An information session about the upcoming Associated Students of Cerritos College Senate election presented prospective senate candidates with basic information about what the student government does, expectations and responsibilities of senators on Aug. 28 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the library.
Discussed during the info session was how the then absence of an ASCC President and vice president was affecting the current state of affairs of the student government and senate election.
The new ASCC president, Ashley Yim, and vice president, Fatima Oregon were announced on Sept. 4.
Usually, the current ASCC President and vice president are elected in the spring semester and receive training over the summer, however, Yim and Oregon were elected as part of a special election process that occurred as the previous president and vice president were removed and resigned.
According to Elizabeth Miller, the dean of student services and ASCC Senate advisor, Jose Hernandez, the former ASCC Vice President, was forced to resign following allegations that came up on the Cerritos College app – he resigned the weekend after commencement.
As for the former president, Dante Gaffield, there were allegations brought up regarding him within the same week as the issues with Hernandez – these allegations led to calls by students for him to be removed from office.
Since the only way to remove the president is through impeachment by the senate, which wasn’t in session over the summer, he could not be removed. Miller noted that it revealed a weakness in the ASCC’s bylaws, or rules.
That was until he stopped fulfilling his duties and was no longer communicating adequately – leading the remaining members of the court to hold meetings over the summer and eventually declare that he had abandoned his post.
Miller said, “… the decision to examine if the president was fulfilling their duties, whether the president should be removed for not doing their duties – we want that to be a student decision.”
Miller didn’t elaborate on the exact allegations levied against Hernandez and Gaffield as she said it would be a violation of student privacy.
As for the senate election information session, the current ASCC Chief Justice, Serafina Chun, and Natalia Hernandez, an associate justice, with the assistance of ASCC advisors, presented basic information on what the student government, particularly the senate, does and how it operates.
They talked about how the senate creates, approves and rejects legislation; approves the ASCC’s budget and budget requests; discusses and debates proposals; and represents the students of Cerritos College.
In particular, they also highlighted specific legislation passed by the ASCC, such as funding a trip for the college’s Model United Nations to UCLA, as well as The Safe Parking at Night Act.
Should they be elected, senate candidates will be expected to participate in mandatory, weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and receive a stipend for attending.
Voting in the senate election will be held on the college’s new service FalConnect – beginning on Sept. 11 and ending on Sept. 12.
Ivan Manriquez Jr., a student who graduated from San Francisco State University and is now pursuing law and a paralegal studies certificate at Cerritos College, highlighted why he’s running for the ASCC Senate.
Manriquez said, “I actually used to do student government in high school, so I have a little bit of experience with it.
“It is, I think, a good opportunity to connect with people – you know, kind of play with the rules on how actual government works, right?
“… I am excited because I think part of the reason why I wanted to go back to school was to get involved – and this is a great opportunity for that, whether it’s talking to senators, talking to students, getting to meet the president and vice president, hopefully pretty soon.”
Manriquez, talking about the lack of a president at the time of the info session, said, “This is, I think, what makes things interesting – when things are not going the way they should, it kind of gives us a way to experiment with ‘what happens in this situation’ kind of thing,” you know?”
The ASCC Senate is one of three branches of the student government at Cerritos College – the senate is the legislative branch and is comprised of 26 senators led by the vice president; the court is the judicial branch, which is comprised of eight associate justices and the chief justice; the cabinet is the executive branch and is comprised of the president and their cabinet of directors and deputy directors.
