After one month, two elections and 50 free T-shirts, Citrus College’s student government was finally settled for the 2022-2023 term on June 3 after the conclusion of the Associated Students of Citrus College special election.
Only 111 students participated in this election that spanned from May 31 to June 2. This number reflected a departure from the 200 to 300 students who would come out to vote before the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, ASCC adviser Rosario Garcia said.
Enough students participated in the election to satisfy the ASCC constitutional requirement of a candidate earning at least 50 votes to qualify for any elected office.
Sofia Guzman and Isabella Rivas were elected senators with 83 and 82 votes, respectively, and Serina Nadine Mummert was elected student trustee with 57 votes, according to election results provided by the ASCC.
This 50-vote threshold was only reached by Jamie Iles in the original May 2 election, who was elected as ASCC president with 52 votes.
The two ASCC senators and the student trustee position were not filled at that time as they did not reach the required 50-vote plateau, resulting in the need for another election a month later.
After several calls to the polls and the offer of a free Citrus College T-shirt for the first 50 students to participate in the special election, voter turnout remained underwhelming both on-campus and online, Garcia said.
“Students are not as engaged as before,” Garcia said. “And even though there are quite a few students on campus, they just don’t want to vote.”
Four ASCC constitutional changes proposed by ASCC advisers were passed by the students during the special election, according to the ASCC special election results:
- There will no longer be a 50-vote minimum for elected office. Instead, a simple majority will be the requirement.
- The student trustee will now serve from June 1 to May 31 of the following year. This change was proposed to ensure there will never be a situation where a Board of Trustees meeting will take place without an elected student trustee like the May 17 meeting this semester, Garcia said.
- Language was amended from an article of the ASCC constitution that lifted the limitation that a student trustee can only be removed from office in the fall semester if they are put on academic or disciplinary probation.
- All proposed amendments will now be available to students five school days before the election. Previously, amendments were available 10 school days prior to the election.
