This year’s Student Member of the Board of Education term has been in effect since July 1, 2021. Now, meet the woman behind the changes in our schools, securing a pilot program for free menstrual products in bathrooms and holding countywide voter registration drives. Hana O’Looney has been working in student government for 6 years and this year she became our Student Member of the Board (SMOB). O’Looney is a senior at Richard Montgomery High School and has been a persistent activist throughout the years.
O’Looney started her high school activism career by organizing a menstrual equity campaign to collect free pads and tampons for Richard Mongtgomery’s bathrooms. She inspired and encouraged students to write letters to Maryland state representatives urging HB 208 be passed, which would ensure that each county’s Board of Education would provide free menstrual products via dispensers in school restrooms across Maryland. She met with the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council to work to reduce domestic violence incidents and create a safe community for families to live. O’Looney also planned the first Healthy Teen Dating festival in Montgomery County. The festival educates people on types of abuse, warning signs, how to help a friend and resources to use if you even find yourself in a dangerous situation while dating.
O’Looney has been a leader in activism for many years now. She lobbied for gun violence prevention in Annapolis with state legislators and created a student engagement plan to help reduce carbon emissions in Montgomery County. She was appointed by the Montgomery County Council as the student representative to comment on the county’s carbon emission reduction plan and helped to ensure that Montgomery County is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 0% by 2035.
O’Looney has a plan for our future. She aims for racial equity and justice by instituting a transparent process for hire and holding town halls. She wants to “dismantle discriminatory dress codes that unfairly target black and brown girls” and “implement new LGBTQ+ sensitivity training for all staff, with the training process being led by LGBTQ+ students.” O’Looneyalso has plans to support disabled and neurodivergent students by “re-evaluating the steepness of wheelchair ramps to ensure that students are able to use them independently without the aid of another student or teacher” and “making online learning a continued option after the pandemic for immunocompromised and disabled students who request it.” In addition, she aims to change current policy by allowing a “mental health day” to be an acceptable reason for student absence and not count against students.
O’Looney is our 44th SMOB and has a multitude of ideas for Montgomery County’s future. She has plans to make all of these ideas happen to better the lives of students. As an active member of the community, she represents the students of Montgomery County to the Board of Education. She aims to communicate our ideas by being a voice for the students. O’Looney implements the change that students want to see all across the county. You can learn more about her plans and policies on her website.
Article by Isabella Silver of Winston Churchill High School
Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Media