- Ahem-ahem, - Futaba cleared her throat.
For some reason, in this situation, she felt more nervous than she had when stepping up to the podium several weeks ago.
- Hello everyone, thank you for coming. Right off the bat, I ask that we keep things informal; we are classmates and nothing more, - she raised her palm preemptively before any of the more zealous guests could even think about state-colored sycophancy. - I won't beat around the bush or waste your time; I'll get straight to the point. You may remember that one of the points of my election program was the creation of a disciplinary—or public safety, as I called it—committee. To be honest, the previous iteration of the idea seemed more relevant at the time it was voiced. If you recall, the main task of this committee was the ability to quickly self-organize and react to crisis situations should they arise. Duncan Mandragora, being a military man and a nominal security officer, still failed in this function—which is understandable; he is an elderly man, lacking agility and a certain flexibility of mind; as for the rest, it's better not to mention it. Now we have no such need for that because... - the president cast a thoughtful glance somewhere out the window. - Well, basically, the school has revised its security concept in a more adequate direction. Therefore, from, mm... members of the disciplinary committee... disciplinarians?.. I'll have to think of a palatable name... anyway, no unsafe heroism is required of them anymore. And no crisis situations are expected. Nevertheless, I am still convinced that students should have some institutional formation of their own, independent of external state factors.
Futaba paused and took a sip of water from a glass to moisten her dry throat.
- In short, this is how I see it at the moment. In our multinational and multi-confessional society, certain conflicts have already occurred that led to unpleasant consequences. Misunderstandings and discord may arise between individual students or various groups of them, and the committee's task will be to neutralize them. As I already said in my campaign speech—this does not mean applying force to comrades.
Firstly, the very existence of such a committee can deter certain hotheads from rash actions. Suppose A has a quarrel with B and thinks about starting a fight or doing something nasty to him. In that case, he will remember that he will later have to answer to the committee, think once more whether to give in to the impulse, and quite likely let the matter drop. Even while harboring negative emotions inside, he won't vent them into a specific action.
Secondly, as a matter of fact, the victim may personally turn to the committee for help, or, if pride or fear stops them, their concerned friends or classmates can do so. In such a case, the committee must investigate the circumstances of the case and bring the guilty party to justice. The last point will not be decided on the spot, but collectively, with the participation of all members, as well as Levisia Kaladiumovna, based on the conducted investigation.
Thirdly, in the most undesirable but possible case of an active conflict occurring in a hot phase—fights, beatings, and so on—here the committee members can and should intervene and stop what is happening—if you are capable of doing so. Again, heroism is not mandatory if it is beyond your power. For example, if there is some sort of wall-to-wall brawl and you are alone, it is within your power to call upon other committee comrades for help, or even organize concerned students who may be nearby and ready to assist you. You might ask how this differs from the usual average case where kind people rush in to break up a fight—by the fact that you will have full authorization from the school administration, and your action will be regarded as unequivocally correct, whereas in an unorganized life situation, all sorts of pitfalls and discrepancies of opinion on what is happening are possible...
However, the last described scenario is the most extreme, maximally condensed, and merely theoretical. So far, nothing like that has happened in our school, and let's hope it never will. And if it suddenly does—more serious force measures than a disciplinary committee will be deployed; you won't be required to put yourselves in danger; nevertheless, your presence, support, and voice will still be taken into account and will carry weight as representatives of, shall we say, the student self-governing body.
Futu took a few more sips of water.
- What are the downsides of joining this committee? Well, essentially the duties themselves, if they can be listed as downsides—but they won't require OS—and a certain need to correspond to the image of an honest and fair person—but that is probably the aspiration of any reasonable member of society. None of you have problems with that anyway, - it took great effort not to glance at Elliot while saying this last line. - Well, also, perhaps, one can expect some bias from certain dishonest elements of our student body, who, fortunately, are few and whose potential for action will be limited by this very committee, but they are currently capable of choosing anyone as their victims, taking advantage of impunity for the time being.
- What are the pluses of joining? You will be doing a right thing, objectively useful for our school society; you will gain valuable experience that will serve you in your future life; you will acquire authority in the eyes of those peers who will know that if anything happens, you are ready to help them and can be relied upon; if desired, you can submit suggestions for improving our school for consideration. To tell the truth, I'm not against accepting them from people anyway, but if I announce this initiative throughout the whole school, most likely a bunch of trash and nonsense will be thrown into the box, which would then take forever to sort through, - the president spread her arms. - But I will consider your initiatives without any problem, and you can suggest something adequate if you hear such things from your friends. Essentially, this could be a form of additional function for the committee, for those of you who have a greater inclination toward the organizational-intellectual or social-interaction sphere rather than the applied one. And also, committee members can expect a stipend supplement and a cool distinction badge for an accessory slot.
Furrowing her brow and rubbing her chin, the president adds:
- As an option, there was also an idea of organizing such a mechanic for the committee as requests from students directly in need of some kind of help, like one-time requests in some matter, for which you receive that same valuable life experience and some reward from the school. A quest board, so to speak. But this, of course, leads us away from the "disciplinary" idea. Just a thought... If anyone finds it interesting or wants to develop it, it's at your service... - Futaba awkwardly chewed her phrase, finished the water, and continued more firmly and clearly.
- Closing everything that has been said, the question is—why did I invite you specifically? Because I know some of you personally, some indirectly, and this knowledge speaks to your decency and ability to clothe this idea in the bright and productive image intended for it. And this doesn't mean that I don't consider our other peers to be such, but simply, well... I have such an impression of you. Of course, I am not forcing any of you into this responsibility—if this isn't your thing, you are more than entitled to refuse. But both I and Levisia Kaladiumovna would still like to see you in this capacity.
- Questions, suggestions, wishes?.. - the president looked over the faces of those gathered in hopes of gauging their impression, nervously twirling a lock of her hair.
Added after 7 minutes
- Establishments such as "At Claire's", "Ira's Arsenal", and "Plantage" have agreed to provide work for students.
- NAILS has received a request for the transfer of a student from PRUA (First Regional University of Armeria).
- Futaba also received a sealed report from the 39th Brigade which, obviously, Levisia has not read.