The Associated Students of Cerritos College, the student government, is finally whole again as its cabinet members and chief justice were approved in an ASCC Senate meeting on Sept. 25 – after which they immediately got down to business on the Native Plant Sanctuary.
A delay in the approval process, due to the replacement of the former ASCC president and vice president causing it to take longer than expected to have a fully functioning student government with a chief justice and executive cabinet.
The new chief justice that was approved is Armando Morales. The new majority leader is senator Kendra Carnes, and the minority leader is senator David Arellano.
During the meeting, the Native Plant Sanctuary requested $12,225 of funding and the cheer club uniform funding of $8,000 was approved.
Professor Joy Tsuhako, from the sociology department, shared a presentation with information regarding the sanctuary and funding request.
The presentation included a cost summary, which explained that the funding for the Native Plant Sanctuary would go toward things like gardening supplies and tools, events, nursery supplies, animal habitat, landscape enhancements, promotional materials, signage and seating.
There were various speakers throughout the presentation including students from the environmental club, people who volunteer in the sanctuary, a Cerritos College alumni and a video message from the founding steward of the sanctuary, professor Anna Valcarcel, from the biology department.
“When you walk around the campus, it’s nothing but plants,” Cesar Perez, a sanctuary volunteer, said, “but they’re not native to California.”
The Native Plant Sanctuary was established on Jan. 19, and its mission is to fight extinction and climate change, honor native land and build an empowered community.
“I’m disappointed because when I look around my city, I live in Lynwood, there’s not really much other spaces that have native wildlife – it’s all just introduced plants,” Perez said.
The sanctuary has developed partners on campus such as the facilities department, which helped facilitate the space; the Center for Teaching Excellence which provides training for faculty; learning communities’ courses; student clubs; student health; and welding, which will offer plant labels and more, according to Tsuhako
Ashley Yim, president of the environmental club and president of ASCC said, “[The Native Plant Sanctuary] wants other tools and like a tool shed too, to keep all their things, since right now Professor Joy is just bringing [tools] back and forth from her home – which also means some students can’t really work on it unless Professor Joy brings her tools.”
“The main goal is to have, like every single area like, where there’s nature or plants, be Native,” Yim said.
Some future plans that members of the environmental club discussed in the presentation about the Native Plant Sanctuary were to have an outdoor classroom, have more seating since there are currently only six chairs, more guest speakers, a sculpture garden and partnerships to offer students paid internships.
