Newly elected president of the Los Medanos College Associated Student Senate, Israel Castro, held his first senate meeting for the fall 2016 semester on Monday August 15 at 1 p.m. in Room L-106. By the time the meeting began, the room was packed with LMCAS members, LMC students and community guests alike.

Castro was pleased with the amount of people who had attended, stating it was nice to see so many people showing an interest in the LMCAS.

A few notable speakers had participated in the meeting.

Greg Enholm, the Elected Trustee for the Contra Costa Community College District, had attended the student senate meeting to share the educational opportunities made available to high school students this coming fall. High school students will now be able to take college courses in their own high school during regular school hours. This opportunity would allow high school students to be better prepared for college level work upon graduation.

Renee Zeimer, who had been invited by Castro personally to the meeting had promoted a ‘Your vote, your voice’ program. Zeimer stressed the importance of participating in public decision-making regarding elections and provided options in where students could get involved in the voting process.

“Overall, I think we had a great turnout,” said Castro, “I invited at least 20 people. I’m glad we had a lot of support and I’m excited for what we will be doing this semester.”

Castro first became interested in joining LMCAS last spring semester after several of his colleagues had introduced him to the fact that there was a student government at LMC. He was required to complete a senator application, have at least a GPA of 2.0, be enrolled in 5 or more units, obtain 50 signatures from other LMC students and was required to have attended one LMCAS meeting.

Once he met the requirements, he underwent a public interview with the existing members of LMCAS during a senate meeting. LMCAS members then voted the next meeting following the interview to determine whether or not he would be a part of the senate. Later Castro showed an interest in filling the officer position as president of LMCAS and began his official term as president on June 1 2016.

“It was my first time that I actually had to campaign, to really meet the people and introduce myself,” said Castro regarding his campaign. “It made me feel like it was a legit election. Throughout the process I was able to see the lack of knowledge in students that there was a student government. And during the whole thing I thought it was interesting to hear different opinions on what LMC needs to work on.”

Castro then added, “I think that LMCAS has a lot of potential for now and for the future and I’m really honored to be in this position. I’m thankful for all the support I’ve received so far.”

Castro hopes to see the LMCAS grow throughout the semester, as there are numerous vacant spots in the senate.

LMCAS has a total of 15 senator positions and 5 officer positions. Only one of the five officer positions have been filled- by Castro himself- and there are only five senators within the senate: Natasha Garcia, Jose Hernandez Morales, Angela Lee, Tabitha Romero-Borthi, and as of Monday Aug. 22, Eliacin Velazquez.

“It was a little nerve wracking- waiting through the week- but they accepted me, so I’m excited to get to work,” said Velazquez regarding his initiation in the student senate, “I have a lot of ideas. Personally, I’d like to get started on a lot of programs here on campus.”

“Right now we are contemplating on me being treasurer,” he added, “I have to wait my ten weeks before I can actually be eligible for the role. So I’ll be interning, learning the ropes and what exactly the job entails. And after a certain amount of time I will be interviewed for the role.”

Castro encourages students who may be interested in joining the LMCAS.

“LMCAS is really about students who are interested in something bigger than themselves. It is an opportunity to obtain experience, develop leadership, build your network and enhance your overall LMC experience. I would want to cordially invite anyone of these to come to our weekly meetings to recognize your voice and to make a difference.”