Welcome to the ZSRU RightsBlog. Here you will find regular updates from Union leadership, including new updates from Chairman Abby Llorico, and those memorable archived posts of Steve Ross. The RightsBlog is here so you can always know what’s going on behind the scenes of the largest student organization in ZCS.

Back To School, Back to School...

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Hello All! It's been a bit since my last love letter, but I'm not going to lie, I've been trying to savor my summer... I hope you all had an awesome one and are at least somewhat excited upon returning to good ole ZCHS tomorrow morning, bright and early...so, so early....

Though I've been trying to milk my summer for everything it's worth, the ZSRU has still been kickin'. Like I said, we get no break.We held a board meeting yesterday afternoon, so I have several things to update everyone on. I'll try to make this a bit more reader friendly than the summer assignments most of you probably have been putting off until tonight, and are now procrastinating even further by being on Facebook.

Since you're already reading our Facebook blogs and following us on Twitter (@ZSRU), you might as well hit up the website at zsru.org. We keep it pretty updated, and it's pretty informative as well.
COMING SOON: Z-S-R-YouTube!

Ben Kahn and I recently did an interview for the Zionsville Times Sentinel, look for it in an upcoming edition. We addressed questions regarding our stance on the 1:1 Laptop Debate (check out the report on the website), along with getting some talk time in about our organization in general. Pretty sweet, huh?

Rumor busting time:
-YES, senior spring final exemption policy is STILL ON.
I repeat, STILL ON.
(We have no idea who decided to pretend it wasn't, but don't worry guys, we've got you covered.)
-NO, Sleep to Succeed is NOT dead. Things like that aren't easy to put into effect, but we are STILL PURSUING THE PROGRAM ACTIVELY. That means if you haven't pledged in I'm An STS Athlete!, you still can (and should!)
-NO, there will not be half days this year. This is not strictly within ZCS, but throughout the state of Indiana. Translation: Please don't whine to the administration about it, they have enough on their plates.

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LOVE US LOTS:
The ZSRU, as you know, is composed of two groups of people: the Board (me, + my 6 other buddies), and the General Members (almost all of you.) This has worked out okay so far, but we decided that we want to get the student body involved more in what we do. After all, it is YOUR union. We started off with the STS athletes, but now we're creating a whole new level of activism within the ZSRU, somewhere between Board Membership and General Membership. Like a "staff," of sorts. This would mean that you would pledge extra support and take a more active role in helping out with our projects, voicing ideas, and keeping us going. Nothing huge, but it's still a great way to get involved and do a little more than get a Facebook message every now and then. If you're interested, email me at abby@zsru.org or shoot me a Facebook message. (Emails preferred.)

Good luck with the new school year, and you'll be seeing a lot more of me and my ZSRU comrades to come : )

-Abby

PS: If you are a member of the Class of 2009, I doubt you love my messages enough to remain a member of the group for them (and hey, if you do, there's always the Blog on the Website, where the FB messages always wind up.) Don't feel as if you're betraying Steve by leaving, it actually helps us keep our general membership count more accurate. Though, if you do or don't bid me farewell, INVITE SOME UNDERCLASSMEN TO THE GROUP!

What Break?

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:51:08 -0400

It's a good thing that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I accepted the position of ZSRU chairman...to say the least, it's been a busy summer.

SLEEP TO SUCCEED: We met with the school board in June, and though we were slightly overshadowed by the Epic 1:1 Laptop Clash of 2009, we had another great opportunity to talk to some members of the community and, most importantly, the school board trustees. I've scheduled meetings with several administrators and department heads, and members of the community, so we'll see how those go as far as helping us along.
>>I have a problem. At the school board meeting in June, a lady in the audience slipped us a note saying that a local school district was swapping their schedules around for the coming year. She names "either __ or __." The note was lost thanks to a nosy little cousin who likes to take things from my purse, apparently...I digress...and none of us (the other ZSRU Board Members or me) can remember which schools she noted. If you have any idea, PLEASE contact me to let me know! Yes, even the ZSRU is fallible...

ATTENTION ALL ATHLETES: We need YOUR help! Show your support for Sleep to Succeed by joining the Facebook group I'm an STS Athlete! This link should work...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=97903288110&ref=nf

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY: One main source of your beloved chairman's stress has been due to small plastic bottles of blowing-bubbles. We're attaching about 2 thousand little paper mini-flyers in a nice ribbony fashion and distributing them at the July 4 Celebration in Lions Park. Taylor Campi's basement has temporarily evolved into a bubble-bottle sweatshop for us in the ZSRU. We're mostly targeting the kids and parents with this one, but you should totally come hang out with us in front of To The Last Drop (by the Lion's Club). We're accepting donations. So keep your twenties handy, people!

TWEET!: Remember to follow us on Twitter, @ZSRU. I'm also doing major website overhaul (Steve is great at many things...but not everything...) so stop by this weekend--it should be done by Saturday--and check it out!

One last word: Visit the Aquatones/Specific Ocean Facebook page to see how you can help out a great local band. (Will Clapp is our Director of Operations, so yes it is relevant and no I will probably not promote your band too. : )

I hope you're at least having a carefree summer. Don't be afraid to send me a shout, I like hearing from you all.

--Abby

New Leaders, Finals, and the future

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:27:18 -0400

Hey Everybody,

Tomorrow evening the current Board of Directors will retire, and the new Board will officially take office.

This also means that I will retire as Chairman, and hand the keys over to the thoroughly awesome Abby Llorico. I'm confident these new leaders will guide the ZSRU through a new era of success.

Before I retire as the ZSRU's leader, I'll update you one more time on what's going on:

SENIORS

To clear a few things up about Final Exemption:

Some teachers have interpreted the policy to mean that any zero on an assignment during the semester disqualifies you. This NOT TRUE. However, you MUST complete all assignments with due dates after May 28.

If you are exempt from morning finals and you are coming in late, your parents need to CALL.

If you are exempt from the later finals and you leave EARLY, your parents DON'T need to call.

Hopefully a lot of people got to take advantage of this policy, at least in one or two classes.

The Sleep to Succeed Project: We presented preliminary findings to the School Board, and will present a more formal proposal for later school start time in June.

For more: http://www.zsru.org/Zionsv

ille_Student_Rights_Union/

Sleep_to_Succeed_Project.h

tml

The Zionsville C.A.R.E.S. Campaign: (Community Action for Responsibility and Education against Substance-abuse). This is more long-term; it is the Union's position that comprehensive education and counseling are the best methods to combat the possible dangers of drug abuse. The stance also holds that random drug testing is thoroughly ineffective.

For more:
http://www.zsru.org/Zionsville_Student_Rights_Union/Zionsville_C.A.R.E.S..html

Let's all wish the new Board the best of luck. Throw all your support behind them!!

It's been real.

-Steve

Chairman-elect Abby Llorico’s first message to General Membership

Sat, 2 May 2009 16:28:19 -0400

Hey everyone, it’s time for another one of your favorite mass-mailings.

Now in case you missed the last update and were wondering who the heck I am and where everyone’s favorite Chairman is, do not fear: Steve Ross hasn’t graduated, yet. I thought that I, being the Chairman-elect of the ZSRU, would formally introduce myself.

I am, of course, Abby Llorico. Steve approached me about the position a
little while ago, and being that I was already on board as Communications Director-Elect, I [excitedly] accepted. After accepting this position, I jumped right in. My job will essentially be to carry out the projects that the current Board of Directors at the ZSRU have started or expressed interest in. I feel like it is really important to not only see good ideas get started, but also see them through to a successful finish. On that note I, along with next year’s board, will continue campaigning and working on projects that will fundamentally make our school more student-friendly. So next year the idea will remain the same: that I, and other future members of the Board of Directors, will be your connection and representative in Zionsville’s administrative policies.

That being said, I thought I’d give you a brief rundown of what’s been going on since I’ve been on board:

Knowledge Beats Fear: Tonight [Thursday 4/30] was the collaborative Town Hall Meeting with SADD, and I can safely say it went awesomely. We will not be seeing random student drug testing in Zionsville anytime soon. Instead, the general consensus was that an increased education plan is the way to go in order to avoid many of the issues—high cost, questionable effectiveness, hostile student-administration relations—that were brought up. In the end our relations with the SADD members we worked with were highly productive. We [ ZSRU ]are planning on meeting with Chief Dowden of the ZPD in the near future to discuss possible grants for alternative tracks for first time offenders that are educationally versus disciplinary based, and the cooperation of ZPD and ZCHS in formulating a productive drug education plan. In short: score one for the ZSRU/students!
Details@>>

http://www.zsru.org/Zionsville_Student_Rights_Union/
Knowledge_Beats_Fear.html

Sleep to Succeed: Still a work in progress, and not much news or development since your last update. We are still planning on a meeting with Schellhase to address the concerns of later start and end times for the Athletic Department, and will be attending the PTO Meeting on May 4 to discuss the concerns of parents—particularly those of elementary schoolers. We have proposed a Pilot period throughout the school system to try out the plausibility of the changed system, and the administration is unopposed. We’ll keep you updated when the project gains more speed.
Details @>>

http://www.zsru.org/Zionsville_Student_Rights_Union/
Sleep_to_Succeed_Project.html

That’s all for now, but I look forward to keeping in touch :]

-Abby

PS All you Twitterphiles can now follow us @ZSRU

The Official ZSRU Board of Directors for 2009-10 Announced

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:08:58 -0400

Abby Llorico has been chosen and confirmed to fill my position as Chairman of the Board when I graduate.

The full, confirmed Board is made up of the following:

Chairman of the Board: Abby Llorico

Vice-Chairman: Madison Heslop

Director of Operations: Will Clapp

Director of Communications: Ben Kahn

Director of the National Youth Rights Association of Zionsville: Zack Fenton

Director of Student Interests: Sydney McComas

Director of Athletic Affairs: Jimmy Kubes

Congratulations to these future ZSRU leaders.The Board is confident that our successors will do an excellent job of preserving and advancing the organization, and keeping the current projects going when we are gone.

Anyone interested in taking an active role with the ZSRU next year in a non-Board position can let me or another Director know; I'll make recommendations, but will leave the final decisions to Abby (Chairman-elect) and the other Directors-elect.

-Steve