Author: Arielle Darr
From Tuesday April 21 to Friday April 24, Oxy students cast their votes to elect next year’s Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) representatives. For two weeks leading up to the elections, posters, Facebook groups and emails inundated Oxy students with the names of ASOC hopefuls campaigning throughout campus. According to the ASOC website, all were welcomed to run and vote for “Four Campus-Wide positions, 10 Honor Board Jurors, 2 Senators for each class, and President…Our goal is to have 900 voters. Help us out!”
After what she says was a very positive experience as one of the current Oxy first-year Senators, Aliza Goldsmith (first-year), decided to run for next year’s sophomore Senator. “I chose to run for class Senator, rather than Campus-wide, because I like representing the class of 2012. I feel often times that since the Campus-wide senators are so invisible [since their constituency is so large], they aren’t really held accountable,” she said. “I want my class to approach me with questions or dilemmas, and tell me how I can help them or improve my own work.”
New to the ASOC election process is Morgan Flake (first-year), who ran for Honor Board. “I am running for Honor Board because I want to get more involved at Oxy, both to meet more people and have an effect on the Oxy community . . . If I win, I look forward to learning more about the inner workings of the ASOC,” she said.
Also running for Honor Board is Manuel Valverde (first-year). “I feel that running for any position is a way of giving back to Oxy. I chose to run for Honor Board because I feel that it’s important for students to enforce Occidental’s policies . . . These elections provide me with the opportunity of meeting new and dynamic people,” Valverde said.
David LaPorte (junior) chose to run for one of the four Campus Wide Senate seats. He said, “I would like to be able to work on projects that will benefit the whole campus, rather than concentrating on my own class.” As a former member of the ASOC, LaPorte reflects on his previous experiences. “I think it’s very important, although no one knows about it. I think ASOC plays a fundamental role at Oxy, especially since the campus is so small. We have somewhat of a tight knit community at Oxy, which allows ASOC to better address the needs and concerns of students.
According to LaPorte, many Oxy students don’t use the ASOC to its potential. “I feel that not enough students take advantage of having Senators. I’ve never had a student contact me asking for help or to change something,” Laporte said. “I don’t think it’s a question of whether students appreciate what we’ve done this year or not, but more of a question of whether they know what we’ve done or not.”
This year, voting for the ASOC elections was a little different. Students had to log on to MyOxy, click on the Student Services Tab and then click on Student Elections located under the Gateway marker to complete an online ballot. This year 764 Oxy students voted. “We were hoping for 900, but I think the lack of publicity might have contributed to the low turnout. Also, many positions were uncontested, so that also could have contributed to the lack of interest,” said Tamara Rice, Assistant Dean of Student Development/Director of Student Life. “I think the fact that we had so many incumbent candidates speaks to the positive experience students are having on Senate, which makes me happy.”
Elected to the ASOC for next school year was Sophomore Senators: Aliza Goldsmith and Andreas Bloomquist, Junior Senators: Xochiltl Ramos and Joellen Anderson, Senior Senator: Alex Safrausky, Campus Wide Senators: David LaPorte, Renoa Batista, Andres Quispe-Hansen, Anne Wolfstone, Honor Board Jurors: Jackson Lewis and Morgan Flake and President: Andrew DeBlock.
As for how the ASOC election process currently works at Oxy, many students and ASOC members believe that things could be better. “I think the election process at Oxy is run somewhat poorly, and I also think this is being worked on. There seemed to be a lack of advertising and a really shocking lack of interest among students. If we’re such a ‘liberal’ and ‘political’ campus, I would have hoped more people would run,” Goldsmith said.
Some students have similar complaints but overall find that there is not much to change about the current election process. “The election process at Oxy seems pretty low key . . . I feel like quite a few people probably don’t vote. The process of voting could be made easier, but the people who care about the outcome of the election are voting, so I think the process is pretty sound already, ” Flake said.
Still others are content with current election proceedings. “Though the process isn’t as straightforward as in high school, ASOC places a lot of effort in getting students to vote. Voting online gives students the flexibility to cast their votes when convenient and anonymously,” Valverde said.
The ASOC has many positive impacts on Oxy’s campus as well as some aspects that could be improved. “ASOC does a lot of great stuff for Oxy, including the concert on [last] Friday, for example, and the students themselves are responsible for a lot of great ideas and their execution. I do think that students should have easier access to knowledge of what the ASOC is doing so they can gain a greater appreciation for the work its members do,” Flake said.
Valverde also discussed this phenomenon, adding how Oxy students also need to make more of an effort to use the services available to them. “ASOC plays an essential role in supporting the student body and Eagle Rock’s community. It’s always necessary for students to represent their school; ASOC does that. I would argue that students do appreciate ASOC to an extent, but many students don’t know how to take advantage of ASOC services.”
“I really believe in student government, and being on Senate has taught me so much about Oxy that I would not have been able to learn otherwise. I encourage people to go on ASOC’s website, find out who their class Senator is, and email them any suggestions. Senators are always looking for new projects, and it is the wants and needs of the students that they should be addressing,” Goldsmith said.
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