First Mandate of Governance

> *"...Maya Nelson, Edward Wexler, Noah Bohnen, and Justine Smyth, all the top dogs were there. After they had some projector problems, the stream jumped to life... only when they announced that classes and curriculum would continue as usual did all hell break loose. When the theater doors eventually opened, it was almost like a riot, as JIS Security Forces struggled to maintain control over the crowds..." -Unknown*
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In order to reconcile the student body and general public of the campuses, JIS administration had to host a conference on August 11 regarding the future of school during the Nebulan Crisis. The time following the conclusion of this conference is called the First Mandate of Governance era.

## Background

Prior to the Nebulan Crisis, the school had always ruled based off of authority and the contracts students' guardians had to sign to enroll. However, over the two days of the Nebulan Crisis, this source of power degraded in the eyes of students. Disdain for the rule of current administrators was made public. Rallies for student power and pickets against class attendance grew more and more common.

Seeing the opportunity to restore order and support in the JIS administration, Head of School Maya Nelson, as well as her three campus principals, Edward Wexler, Noah Bohnen, and Justine Smyth, held a Zoom conference stream to discuss their plans for the future of the campus during this Nebulan Crisis.

During the conference, several things were mentioned, ranging from internet regulation to curfew. However, the two points that sparked the most outrage were the initiation of rationing and mandatory classes. Seeing this as a blatant overreach of authority by a dictatorial regime during a time of crisis, different students founded student organizations to protest and scheme against the JIS administration.

The little authority vested within the JIS administration would be ratified by the signing of the First Mandate of Governance, a paper document of the same name outlining the main points from the conference. Maya Nelson saw fit to formalize the points outlined in the conference announcements in a new document, formally titled the "All-JIS Accord for School", or "An accord and agreement between the administrators of JIS to ensure a safe, prosperous, and resilient future."

## The Document

The document, seeking to rationalize and unify administrative thought amongst JIS policy-makers, had 3+4 points, making a total of 7. Below are the 3 "Main Points":

1. JIS leadership and administration will unite and persevere to ensure the safety, prosperity, and continued learning of JIS and its constituents.
2. JIS and its constituents will recognize the authority of the First Mandate Government and its officials.
3. JIS officials prior to the signing of this agreement will maintain their established statuses, powers, and titles.

At the request of other delegates, the following 4 points were appended to the agreement to ensure its passing in all three schools. Below are the "Additional Points" 4-7:

1. The First Mandate Government will not alter the existing systems and offices of student representatives and teacher representatives.
2. The First Mandate Government will recognize all established statuses, powers, and titles of student and teacher representatives, and ensure their inclusion of suggestion and action in policy-making.
3. The monetary system under which JIS is maintained will be continued until a new agreement is reached regarding its status.
4. All powers, policies, and regulations which were active under the administration prior to this agreement will stay in place until this administration either amends or strikes them. The power to create new policies and regulations are vested within this First Mandate Government, but only through the systems and bureaucracies already in place prior to this agreement.

## Drafting of the Agreement

The 7-Point Agreement was drafted by a three-party committee, which sought to maintain the values and principles which were outlined in the First Mandate of Governance conference.

### The Delegation of Student Organizations

The Delegation of Student Organizations (DSO) was a hand-picked selection of top students to represent the interests of all students during the drafting of the agreement. They would not gain a signature in the accord, but would instead be represented by the principals of each of the schools.

The delegation was split into three; one represented the high school, one represented the middle school, and one represented the elementary, also representing the early years due to their inability to act in their own interests.

The DSO successfully advocated for the inclusion of points 4 and 5, which intended to secure the autonomy of student organizations. While they had also advocated to modify the wording of main point 3, they failed in this motion.

The DSO was worried most about the wording of main point 2, which vested the utmost and supreme authority of the First Mandate of Governance in itself, which they believed would lead to issues regarding the separation of powers and checks and balances.

### The Delegation of the Teachers Federation

The Teachers Federation, which, after the Nebulan Crisis, was reformed into the United National Resistance Congress - All-JIS Federation of Educators and Teaching Associations (UNRC-AFETA), had a delegation to the drafting conference of the First Mandate of Governance agreement. They would not gain a signature, but would instead be represented by the principals of each of the schools. The DTF had more power regarding the principal signatures, since teachers held more power at this time over the students in the eyes of the principals and administration.

The delegation was a united front between the United National Resistance Congress (Teachers Federation successor) and the All-JIS Federation of Educators and Teaching Associations (Teachers Federation breakaway organization). They managed to secure points 4, 5, and 6, ensuring the interests of teachers were accounted for.