. For example, on Sept. 10, Carlmont experienced a secure lockdown in which students were instructed by the Carlmont Principal Gay Buckland-Murray over the PA to immediately return to their classrooms. If the PA systems continue to experience inconsistencies with volume, it can jeopardize the safety of Carlmont’s students and staff during a crisis.
Additionally, the current PA system is not ideal for clubs that seek engagement through ASB’s broadcasting efforts. Due to volume issues, they may struggle to connect with students who are interested in clubs that advertise using the morning announcements.
Keenan-Grice believes that ASB should consider modifying how announcements are delivered to increase student body engagement.
“People would benefit from a visual announcement,” Keenan-Grice said. “It’s a nice way to centralize information if you need to go look at something on the announcements again.”
A student-led announcement system has authenticity; although it may not be perfect, the student body is most encouraged to attend these events through one, according to Kelly. Ultimately, ASB’s goal is to inform students about what’s happening at school.
“There is a reason we do announcements,” Fetterly said. “It’s information that we really want people to receive and understand.”
