On March 17, all BCPS middle and high school students can vote for the next Student Member of the Board (SMOB). The SMOB directly represents all 111,000 BCPS students in a position on the Board of Education. The finalists, who underwent a lengthy interview process prior to their selection, are Masah Farh from Towson High School and Roah Hassan from Perry Hall High School.

Last year’s election saw 2,914 ballots cast; 56.9 percent of votes went to current SMOB Christian Thomas. Both finalists hope to improve upon such meager turnout with extensive social media and community outreach efforts, which include reaching out to each of BCPS’ middle and high schools.

For Farh, advocacy was instilled in her at a young age. In middle school she saw issues with her school’s dress code and met with former SMOB Haleemat Adekoya to voice her concerns.

“I thought it [the dress code] was misogynistic and brought a petition to the principal; I was dismissed,” Farh said. “[After meeting with Adekoya] I knew from that moment I wanted to be the Student Member of the Board. I wanted to be that representative for the students.”

Going from Parkville Middle School to the Law & Public Policy Magnet Program at Towson High School, Farh has firsthand experience of the opportunity gap between many of the county’s schools and zones.

“I don’t think [as SMOB] I can look at BCPS as a whole,” Farh said. “I have to look at it individually (with individual schools and zones) because each zone has different circumstances. To combat that I want to plan SMOB visits, communicate with the students, and encourage student involvement on the Board of Education.”

At the forefront of her policy is the implementation of an afterschool bus program and accountability improvements. Farh hopes to establish restorative justice policies which offer teaching in place of punishments.

“I want to strengthen our internal complaint systems by moving to one that proactively addresses and prevents cases of discrimination and harassment,” Farh said. “Teachers and administrations need to be held accountable for their parts in improvements and not just in dealing with implicit biases.”

Farh will host a virtual campaign event on March 11 at 4:00 p.m. via google meet. More information about the student forum was released on her campaign’s social media account.

Farh’s opponent, Hassan, centers her platform around amplifying the student voice. She co-founded Mic Up Maryland, an organization seeking to uplift youth voices in the community. She’s hosted numerous youth rallies, some of which have garnered local media attention.

“As much as I love having an article in the Baltimore Sun about it [Mic up Maryland] the most important thing for me was always that young people feel confident telling their stories and taking action,” Hassan said.

The first step in Hassan’s comprehensive policy plan is ensuring student involvement. If elected, she hopes to create a cabinet and operational team immediately.

“I envision that [the cabinet] looking a little different from what we’re traditionally used to,” Hassan said. “I want to see students from all across the county feeling that they have power.”

Hassan’s platform puts a major emphasis on mental health, which she hopes to address following the formation of a cabinet. She seeks improvements to the health curriculum and the implementation of excused mental health days.

Serving as an aide to the past two SMOBs in Christian Thomas and Josh Muhumuza, Hassan feels well versed in the daily operations of the position.

“As he [Thomas] became one of the strongest student board members in history, there was this huge learning process about whether I do this or not,” Hassan said. “I want to be an advocate and make sure that my voice is strong: one that the board members see as a real adult voice.”

To Hassan, the SMOB is not just a board member, but rather the only position capable of representing all of BCPS’ students.

“A position like SMOB is powerful, but it also means taking a step back, working with the student[s], and just guiding them,” Hassan said.

For more information on the candidates and voting process, students will have access to the full SMOB Candidate Q&A, where the finalists responded to student submitted questions on election day. On another note, Current SMOB, Christian Thomas, is set to visit Hereford High on Tuesday, March 15 from 11:45 a.m.- 12:15 p.m.