The Highline student body has elected a new ASHC president, but the vice-president position remains vacant.
Nestor Reyes-Garcia is the new president-elect of the Associated Students of Highline College, whose future responsibilities will include representing Highline students, but his position is not set in stone.
The president and vice-president of the student government are chosen in an election open to Highline students, but will not be finalized until approved by the ASHC council on June 7.
The vice-president position is responsible for leading the ASHC council, said Amy Bergstrom, interim director of the Center for Leadership and Service.
“The vice-president presides over a council of students consisting of the club presidents. The council meets every other Tuesday. And the vice-president is in charge of elections as well. They oversee next year’s elections,” she said.
“Officially the vice-president runs council meetings, but other members can speak up to voice their concerns. They can come up with forums or petitions to hear what students have to say,” said Bergstrom.
COVID has presented its own set of obstacles to the election process, both during quarantine and during the recovery process.
“The ASHC executives have been less visible,” Bergstrom said. “I think a big challenge has been transitioning back to campus.”
“A lot of the roles the executive members play affect student’s daily lives. It’s sort of the invisible stuff, like how budgets are spent, faculty tenure, college activities. There are decisions people are making and you didn’t even realize,” Begstrom said.
“One of the things I hear from the ASHC executive team is that they learn how important student voices are,” she said.
There is not much time left for the vice-president slot to be filled in time for this year.
“There are packets on the ASHC website with job descriptions and an information form for people who want to be vice-president. Students will need two letters of endorsement, one of which needs to be from Highline faculty or staff,” Bergstrom said.
The website and the packet can be found here: https://cls.highline.edu/get-involved/ashc/
The deadline for the candidacy election packets is by Friday, May 20, at 8 a.m.
“If the vice-president position remains empty, there can be an election by next fall, or the Speaker of the Caucus can be elevated to the position of vice-president if no one else is found,” Bergstrom said.