The heart and soul of American River College lays amidst the bustle and clank of the new Starbucks and in the middle of the new student center. A simple white sign designates its entrance, but in no way defines it. The center for leadership and development is the place where important school decisions are being made.
On Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, 14 members of the Associated Student Body Senate sat around a table hammering out details of campus life, under almost extreme time constraints, in front of an open forum.
Thursday’s meeting was brought to order by ASB President, Quierra Robey, two minutes shy of its intended start time. According to Robey, before the meeting, there were several “pressing” issues that the student leaders needed to address. The passing of student by-laws, the confirmation of appointed positions, and possible new smoking laws were all on the block, only one of which made it to discussion because of time.
The biggest controversy came over student advocacy day, which Robey quickly introduced as “Lobby Day” in her opening remarks. It was her opinion that ARC should not participate in this event because of actions that had transpired with the removal of the Student Trustee, Bryan Ryan, just days earlier.
Director of Finance, Kindra Pring, later objected to this affirmation and stated, “We should participate [in student advocacy day] in appreciation for all students.” Pring had previously announced on Facebook that she would run for the now vacant student Trustee position and it was officially announced that her application had been received and that there will be a special election on March 5th and 6thfor the position, information is available on the Los Rios website.
The day did not come without times of tension between its members, such as the appointment of Senator Chase Buick for representative, under Senator Spencer. Spencer and the newly appointed Director of Legislature, Tyrone Robinson, seemed to disagree on the appointment of a Representative, who was not able to attend due to an apparent conflict in class schedules. Buick was later voted in as representative almost unanimously.
