New ASCC President Elected as Senate Elections Approach

An information session on the upcoming Associated Students of Cerritos College Senate election provided prospective Senate candidates with basic information about what student government does, the expectations and responsibilities of senators on August 28 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the library.

During the briefing, it was discussed how the then absence of an ASCC president and vice president was affecting the current status of student government and the senate election.

ASCC’s new president, Ashley Yim, and vice president, Fatima Oregon, were announced on September 4.

Typically, the current ASCC president and vice president are elected in the spring semester and receive training during the summer, however, Yim and Oregon were elected as part of a special election process that occurred when the previous president and vice president were removed and resigned.

According to Elizabeth Miller, dean of student services and ASCC Senate advisor, Jose Hernandez, former ASCC vice president, was forced to resign after allegations surfaced on the Cerritos College application; he resigned the weekend after graduation.

As for former President Dante Gaffield, there were accusations against him during the same week as the problems with Hernandez; these accusations led to calls from students for him to be removed from office.

Since the only way to remove the president is through an impeachment process by the Senate, which was not in session over the summer, he could not be removed. Miller said this revealed a weakness in the ASCC’s bylaws or rules.

That was until he stopped fulfilling his duties and no longer communicated properly, 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 whether the president was fulfilling his duties, whether the president should be removed for not fulfilling his duties, we want that to be a decision of the students.”

Miller did not elaborate on the exact allegations leveled against Hernandez and Gaffield, saying it would be a violation of students’ privacy.

At the Senate election briefing, current ASCC Chief Justice Serafina Chun and Associate Justice Natalia Hernandez, with the assistance of ASCC advisors, presented basic information about what student government, particularly the Senate, does and how it operates.

They discussed how the Senate creates, passes, and rejects laws; approves the ASCC budget and budget requests; discusses and debates proposals; and represents the students of Cerritos College.

In particular, they also highlighted specific legislation passed by ASCC, such as funding for a university Model United Nations trip to UCLA, as well as the Safe Overnight Parking Act.

If elected, Senate candidates will be required to attend mandatory weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and receive a stipend for attending.

Voting for the Senate elections will be conducted through the university’s new service, FalConnect, from September 11 to September 12.

Ivan Manriquez Jr., a student who graduated from San Francisco State University and is now studying law and earning a certificate in paralegal studies at Cerritos College, highlighted why he is running for the ASCC Senate.

Manriquez said, “I actually used to work in student government in high school, so I have a little bit of experience in that.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to connect with people, you know, play by the rules of how the current government works, right?

“I’m excited because I think part of the reason 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, meeting the president and the vice president, hopefully very soon.”

Manriquez, speaking about the lack of a president at the time of the briefing, said: “I think that’s what makes things interesting: when things don’t go the way they should, it gives us a way to experiment with things like ‘what happens in this situation? ’”

The ASCC Senate is one of three branches of student government at Cerritos College: the Senate is the legislative branch and is comprised of 26 senators headed 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 his cabinet of Directors and Vice Directors.

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