ASMCC engages student body
Student involvement is at the top of the priority list for the Associated Students of Mesa Community College, as they look for new ways to foster connections this semester both digitally and in person, from Instagram stories to providing a safe space for students to vent.
The ASMCC executive board is aware of the uphill battle they face when it comes to their main goal of creating awareness and involvement with the ASMCC, however.
“I think if you were to create a survey and ask every in-person student on campus if they know we have a student government, maybe 2% of those people would say that they know we have one,” shared Valdez, “that said, our goal this year has been to increase that number and make sure we are as visible as possible with the student senate.”
Each campus in the Maricopa County Community College District has their own student government with an executive board at the head, a constitution and list of bylaws to guide them. For the campus on Southern and Dobson, the executive board consists of President Mateo Valdez, Executive Vice President Celeste Whiterock, VP of Communications Natalie Aguilar and VP of Operations, Jermel Gonzales-Byrd.
Whiterock led the first senate meeting of the semester, where the executive board and student senators discussed upcoming events, the campaigning process for student office elections, and highlighted other goals for students to become involved with campus life.
The student senate is meeting these goals with plans to boost student engagement across social media platforms like Instagram, where Aguilar has campaigns and content planned specifically for targeting students, as well as in person events with the same goal of connecting students with groups and faculty systems with which they may not otherwise interact.
One upcoming event where Aguilar hopes to form those connections is Coffee with a Cop, where students have the opportunity to interact with the Mesa Police officers that patrol campus, taking place on February 24 and 25. “I just really wanted other students to get to know them and know that they’re there, and hopefully it helps them feel safer on campus,” Aguilar said. “If they have any questions about things outside of MCC, they can definitely answer them.”
Valdez and Aguilar both emphasized their eagerness to be a listening ear for MCC students, offering up their conference room as a makeshift counseling office for students in need of a place to vent or even just take a break from the outside world. As the lives of students become busier and more complex, the ASMCC hopes to rise to the challenge of meeting students where they are.
