Brownsburg student government modeled after Federal Government

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) - Week Five of WISH-TV’s “ The ZONE ” tailgate takes place at Brownsburg High School as the Bulldogs take on the A von High School Orioles . While Friday night’s focus will be on players on the field, WISH-TV’s Daybreak highlights high achievers off the field. This week, the student-run government called “CHAIN Link” takes center stage.

CHAIN Link is modeled after our own federal government – with a Senate, a House of Representatives, and an Executive Branch made up of 25 upper classmen. The Executive Branch is selected by outgoing office-holders and faculty to be the next year’s leaders of the organization. Below the Executive Branch, elected class officers make up the Senate – four from each class, sixteen “senators” in all. Then, the House of Representatives is made up of one elected person from each 5th period class.

“It’s similar to our own federal government,” says Chain Link President and high school senior, Kirat Sandhu. “We feel like that gives more people a say in what’s going on here. ”

Sandhu contends that before the school adopted the CHAIN Link system a few years ago, students had very little coordination between groups and served as a limited outlet for students to have a voice. But since Brownsburg adopted the CHAIN Link model from Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia, the communication and the opportunities have grown.

“I really feel like they're an extension of our faculty,” says one of Brownsburg High’s Assistant Principals Shane Hacker. "When we give them a task, not only do they get it done, but they get it done well."

Members of CHAIN Link have been a part of school-wide decisions, most notably staffing choices made by administrators. Executive Branch members have sat in on interviews with job candidates seeking employment at the high school.

"What Chain Link does is we go deeper,” says Sandhu. “We organize a specific structured student government, we work for community service events, we do teacher recognition, and student recognition."

The current system leaves room for the fun that characterizes students’ high school experience. Two Seniors – dubbed the “Spirit Coordinators” – are tasked with rousing the student body leading up to the weekly football games.

“This week’s theme is ‘It’s Bird Hunting Season in Brownsburg,’” says Spirit Coordinator Kyle Yeager. “We’re playing the Avon Orioles Friday night, so we want everyone to wear camo to go with the theme.”

On the TV monitors placed throughout the school, a short student-made video plays to excite students about the camouflage theme of the week. It shows a student wearing a black “Avon Football” t-shirt walking alongside a line of trees. While his back is turned, a group of six Brownsburg students dressed in camouflage jump out from the trees to stalk him to defeat. The video ends with the order to wear camouflage during the school day Friday, and to the football game that night.

“This is such a big rivalry,” says Spirit Coordinator Holly Storms. “We spent a lot of time over the summer making these videos and this one was probably my favorite one to make.”

Aside from the camouflaged student section at Friday night’s Brownsburg-Avon matchup, expect to see a sea of small white hand-towels printed with the words “Bulldog Nation.” The rally towels were a new addition this school year and were passed out to students at the first football game.

"We wanted to do something different, innovative, and totally new,” says Yeager. "Its gonna be for football, basketball, girls and boys sports – everything."