With the 2024-2025 school year well underway at Boothbay Region High School (BRHS), its newest student body president, senior Cleyton Splaine, is settling into his role.  

A few months ago, Splaine was debating whether he was theright fit for the job. He didn’t think he was extroverted enough.He didn’t have the confidence that even the more reserved of the past presidents had shown. Yet, with the encouragement of his friend andformer Student Body PresidentColby Allen,he decided to throw his hat in the ring. And he won. “I received overwhelming support from not only just my friends, but people I barely knew. So, it was pretty inspiring and touching,” Splaine recalled. 

Splaine’s job is multifaceted. He’s the head of the student council, who representtheir peersand help make decisionswith school administration on“student matters” like dress codes, or disciplinarypolicies. The group also does most of the planningfor the fun activities, such as Homecoming, Winter Carnival, pep rallies, and parades. In addition, Splaine is the student representive during school board meetings. 

Contrary to public perception, and the long-running joke, that class presidents run on an "abolishing homework” platform,Splaine wanted to promise his peers something he felt was concrete and attainable: transparency. 

“(The student council) is the voice of the students. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Nothing happens in secret,” he explained. 

Part of Splaine’s desire for increased transparency is due to his experiences as an underclassman. During his first two years at BRHS, Splaine was completely out of the loop on student governmentand felt its closed-off, mysteriousnatureleft no clear way to get involved.So, when Splaine had complaints, he’d simply stew on them instead of reaching out. 

Since Splaine’s takeover, with full support from the other council members and administration, student council meetings have been opened to all students with a dedicated time set aside for public comment. They’ve also postedQR codes around the school so people can leave anonymous feedback, questions, or concerns.He’s optimistic this will lead to more student participation, as well as these policies continuingon past his tenure. 

“It's so important that (students) know what's going on and know that their voices matter, because we work for them, not the other way around,” he said. “I really want to emphasize that and make sure that everyone knows that this is a learning environment where we want it to be best for the students. That's the goal of the staff. That's the goal of the principal, so no one's trying to work against you.” 

In a similar vein, Splaine also wants to increase student involvement and enjoyment of the festivities the school puts on. Splaine’s most rewarding experienceas president thus far has been the positive feedback the council receivedfollowing the Homecoming celebrations, giving the group a morale boost thatthey’re still “riding the high” from as they plan for Winter Carnival in a few months. Splaine also credits the work his fellow council members have done, and the support they have given him as president for making the successes of the past few months possible. 

“I'm surrounded by really great, kind, responsible student council members that are much better at this than I am, that helped me with every step of the way,” he said. “I do a lot, but I can never take all the credit for anything.” 

When Splaine isn’t attending board meetings or leading pep rallies, he keeps busy as a long-distance runner, doing indoor track and captainingthe cross countryteam. However, tennis is his favorite. “That team is my family." They’ve won two championships, and are gearing up for a third this spring, according to Splaine. 

As a senior, Splaine has also been busy with the college application process. After a childhood of filming YouTube videos with his friends and a sixth-grade moment of realization, Splaine is planning to major in film and media studies. His favorite movie is Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014), followed closely by the director's“Moonrise Kingdom” (2012), or maybe Bong Joon-ho's“Parasite” (2019). It's hard to decide. But, for now, it's a waiting game until decisions roll out in December.  

In the meantime, Splaine is still learning to overcome his biggest challenge as president: learning not to compare himself to past leadership and feel confident in his own skills.“I have had a lot of help from a lot of really good friends (who are) helping me prove to myself that I do belong in the position and realizethat I'm doing this for the experience. I'm doing this for fun, and I'm doing this because the student body put me here.”