A.S. members reflect on jobs

Glenn Connelly / Assistant Photo Editor

Associated Students executive elections often unravel into pulse-pounding affairs where dreams are crushed or made. In contrast, the A.S. representative elections are quieter, but no less important. Representatives have the duty of making sure the student voice is heard on the A.S. council.

The A.S. election next semester will happen from March 16 to 19. Representatives for seven colleges will be voted on, plus an eighth category for undeclared majors, Arts and Letters representative Ignacio Prado said.
Representatives relay information between their specific colleges and Associated Students. Each representative attends the weekly A.S. meeting, possesses a vote and must also sit on one additional board.

Health and Human Services Representative Kelley Stewart said her position has been invaluable because it allowed her to better understand the university.
“My experience has been a surprise in that it has been very positive,” Stewart said. “It’s been extremely valuable to see the interaction between our administration and students. Just seeing … the impact that we can make and how our voices are heard and really respected among the administration, which tends to make a lot of changes.”

Knowledge of the inner workings of the university is power, Prado said. He said that after his long A.S. experience, he can fix a lot of problems with a phone call, because he knows exactly which administrator to call.

Representatives hear about university happenings first, Stewart said. The much-discussed Instructionally Related Activities Fee was introduced to the A.S. Council before it circulated to the student body at large. The council also officially endorsed the IRA Fee with 21 council members in favor, 17 opposed, and four members abstained from voting. The decision was close and the meetings leading up to the vote were fueled by vigorous discussion among council members.

As the council expands to include more student organizations, the A.S. council meetings are taking up more time, sometimes lasting more than three hours. This development can definitely be “frustrating” to some members, engineering representative Amanda Pascoe said.

“The most difficult thing that I’ve expressed is probably getting to speak in a meeting because there are so many of us and everyone has an opinion, which is a good thing,” Pascoe said. “But it helps you keep your opinion short, concise, to the point.”

Learning how to conduct meetings in a timely fashion while still allowing students optimum expression is a challenge that future A.S. administrations will have to address, Prado said. Some student organizations are considered underrepresented and therefore receive a seat on the council in order to ensure their voices are heard, Pascoe said.

The College of Arts and Letters and the School of Engineering are umbrella organizations that include many clubs related to that school. A representative such as Prado in the College of Arts and Letters speaks for many student organizations, while Jewish Student Union representative Alexi Biener speaks only for that student organization. She is elected by an internal process within JSU.

Representatives must serve on at least one board in addition to attending the A.S. council meeting. Some of the boards include the Rules Committee, which handles matters of A.S. law, the Caucus, which advises A.S. on diversity policies and the Finance Board, which approves A.S. budgets. Attending meetings and participating on boards and A.S. tabling in Aztec Center is mandatory for representatives.

Representatives do have perks with their positions. They receive an A.S. benefits card and priority registration for classes. Representatives also attend retreats. One of their most recent ones was to Julian. Their time at retreats, however, is spent in training workshops and information sessions rather than vacationing.

A representative will get as much or as little as they invest in the experience, Stewart said.

Prado said potential representative candidates should be both driven and willing to “give back to SDSU.”

“It’s all about commitment. If you’re committed to doing what it takes to get that seat, you’ll be OK,” Prado said. “You can’t come in there trying to get something out of it for yourself. You have to have...an affinity for service. You have to feel like you want to give back to SDSU or else it all becomes a lot of work.”