Thoughts on the Judicial Council

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There are few things less consequential than wearing pajamas in the school cafeteria. And there are few things more cringeworthy than recalling myself ruling its violation of school rules in front of two hundred students.

“To belong is to understand tacit codes of the people you live with,” said Michael Ignatieff. Isolated in the mountains, our school is a small community that needs tacit codes to maintain itself. The code consists of detailed rules and an exhaustive penalty point system to ensure its observation.

In the system is the student council, modeled after the government's separation of powers. As students petition against penalty points received, the judicial council investigates them, rules cases, and leads court. Taking on the work with great dedication, we spent meal-less dinners debating for Precision and Integrity.

At the same time, student council was nothing like the government. Ministers and heads never check nor balance the other, and rulings and policies were as clever as they were narrow. Sometimes, in wiser moments, I worried I would blind myself in my sheltered bureaucracy. Often I did.

However, the system maintained the City Upon a Hill. The seemingly trite cases were nevertheless necessary to uphold the code and school. Characters trained in the simulated world could also acquire valuable skill sets of experience. Soon, I will leave the mountains to face the pressing issues of the larger world. I look forward to addressing them with the same determination and dedication, perhaps wearing PJs while I’m at it. 

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