The Clarion worked with the office of Student Life and Leadership Development to reach out to all of the 2025 candidates running for Associated Students of Citrus College’s positions to sit down with them and speak about their campaign.
Marisol Meza, Natalie Kwok, Boyu Zhao and Henoch Perez are all running for president. A line of communication was not established with Meza, Kwok or Zhao. Perez was interviewed by the Clarion April 11.
Manuel Fernando Zepeda and Nicolas River Estey are both running for vice president. A line of communication was not established with Zepeda. The Clarion interviewed Estey April 10.
Theodore Gonzalez and Victoria Mucha are both running for legislative liaison. Even though a line of communication was established with Mucha, the Clarion was unable to schedule an interview with her. The Clarion interviewed Gonzalez April 11.
Patricia Flores, Marquel-Leslie Savage, Qinghua (Harper) Xie and Miho Obata are all running for a senator position, there are seven in total. No line of communication was established with Flores, Savage or Xie. Obata was interviewed by the Clarion April 11.
Ashley Andrea Armas, Bianca Rodriguez Gonzalez, May M. Phyo and Alfred Jr. Hernandez are a;;running for student trustee. Remmie Perez dropped out after the announcement of the candidates. A line of communication was not established with Armas or Phyo. Gonzales was interviewed by the Clarion April 14. Hernandez was interviewed by the Clarion April 10.
Each candidate interviewed received 20 minutes to answer seven questions.
President – Henoch Perez
Major: Communication
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Perez said he thinks the biggest issue is a lack of community, unity and a sense of belonging. While he said Citrus does not have a lack of resources, he said a solution to help students feel more connected would be to make sure they’re more informed about what’s going on on campus. Perez said he wants to work with “underutilized” divisions and programs, like the visual arts.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A: Perez said he has no conflicts of interest.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Perez said ASCC should prioritize what the general population wants from the funds while considering the real financial limitations that come with the budget.
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: Perez said he doesn’t feel like most people really know what ASCC does and that there’s a “lack of transparency and there’s a lack of effort to bring the student body in.” He said while maintaining a social media platform and keeping an open email inbox are important, it’s also important to “seek out the student body” and “actively go out and talk to the people who are here.”
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Perez said ASCC should plan events based on ideas directly from the students through going out in-person to talk to students at places like the library, student center and Campus Center Mall.
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Perez said while people feel disconnected Citrus does have “micro-communities” and celebrating those differences are important. He said Citrus does a good job of making people feel heard. He said he thinks micro-communities are good and should be encouraged, possibly through more clubs. Perez also said an effort should be made to highlight the different divisions and programs on campus.
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: Perez said Citrus’ Board of Trustees and Academic Senate have publicly been supportive of students. He said he felt Citrus faculty was “holding firm” on their decision to be an inclusive and diverse environment.
Vice President – Nicolas River Estey
Major: Business Administration
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Estey said one of the biggest problems is that students are typically on campus with the mindset of they are going to leave once their class is done. He said that even if there are resources catered to students on campus, they do not know because it gets drowned out by the overload of other information. He said he plans on addressing this by making little bits of information digestible of what is available for students. Estey said he would also want to push for events that push for people to make connections and interact with fellow students so they have a reason to come to campus.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A: Estey said he has no conflicts of interest.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Estey said ASCC should reach out to students and see what they would like to come out of their budget from the student fee. He said overall the college has “quite a few good programs,” but that there’s an “imbalance in attention to certain programs” and there should be a push to make things “equal and push for holistic growth for the school.”
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: Estey said he would say send out mass emails since email is a “main avenue of information” for information from the college. He said he would also want to post on Instagram, put flyers or sit in different parts of campus and communicate what ASCC is doing.
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Estey said since ASCC is already “involved in most things” the board should maximize what they’re already involved in. He said he feels this is better than “spreading it out.”
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Estey said fun activities are also important because they “help build cobblestone and bonds” and they “break that first high barrier.” He said having more events builds an important sense of community.
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: Estey said the board should let the students know what new legislation affects them. He said ASCC should make an effort to connect people to the resources they need and present solutions if the board has them. He said prioritizing “the school being a safe place where no matter what type of laws are passed outside, school should be a place that is safe,” is important.
Legislative Liaison – Theodore Gonzalez
Major: Political Science
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Gonzalez said the biggest issue college students are facing is financial aid and all the new policies coming into place. He said he would keep up with new legislation and provide summaries to the ASCC board. “It worries me, especially for the people who are already struggling to afford college,” Gonzalez said.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A: Gonzalez said he does not have any conflicts of interest.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Gonzalez said the No. 1 priority for the student fee should be keeping the campus clean because “you can’t learn in an unclean environment.”
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: Gonzalez said he would make an effort to keep students in the classes he is enrolled in by asking his professors to give him time during class to update students on current legislation. He also said he plans on maintaining an Instagram page if elected.
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Gonzalez said ASCC should host more study halls.
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Gonzalez said if ASCC did have more study halls advertising them would be more important. “Trauma bonding, we’re all stressed,” he said. “So if we all had study halls we could be like ‘Hey it’s gonna be alright’ and we help each other out.”
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: Gonzalez said keeping up with the FAFSA and student loan updates is important. “It’s gonna be okay, “ he said, “ we’ll figure it out.”
Senator – Miho Obata
Major: Theater Arts
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Obata said that more than before, college students are facing negative feelings in their lives. She said that she would like to address that by encouraging students to share their voices through means of social media. Additionally, she said she would like to host social events like picnics so students can interact with each other and be out with nature.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A: Obata said she has no conflicts of interest that could affect her role in ASCC. She said she was previously a part of the International Student Center, a dance club on campus, and Alpha Gamma Sigma but isn’t currently.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Obata said she wants to put the student fees back to the students to make college life better. She said she would also like to use it in order to provide food and drinks for events. “If we let them know there’s food, I think more students will come,” Obata said.
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: She said she would like to use social media to communicate to the students since it is “very important” and “very easy to spread information”. She would also like to create posters for events and ask professors to talk about what ASCC plans with their students.
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Obata said ASCC should help to enforce the rules on campus and have more meetings that are directed towards that.
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Obata said she wants students to feel safe and reassure them. She believes it is important that ASCC creates a warm atmosphere with the students on campus by being friendly and making them feel welcome. In addition to hosting events, she would also like to ask the people who attend events if they are enjoying themselves.
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: She once more emphasizes the need to hear students’ voices, especially during these times. Obata said she wants to help keep students informed with what resources that students can access on campus to help them process what they are feeling. She also encourages students to attend ASCC meetings so they can talk directly to the board themselves. She potentially would like to designate specific dates that allow for students to talk to the board as well.
Student Trustee – AJ Hernandez
Major: Business Administration
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Hernandez said, the biggest issue is lack of a sense of community on campus. “Pretty much everywhere here is like a ghost town,” he said. He said he wants to focus on incorporating more social activities on campus which would also increase networking opportunities after talking to new students on campus. He said Citrus is a very small community, and a lot of students are just struggling with the social aspect. Hernandez said a lot of students are stressed, and they don’t even know of the mental health resources available to them, like accessing a therapist. Hernandez said that he would talk to students on campus and bring them or their concerns to the board.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A: Hernandez said he is a student ambassador for Citrus College, vice president of the real estate club and in the honors transfer program.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Hernandez said that his priority when spending the student fee would be towards services like promotal advertisements. Some examples he provided were for the blue emergency posts, the ad would explain what it’s about and how students would benefit from that knowledge. Another example he provided was for the mental health center, the ad would explain the free services they offer. He said promoting information and making it accessible to students is a priority. “If we focus on those, everything else would probably get solved as well because when students interact they can help each other out,” Herandez said.
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: Hernandez said he wants to get the contact information from all students and try to promote visibility of student information in order to communicate what the ASCC is doing on campus and for them. He said he wants to actively network with students on campus, hear their concerns and keep them informed.
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Hernandez said he would like the ASCC to have an active role in counseling, especially during class registration. “A lot of students don’t know what classes to take and don’t know that counselors are available,” Hernandez said. He said that the ASCC should also have an active role in getting more security at night on campus to escort students to their cars if needed. “You never know, it’s the little things that count sometimes,” Hernandez said.
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Hernandez said he plans to revive a sense of community by increasing social activities, spirit days and mental health days which would possibly include a petting zoo. He said he’d also like to have more food-based social activities. Hernandez also said making sure to promote the events that Citrus already hosts throughout the year.
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: Hernandez said he wants students of all communities and backgrounds to feel represented and secure. He said he wants to make the important information more accessible and transparent regardless of language. Hernandez said he wants to increase access to mental health resources. “Sometimes they(students) just want to talk it out, even though it is the tip of the iceberg for them,” Hernandez said.
Student Trustee – Bianca Rodriguez Gonzalez
Major: Public Health
Q: What is the biggest issue today’s college students are facing? How do you plan on addressing them if elected?
A: Gonzalez said she thinks that students aren’t aware of the resources the college has to offer, as well as, the no student life and lack of connection. To fix these two options, she said she would like to create a hub on canvas for resources and have more spirit days or have CItrus’ socials collaborate with other groups on campus’ socials. She also said that if she wasn’t involved in athletics, she wouldn’t have been to that side of campus. Another issue she said was that even though Citrus has a diverse population, we don’t have a space or center for them like other colleges. This would be more administrative, so to implement this, she said she would be an advocate for the students.
Q: Do you have any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, that might affect the way you perform your role in ASCC?
A:Gonzalez said she wouldn’t favor any group on campus, that isn’t what a leader should do. She said it’s because she’s involved a lot on campus that she feels she can understand the students more.
Gonzalez is involved in the honors program, guardian program, EOP&S program, NextUp scholar, L.U.S.A. club and the promise program.
Q: Citrus students pay a student fee every semester, what do you believe should be ASCC’s priority when spending it?
A: Gonzalez said that while she’s not sure what the ASCC is prioritizing at the moment and would have to learn more first, she would advocate for more mental health programs and for some of the money to go to programs that create better student centered events.
Q: How do you plan to communicate with students what ASCC is doing on campus and for them?
A: Gonzalez said that while she’s not sure what the ASCC is prioritizing at the moment and would have to learn more first, she would advocate for more mental health programs and for some of the money to go to programs that create better student centered events.
Q: ASCC is behind several student events, what other areas do you think ASCC should have an active role in?
A: Gonzalez said that first she would want to understand the ASCC’s position first. She said she thinks they should get more involved with the stem and DSPS center. She said that they should get more involved with the performing arts center, so the events that are put on are more widely known.
Q: What way do you plan to revive a sense of community on campus?
A: Gonzalez said she would want to send out surveys to students to get a sense of their perspective on campus and hear what they want. She said that while she knows the college has one for incoming students, a welcome day in the fall semester for returning sophomore students would be “a great way to revive a sense of community.” Gonzalez said that more activities for international students to get them more accustomed to Citrus and feel more welcome. Gonzalez said that to do this she thinks the ASCC would need regularly updated pamphlets or QR code for student events and more advocacy for planning events.
Q: There are a lot of students nervous given the past and ongoing actions of the Trump administration, if any, what actions would you take to make students feel more secure on campus?
A: “My main priority is to make students feel safe, protected and heard,” Gonzalez said. She said the school should have more safe spaces that are hidden on campus and more wellness days should be implemented at more places on campus.
The voting period will take place between 9:30 a.m. April 21 to 8 p.m. April 22.
To vote, students need to follow these steps:
- Login into Wingspan
- Click on “personal information”
- Click on “answer a survey”
- Click on “ASCC General Elections”
Clarion staff reporters Kenna Jenkins, Julianna Gasca, Melanie Arias and Sofia Hernandez contributed to this story.
Editor’s Note: One of the candidates for president, Henoch Perez, is a part of the Clarion staff this semester. To avoid giving an unfair advantage to him, Perez will not be participating in any coverage or staff discussion on the upcoming ASCC elections. He was interviewed by the Clarion editor-in-chief, Kenna Jenkins. If you have questions, reach out to her a kjenkins@ccclarion.com.
