The College Captain, Vice-Captain, and Prefects at Gonzaga, as at most Jesuit schools, are appointed by the Headmaster; they are not simply elected.  Having said that, appointment follows a consultative vote of the Fifth Year and Staff. The Headmaster appoints the students he thinks most suitable; almost always these are the people recommended in the consultative vote.

 

While they are expected to perform a variety of practical tasks prefects have two principal roles:  they are models to their peers and to the college as a whole of what a Gonzaga student should be at his best; and they have a particular responsibility for the care of First year students, introducing them to the culture of the college and encouraging them in their various endeavours.