Associated Students of Sonoma State University is diving into the spring 2023 election for the Senate Executive Board of Directors while also spearheading special events coming to campus this year. 

Associated Students is led and run by the current students of Sonoma State University focusing on community outreach through special programs and services. This creates opportunities for SSU students to engage and participate through community service, co-curricular events and activities, childhood education/development labs, as well as student government. 

President, Executive Vice-President, Vice-President of Finance, Senator for Diversity, Senator of Government Affairs, and Senator of Student Services are all positions students are able to apply for this coming school year. According to the university’s website “The Student Government exists to serve the students at Sonoma State University through awareness, advocacy, and representation.” 

University Affairs and Special Projects Director Madelyn Elena Williams says “this is my second family on campus, they mean everything to me and I’m so proud of all the work that we’ve done and will do.” 

Student Government Representative, Khanh Dao said that “Associated Students is truly a welcoming, supportive and fun community. It’s more than just a job, workplace or office, the people truly make the difference.” Dao and Williams both agree it is more than being a part of a program, it’s a family. 

Dao also expressed her feelings about the elections thus far “I feel elections are going good, we do have a few people interested in running, however we would love to get more students to push themselves to run. We think it’ll be a great learning experience and opportunity for them.” 

While there aren’t any prerequisites to run for positions in student government, there is a checklist of things they must complete in order to do so. Students must attend at least one Election Info Session, they need to have a petition signed by at least 15 other students and a 200 word statement. Dao also said that it is not required to have any previous student government experience to run, and anyone is encouraged to join. 

The application deadline to apply for any of the AS student Government Executive Board of Directors positions is Feb. 23 at 11:59 p.m. 

The next available info session is held Monday, in the Erin Fisher Room from 3:30-4:30 p.m. (Located in the AS office on the second floor of the Student Center). Student Government campaigns are from Feb. 24-March 14. Voting days are March 13-14. 

Williams prides herself and her team on focusing on the students and their communities. “I’m excited to see all the student leaders ready to make a change.” said Williams. AS is also responsible for running programs and services which enhance student-life. Williams mentioned that AS brings students events such as “Big-Night”, movie nights, club events and services like Lobo’s Pantry.

If students aren’t interested in running for office, Williams and Dao both assured that there are many ways to join AS and help the community. They had mentioned the different avenues such as Join Us Making Progress (JUMP), which is a community service program providing SSU students opportunities for growth, leadership, and education. JUMP has a variety of service options from semester long commitments to single days of service. 

The next available JUMP event is Friday, “Day of Service Volunteer Event: Mary’s Table-COTS” from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at 900 Hopper St, Petaluma. 

Information and updates can also be found on the AS instagram page @as_sonoma. 

For any questions please contact Student Government Representative Khanh Dao [email protected]