The Prefect Drug

Or

Smartie-Pants Goody Two Shoes Are Bad

"Well the thing is, as Head Prefect, I don't really think I should be doing an interview with you, because even though I respect HTP and what they do and everything, there is a certain element of twisting of what we say."

- Head Prefect Matthew Hunter, in response to a question from HTP Editor Don McHoull

A seemingly innocuous response when first encountered, Matt Hunter's comment speaks volumes about the contradictory nature of his mind. He flatteringly professes his admiration for Here Title Place, and then, in the very same breath, calls us a pack of liars. Either Matt is saying that he respects frauds, or is lying to our faces, believing that by pandering to our over-inflated egos, he can avoid being questioned by a pack of shudra-caste buffoons. Comments like these are exemplary of the attitude held by Prefects that make them such objects of revulsion by the general student body.

In the search for an accurate portrayal of the Prefect organization, biases, unwarranted beliefs, and restrictions are so rife among all parties (current Prefects, ex-Prefects and "imprefect" students) that a balanced picture is, truly, only obtainable by relying on sources from each category. Some may remember two years ago when a group of students calling themselves the ‘Anti-Prefects’ made up Anti-Prefect jackets and put up posters in the school (the ring-leader was subsequently reprimanded by the Prefect heads). In fact, the anti-Prefect bandwagon has picked up so much speed that the organization has felt it necessary to treat the question of its image very seriously.

According to an anonymous Prefect, one of her friends was removed from the organization because she laughed at a joke directed at the Prefects. Frighteningly, image has become such a concern to the Prefect executives that even harmless cafe-table banter is not tolerated in its members.

Interestingly, the number of Prefects purged from the group increased sharply after the staff sponsors changed from Ms. Carter and Mr. Coulter to Ms. Quinn and Mr. Jull. These expulsions from the organization were contrived so as to appear as resignations, since there were no provisions in the Prefect mandate regarding the dismissal of standing members. About half a dozen Prefects, including Eric Shickluna and Scott Willemse, were removed in this manner in a single year.

Kelly Cain, one of these ex-Prefects, related the circumstances of her ‘resignation’ from the Prefects, saying that “they called me [Kelly] to a meeting for returning Prefects, at least this is what they said it was, and then they brought me into the Prefect office with Karen, Larry, Quinn and Jull and said ‘we feel you haven’t been truthful with the number of hours you’ve volunteered for, and we think the position would be better suited to somebody else; we want you to resign.’”

The brunt of Kelly’s indictment resides in the fact that she claims that the Prefect executive “council” (composed of the two staff sponsors and the two current Head Prefects) lied about her lack of volunteer hours. She asserts that she volunteered more than enough in the WAA, and the fact that she split her time between Prefects and other activities is what angered the Prefect heads. According to Kelly, a large amount of enmity seemed to exist between Prefects who devoted all their energies to the organization and those who split their time between other clubs and activities: “when I was in it [Prefects], there were people who did [only] Prefects on one side of the room, and the people who didn’t [restrict themselves] on the other. And we’d get dirty looks throughout the meeting; you know, if we laughed, we’d get dirty looks.” Kelly, in addition to this reason went on to give another, even more sinister reason for her ejection: “I wasn’t enhanced and I didn’t have a 90 average, so I figure that had something to do with it.”

Although the true reason for her dismissal is difficult to discern, stories of other unfair expulsions from the organization abound. One such story revolves around Lisa Agaese. One of her friends, also a Prefect, couldn’t afford to go on the Prefect retreat to Haliburton, so Lisa spoke up for her friend at a Prefect meeting, asking whether it was mandatory for new Prefects to take the trip. When Ms. Quinn told her that it was in fact required, Lisa protested openly, and was dismissed the next day, presumably due to her public challenge of the executive’s authority and the soundness of its judgement. The oddness of this particular case is that Lisa was not “asked” to resign, but was forcibly removed from the organization.

The peculiarity of these dismissals is that they have resulted in an imbalance of sorts in the demographics of the Prefects. The Prefect organization seems to have become predominantly populated by enhanced students. If a preference within the Prefect executive towards enhanced students actually exists, the implications would be enormous. What possible bearing could a multiple choice test, created to discern “intelligence” (this is a debatable point), taken in primary school, have on an individual’s leadership skills, their charity, their dedication, their cooperative skills? All of these are of central importance to a good Prefect, and none of them can be evaluated by a CCAT (read: nerd-making) test.

So, the issue of the Prefects’ sucky public image is a circular one; they were looked down upon, so they tried to change by ejecting “trouble” Prefects, and now they are looked down upon because they tried to change.

The main fault lies not in the members of the organization per se, but in the very concept. Presumably a charity organization with the best of intentions, it has devolved into a collective where unfaltering dedication to the group is valued more than actual volunteer work; how else would you explain its animosity towards those who chose to volunteer through the WAA, for example, instead of through the Prefects directly?

The Prefects’ system of volunteering-for-credit rewards the prideful and vain, while harming the humble, who choose to volunteer for the satisfaction of knowing they contributed, and not for the sake of getting credit and acknowledgement.

Fittingly, a new volunteer organization called the WAVE has started up this year, which is open to all students (sans the rigorous Prefect screening process), and is presumably bringing the focus back to volunteering itself. One might speculate that the WAVE is a response to the laborious elitism and forced uniformity that seems typical of the Prefect organization. And let’s not forget the many Woodlands students who volunteer everyday without being a part of any school-sanctioned group. There is no shortage of community organizations in need of volunteers; after all, there’s more to life than cool jackets and citizenship points.

Places to find volunteer positions:
Call the Volunteer Centre for Peel at 905-306-0668, or try www.idealist.org and search for volunteer opportunities in your area.