After many students came out to vote in the spring elections, new representatives for Associated Students of California Baptist University have been chosen for the 2016-2017 school year.
Voting began on March 29 and ended April 1. ASCBU offered “Lancer Nation” T-shirts to all who voted, and the turnout was so large, some positions required a run-up election, which is still in progress.
The chosen representatives so far are senior representative Paighton Priest, senior nursing major; junior commuter representative Clara Garcia, junior criminal justice major; junior commuter representative Luis Moreno, junior business administration major; and junior commuter representative Jefferson Fernandez, junior behavioral science major.
Some 2015-2016 representatives have shared wisdom and advice to students and their successors as they exit office.
Andrew Graff, current sophomore class representative and health science major, said it is important to vote because these people are going to be representing the student body, communicating between them and the administration.
“I was very excited to know that people voted for me and to know others agreed with the vision we have for this upcoming year,” Garcia said.
Anna Crosby, current commuter representative and junior applied statistical analysis major, said her position is important for the student body.
“There are almost 3,000 commuters on campus, which makes us one of the largest groups at the school,” Crosby said.
Moreno said he aims to have a commuter day trip through Community Life and will host small events such as Boba Tea for Commuters.
“There are only four representatives so they need to be active and visible among the commuters to help develop a sense of community and unity among such a large group,” Crosby said. “It’s a challenging but very rewarding task.”
Marie Copak, current commuter representative and junior exercise science major, said the new representatives need to get out in the community in order to be effective representatives.
“You can’t truly know what students want from sitting inside the ASCBU office or by asking only people you know,” Copak said. “You really have to get out there and communicate with your constituents.”
Moreno stressed the fact representatives are always available for students.
“We will aim to increase student involvement on and off campus at activities,” Moreno said. “We are also here whenever they need us, and they can come into the ASCBU office or even email us.”
Crosby said next year’s representatives will bring a lot to the table.
