Santa Monica College Assiciated Students Board of Directors meeting, Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday, March 4, 2024. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) has released the election results for the 2024-2025 Associated Students (A.S.) elections, but a special election to fill the remaining positions will be held from May 20 until midnight on May 23.

In the initial election, less than 0.0008% of the student population voted. According to SMC’s Public Information Officer Grace Smith, SMC has a total of 27,799 students enrolled. However, only 215 participated in voting for their student representatives.

Unlike the first election, only one student is running unopposed in this special election. The rest of the positions have three to five candidates each. The first election had seven students running unopposed: the president, Secretary, Director of Outreach, Director of External Affairs, Director of Publicity, and two Judicial Board Members.

Students are set to vote on the following spots: Judicial Board Members, Director of Instructional Support, Director of Basic Needs, Director of Budget Management, and A.S. Vice President.

All information following the candidates is pulled from the A.S. election site. A.S. representatives did not respond in time to facilitate a forum or interview in time for this publication.

Vice President

Running for Vice President are Aria Biavar, Maria Ambella Ava, and Micheal Helfand.

All three students are first years at SMC, with a shared goal to make the campus a better place for students. Biavar, who works three part-time jobs, said, “I would be honored to dedicate my own time in being sure that our students do not have to worry about things out of their control.”

Helfand shared an interest in the interpersonal aspect, while also creating more awareness of existing resources on campus. Helfand said, “As vice president, I'll fight to make us all feel ‘Proud to be SMC!’”

While Biavar and Hefland are focused on connecting with students personally, Ava is focused on the educational success of SMC students. She said she wants to focus on creating more research, workshops, and volunteer opportunities.

Director of Budget Management

Although he ran earlier this year for Director of Activities, Andre Villavivencio is running for Director of Budget Management alongside James Akerman, Jordan Davis, and Rita Lin.

Villavivencio acknowledged his loss in the previous election but said, “I choose to not give up as my main objective is to make sure the students at SMC all feel as if there is structure, functionality, and a place where students can all feel included.”

As a first-year at SMC, Davis is focused on club funding. He said, “If I’m elected, I vow to ensure that the club funding process will be as smooth and transparent as possible.”

Lin aims to use her high school student body experience to help her in the role of Director of Budget Management. She said, “Every dollar spent should reflect the benefit of our student body and the value of the community.”

Director of Basic Needs

The Director of Basic Needs has five candidates: Ananda Zhandov, Bhargav Motka, Jingbo Zhang, Kalyn Standfier, and Stefani Hernandez.

Zhandov and Motka aim to use their experience as immigrants to reach students. Zhandov said, “I plan to help people overcome these hardships and make them happier.”

Similarly, Motka said, “I am eager to communicate and engage in regular feedback with students. I want everyone to know that support is always available; you are not alone.”

Zhang said he wants to use his experience abroad to implement structure into the role.

Standfier and Hernandez both have similar goals, to center community and accessibility. Standfier said she will “advocate for free school supplies, workshops to advance students' skills, and access to food resources off campus.”

Hernandez wants to engage more with students. She believes in “listening actively to everyone's concerns, comments, and opinions to improve our supportive community.”

Judicial Board

Javier Rodriguez, who ran for Director of Activities earlier this year, is one of five candidates running for Judicial Board, alongside Darya Ghanean, Hao “Austin” Lo, Sean Slingsby, and Tania Siddiqi.

Rodriguez said he wants to focus on transparency if he gets the position. “I am committed to serving our community with fairness, respect, integrity, and compassion,” said Rodriguez.

Ghanaian wants to use the role to further her skills as someone who hopes to be a lawyer. She said she will bring “experience in conflict resolution and a dedication to ensuring every voice is heard” to the position.

“I genuinely care about creating and building a campus community where everyone's rights are protected and trusted,” said Lo. He also said his previous experience with student government will aid him in this role.

Slingsby, like Lo, is focused on community. He said, “As a member of the Judicial Board, my goal is to strengthen the student body at this school through trust and transparency.”

Siddiqi is not only new to SMC but is also new to student government, but is confident she will be able to deliver so long as she prioritizes student voices.“Justice in the face of conflict is crucial, and I intend to bring just that when these circumstances occur,” said Siddiqi.

Director of Instructional Support

On the contrary, Brenda Carrasco is the only one running for Director of Instructional Support. Carrasco said she wants to focus on creating more awareness of campus resources and facilities.

More statements from all the candidates can be found on the A.S. Elections Page.

These students will be the voice for the entire student body for the next academic year.

The elections will be held via Corsair Connect between May 20 and 23. To access the official ballot, students must look under "Resources and Services." Scroll to the very bottom and select the drop-down for "A.S. Student Elections."

A.S.’s new board members are the following: David Duncan as President, Tiffany Lee as Secretary, Andrea Giraldo as Director of Activities, Louisiane Tarden as Director of Outreach, Valeria Salgado as Director of Equity and Diversity, Semia Beji as Director of External Affairs, Gabriel Hernandez-Perez as Director of Publicity, Julia Kowalski as Director of Sustainability, Esmeralda Hernandez as Student Trustee, Eduardo Guzman and Jinxi Zhang as Judicial Board Members.

Featured