Santa Rosa Junior College’s Student Government Assembly appointed a new Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Student Health, discussed an event highlighting the Public Safety Center and reestablished the Student Life Committee.
NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE
SGA members appointed Michael Collette to be the new Vice President of Finance.
Collette is in his second semester back at SRJC, after spending 10 years traveling and pursuing accounting. He currently studies business and economics, and hopes to gain experience and perspective as a member of SGA.
“I’m looking to learn,” Collette said.
Colette is responsible for organizing and leading Finance Committee meetings, during which committee members draft a $500,000 budget for next year’s student government before bringing it to SGA for final approval by May. The committee also advises SGA members regarding current decisions. The Finance Committee currently meets Wednesdays 10-11 a.m.
NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT HEALTH
SGA members also elected Mark Shen to be the new Vice President of Student Health.
Shen takes specific interest in psychological and mental health, and hopes to use his platform to highlight available student resources. He intends to optimize communication with students and create an environment where students are more willing to utilize resources.
“I know that confidentiality will definitely be the biggest thing in making people comfortable reaching out,” Shen said. “I want to improve and expand [health services] as necessary.”
Shen also hopes to reinstate SRJC’s District Health and Safety Committee and improve communications with the Public Safety Center. The committee has been on hiatus since February 2020; currently the SRJC Peers Coalition works to raise awareness about mental health services.
PUBLIC SAFETY EVENT
SGA voted to continue discussing an event that would highlight SRJC’s Public Safety Training Center.
The event would center around student panelists and aim to initiate civilized discussions around the public safety curriculum. Abrea Tillman, student body president, proposed that student and faculty representatives from the Police Academy, Fire Academy and Emergency Medical Training Academy attend and talk about their experiences in the program and what they intended to do with their training. She elaborated that select students from SGA and the Inter-club Council would likely lead these discussions in order to promote civil conversation.
“I think what’s really crucial is making sure that the intent is good, that we’re seeing they’re goal-oriented when they go out into the world,” Vice President of Student Life Melissa Ramirez said.
Tillman met with Josh Adams, a dean at the Public Safety Training Center, and began discussing possibilities for interviews and more widespread education about the campus. The event would likely occur in April when many of the public safety programs complete and new ones begin.
“It’s a very sensitive topic when we’re talking about police in general,” Tillman said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to have a really good conversation about what exactly public safety means to the students.”
STUDENT LIFE COMMITTEE
SGA appointed Tillman, Ramirez and Vice President of Marketing Michelle Diaz to the Student Life Committee.
The committee promotes and plans events for SRJC’s student community and currently needs new members to be an official committee. It meets at 11 a.m. on Thursdays.
“Anybody who wants to get involved with any process—whether it’s marketing these events and activities or planning them, executing them, running them, going through the process of getting events approved at the college—that’s a really great way to join,” SGA coordinator Zach Miranda said.
