As campaigning is set to begin for the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College elections, there are two hopeful executive teams running for the positions of president and vice president.
Current senators Mercedes Romero and Melba Njenga are running for president and vice president of the ASFLC.
Romero is a sophomore, while Njenga is a junior.
“We are both running for these positions because we feel passionate about ASFLC and consider Fort Lewis to be home,” they said via email.
Both women are active around campus, and work with various clubs and committees, and want to proudly represent FLC, they said.
“We have both experienced leadership in very different positions around campus, which I think make us a very diverse executive team because we are well-rounded as a result of our combined experience,” they said.
As for goals during for their candidacy, the Romero/Njenga executive team want to strengthen the connection between students and their representative body.
“We want the students to know ASFLC is on their side,” they said via email.
Additionally, the team wants to address funding for student organizations, as well helping FLC’s progress towards sustainability.
Romero and Njenga also plan on being active participants in the Colorado Student Government Coalition.
As for working with the administration on student issues, Romero and Njenga want to bridge the gap between students, faculty and administration.
“We plan to liaison between the administration and faculty by standing up for what the students believe in,” they said via email.
Romero and Njenga also commented that the recent addition of the ASFLC senate scholarship combined with the lack of student interest in elections has inspired them to address this issue during their campaign.
“Student interest in elections has always been a recurring issue each year and it is extremely disappointing a times,” they said.
They also said they would not repeal the ASFLC scholarship because they believe it should fulfill its purpose of holding senators accountable for their work at the table.
“If the scholarship does not fulfill its purpose, I think that would reflect on ASFLC,” Njenga said. “I would then suggest that we should look at the ASFLC, as a body, and find areas that need to be strengthened and solutions on how the organization can work in order to effectively achieve and maintain its goals and duty to the student body.”
Overall, Romero and Njenga hope that their work ethic and dedication to students leave a lasting impression on the ASFLC and FLC if they are elected.
“We would like to help students attain their goals both as students and people and anyway we can do that as senators and executive teams we are dedicated in doing so,” Njenga said.
Voting for the ASFLC elections will take place April 6-8.
For more information on the ASFLC election process, see The Independent Magazine, available March 10.