Guilderland student representative clarifies senior 'theme' poll after concerns

Bart Sorecha, the Guilderland Central School District student representative and a class officer for the class of 2026, told the board that the senior-class first-day "theme" options were collected and voted on by students, and that recent concerns raised to administrators and the district—s DEI officers stemmed from miscommunication about what some options meant.

Sorecha said the senior officers created a Google form and shared it in a class group chat; students submitted theme suggestions and the class later voted on a shortlist. He said one option was a rhyme-based choice called "rhyme with no reason," whose sample pairings included "napper and rapper," meaning one student dresses as a napper and another as a rapper; that option was not intended as an endorsement to have students "dress like a rapper" as a standalone instruction. He also said the currently leading option was a "golf pro" or "golf masters" style theme, which students selected because it is relatively easy for many classmates to assemble a polo and khakis.

Sorecha also noted an additional optional idea — a "wear a kid—s backpack" day in which students might wear elementary-style backpacks along with the winning theme. He said the polls were student-run and that class officers did not unilaterally impose options.

Board members acknowledged the clarification and said the themes are student-sponsored activities; the board does not decide or formally sponsor the day—s student themes. A board member thanked Sorecha for explaining the process and the amount of work the officers had done to gather and present options.

Why it matters: several community members and DEI officers had raised concerns that portions of a student-produced theme list could stereotype groups; the student representative told the board those options were mischaracterized and that the process was intended to be inclusive.