Why would a graduating high school senior decide to do something for his school that he would never get to see realized before he left? Not many would answer that it's for the good of the    school, but Jake Barman would.

                 After getting many complaints from students about how the end-of-day announcements over the PA kept them in the classroom past the bell after school, Jake Barman, 2011 Student Body president, talked to principal Dr. Galey Colosimo on behalf of the student body about those frustrations.  At this meeting, Colosimo assigned Barman and Nate Tack, JD alum, 2011 Student Body Officer, to find a solution.

 “I had recently been at Jordan [High School] for a basketball game and I saw these TVs,” said Barman. “I figured they would be a great way to minimize PA announcements and allow the dean to focus on his ‘true’ job.”

As for the money required to purchase and install the TVs, Barman says that it is not an expense of money, but rather an investment. UtahGo is a network which companies use to advertise on TVs in local businesses and high schools; it is also the network that Juan Diego uses. “The advertisements that are displayed through the monitors are coming from companies who are paying to advertise within schools,” Barman said. “So, while we spent nearly $6,000, within three semesters we will have made all of that money back and then it will turn into profit.”

His idea has even expanded into the classrooms. The TVs are not only displaying announcements and bringing revenue into the school, they are also replacing LCD projectors, which are currently used by most teachers. The light bulbs alone used in projectors cost more than one hundred dollars to replace, so the TVs are actually saving the school money.

Moses Baca, Television Production teacher, prefers the TVs to a projector. “I like it because the students like it,” he said “I’ve asked all my classes where I’ve used the television screen and they’ve all said it’s a much better image.”

As many students have noticed, the TVs in the hallways have been displaying previously aired student newscasts. Baca finds this helpful for his class. “In TV production we are using them for our class,” He said. “Right now every news broadcast we do goes on those screens, which is great because we can’t always broadcast during homeroom because of the time we have our advanced class.”

Barman took this into consideration while making the decision to add the TVs; he wanted to benefit the community that he would soon be leaving. 

 "People may thank that being the Student Body President is full of perks and they are just looking at [them]selves in the mirror trying to better themselves, said Barman.  "But JD is a community I will forever be tied to.  And while I knew the TVs weren't going to be installed until after I left, I knew that the school needed them and others would benefit from them.  I'm just trying to make JD the best it can be and the TVs bettered the school."