Crowley for a day

Grade-school students trailed alongside council members at a stated meeting in City Hall on Wednesday, February 14.
Among them was Sherin Shibu, a student at P.S./I.S. 113, who won an essay contest hosted by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s office and was selected to be a “Council Member for a Day.”
Winners of the contest, which is held in City Council offices across the city, get to participate in committee discussions and hearings, and sit with members during legislative votes.
“I felt it would be a good experience in deciding what I want to do,” Shibu said of why she participated in Crowley’s essay contest, which required students to write an autobiography, including why they wanted to be Council members for a day.
From the experience, Shibu said she might like to go into government when she grows up.
“It’s been great,” she said while standing in the Council Chamber before the meeting started. “I’ve learned how they conduct meetings and how you vote, and what work is done when you’re a part of the government.”
The most interesting part of her day, Shibu said, was a caucus meeting in which a group discussion on gender-equality issues was held.
“I think it should be equal,” she said. “We should all have equal rights.”