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Round Two – A.S. Special Election Begins

Jackson Tammariello | News Editor

The Santa Monica College (SMC) Associated Students (A.S.) is holding a special election this month, May, to fill vacant positions within its leadership for the upcoming Fall semester.

Five out of 13 positions for the 20222023 A.S. Board of Directors were set to be unoccupied following the general election last month – Vice President, Director of Student Assistance, Director of Student Outreach, Director of Activities, and Student Trustee. Applications for candidacy opened Monday, April 25, and closed Wednesday May 4 at 5pm. The election will be held through Corsair Connect, from May 16 at 12 a.m., to May 19 at 11:59 p.m. Results will be announced on May 20.

There are nine candidates running for positions – three candidates for Director of Student Outreach and two candidates for both Director of Activities and Student Trustee. The candidates for Vice President and Director of Student Assistance are running unopposed.

“Normally, we hold special elections for constitutional revisions, ballot measures or things that students want us to vote on that are not director positions,” A.S. President Joshua Elizondo said.

According to the A.S. Constitution and By-Laws, special elections are held if amendments to the A.S. Constitution are proposed by the Constitution Committee or the student body, if students put forth petitions, or if students vote to recall a Director.

Usually, the student body does not vote for candidates to fill in vacant positions. Rather, the A.S. Board of Directors holds committees to interview applicants and fill the positions. No candidates ran for the five positions available in the general election last month, so the positions were not listed on the ballot. “We were concerned that there were five vacant roles

in the general election, and I was particularly concerned that there was no Student Trustee running,” Elizondo said.

Without any candidates running for those specific roles, they were not included on the general election ballot. Since those five positions were never on the ballot for an election, the A.S. Board was allowed to call for a second election to fill them, as doing so “allows us to ensure that student participation in student government is, across the board, filled,” Elizondo said.

Students will also be able to approve or reject proposed amendment changes to the A.S. Constitution and By-Laws. Over the last few months in public meetings, the Constitution Committee has been revising and changing the lan-

guage used throughout the A.S. Constitution. One of these revisions is regarding the current situation — to allow special elec tions in the event of a vacancy after a general

election.

The revisions also proposed name changes for certain positions to better reflect their duties. The Director of Student Advocacy, whose job is to establish relations between A.S. and local legislators, conduct legislative visits, and organise channels for civic expression, is being renamed to Director of External Affairs. The Director of

Student Assistance, who is the liaison between A.S. and special programs and centers such as the Financial Aid Office, the Extended Opportunity Program & Services (EOPS), and the Adelante Program, is being renamed to the Director of Basic Needs. Another revision clarifies which students at SMC can be considered as part of the A.S.

Currently, the Constitution states that only those paying the $10 Resource Fee are considered members of A.S. The change would indicate that any student enrolled at SMC is considered a member of the A.S., but only those paying the $10 Resource Fee may run for and hold office. Other revisions include defining the line of succession for student leadership and indicating that a Director who is recalled or impeached may not hold office in any capacity again.

The full list of changes is available at www.thecorsaironline.com, under “A.S. Constitution Changes Proposed in Spring 2022 Special Election.”

Infographics by Katheryne Menendez

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A.S. Spring 2022 Special Election Candidates

A.S. Spring 2022 Special Election Candidates