Special Elections at SMC posit opportunity to reform student government
The Office of Student Life is holding Special Elections to select students for currently unclaimed roles in student government for the 2025-26 school year. Santa Monica College (SMC) students have until April 29 to sign up to run for Associated Students (AS) Secretary, Director of Activities, Director of Publicity, and Director of Sustainability, as well as two vacant seats on the Judicial Board, which monitors and reports on whether the AS Board of Directors abides by the AS Constitution.
Students interested in campaigning must attend a Mandatory Candidates Meeting, the final available meeting scheduled for April 29 at 12 p.m. in the Cayton Center Conference Room; and submit a digital Special Elections Packet by 5 p.m. on April 29.
In addition, the deadline to submit proposals requesting AS funds for Spring 2025 is 2 p.m. on May 7.
All students who complete at least 5 units a semester and maintain a 2.0 GPA are eligible to run for office. Descriptions of the five roles to be voted on in the Special Elections can be found in the AS Constitution.
Most of the Board positions for the 2025-26 academic year were filled in general elections earlier this month, with many students running unopposed and winning by default as well as two contests.
However, the Special Elections are not only opportunities for students to contribute to decision-making, but for a chance to remedy problems found within the government process as it stands. Student officers on the current Board of Directors have reported frequent absences from the weekly Director meetings, no-shows at mandatory subcommittee meetings, and an overall lack of enthusiasm.
Jordan Davis, 2024-25 Director of Budget Management, reflected that participating in student government at the College differed from his expectations, due to varying levels of involvement from the other student officers.
Overall, “it’s okay. It’s not bad. I thought it would be better. I thought people would be in their office more often than that,” Davis said in an interview with the Corsair on March 3. “It’s kind of disappointing a little bit.”
“I found a group of very good friends. We get along really well and are quite productive,” he said. But more often than not, Davis finds only himself and a select few directors are at work in their offices.
At the weekly meetings, “it’s like the only time there’s like a whole lot of people there.” So, most of the time, “honestly, it’s kind of a ghost town.”
However, Davis was sure to assure he doesn’t find a deficit in the quality output from the Board in general: “I think everyone has a part to play. I think everyone does their part.”
“I think there’s some people I kind of disagree with, but overall I think it’s a level-headed group of people,” he said. “It’s like any group. You know, it’s like, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.”
While campaigning, Davis said, “I think it’s important to communicate your intention to the students and show how you can be there for them as an elected official.”
Voting commences on May 12 on Corsair Connect and polls will stay open until May 15. More information about campaigning can be found on the AS Special Election Code or by emailing osl@smc.edu.