American River College’s Associated Student Body Elections are currently taking place on campus in front of the campus library. Elections will go from April 22 to the 23, with winners being announced on April 25, after Chancellor confirmation.
Currently, students can vote for Student Senate, the Clubs & Event Board and the Districtwide Student Trustee.
A Student Trustee represents students from all branches of the Los Rios Community College District. The trustee is responsible for attending board meetings, working with advisors, reporting information to the Board of Trustees, and more.
Brett Sawyer, student life supervisor at ARC, says the numerous candidates give students the opportunity to be represented on a campus, district and ultimately state level.
“These leaders are channeling students’ voices, so the more students that vote, the better.” Sawyer said.
Tyesha Riley, director of activities for ASB, says they are trying to beat their previous voter turnouts this year. In 2024, 379 students voted, while in 2023 the number was even lower.
To encourage students, ASB is giving free pizza to those who vote.
Riley says it’s easier to explain student government through the incentive of pizza because it’s more welcoming. Additionally, she says a lot of people are unaware of the fact that ARC has a student government.
“When people come up to the stand, I can tell students, ‘Yeah, you can be a part of this.’” Riley said.
For students on campus, the response to elections varies.
Tyler Vega, history major at ARC, says he will not be voting this year because he was unaware the event was happening.
“I don’t even know what they do.” Vega said.
Other students, like Xzavier Valdez, social science major at ARC, say they will be voting even though they were previously unaware of elections.
“I think voting is important, I just didn’t know it was happening here,” said Valdez. “I didn’t see any events or anything in the Student Center.”
However, some students showed enthusiasm about voting for ASB. Donavan Sinakone, marketing major at ARC, says he will be voting because elections determine what happens on campus.
“These people we elect have a huge impact on our community and how ARC interacts with other colleges,” Sinakone said. “They look after our best interests.”
To participate, students can log into their eServices, click on Other Resources, go to Elections and Surveys and proceed to the voting site to vote.
Shazil Mahmood, director of public relations for the ASB, says if students don’t see candidates on the ballot who represent them, they can run for a position themselves next year.
If students are interested in a position, they can visit the American River College student elections page.
