Riko Kishitani: All School President

Riko+Kishitani%3A+All+School+President

Max Ma, Senior Editor of Social Justice

To start the school year, LFA has welcomed a new All School President, Riko Kishitani. After becoming the class representative for student council in his Junior year, Kishitani took a step further to serve as All School President this year. He briefly discussed his plans and goals for the upcoming school year, including calling special attention to mental health, gender inclusivity, and collaborating with Student Council and Prefects. 

One of the topics that Kishitani is most passionate about is students’ mental health. “There are many students who are having a hard time and are unable to reach out to the counselors and get help due to the counselors’ busy schedules. I don’t want to see any students leaving the school because of mental health issues.” Kishitani believes that reaching out to counselors does not need to be an ordeal, and even if it is only a small problem, everyone should feel comfortable talking to school counselors. He specifically stressed the importance of increasing the number of counselors and resources for students’ health and wellness saying, “We are building a new Health Center so we can get more resources and counselors like Mrs. Madeley and Mrs. Dalia, and more people can reach out to them.”

Beyond the topic of mental health, Kishitani seeks to improve gender inclusivity in school. One of the specific occasions that brought his attention to this issue was the graduation ceremony. Until now, every year when students walk into the formal garden for graduation, they are divided by gender: girls in one line and boys in the other. The boys are wearing suits, and the girls are wearing white dresses, however, Kishitani thinks that dress shouldn’t be an indication of gender. “For people who identify themselves as neither men nor women, they are forced to be on either line. I want to change the graduation walk into alphabetical order that mixes both boys and girls to make the school more inclusive gender wise.”

To accomplish his goals, Kishitani is planning to work with Prefects and the Student Council. He wants to attend the Prefect meetings as a member of the student council so that Prefect and the student council can collaborate. He said, “It’s something that we didn’t do last year. They functioned separately. But if I am there at the meeting, we can work together and exchange opinions.” Serving as a bridge between the Student Council and Prefects, Kishitani seeks to increase the level of collaboration between these two student bodies.

Taking the position of All School President is not an easy task. Regarding his upcoming missions, Kishitani expressed both the excitement and pressure he feels. “I am excited to do something good for the people, to work with literally everyone in the school. I am a little bit nervous and feel pressured at the same time. What if I can’t make people happy?”

Kishitani wishes to lead by example and inspire current and upcoming LFA students. “As an Asian International All School president, I want people to see me and remember that regardless of your gender or background, you can be part of or even the leader of this community.” Kishitani is continuing on his path to make LFA a safer and more inclusive community.