The newly elected Associated Students of Harvey Mudd College (ASHMC) council will hold its first meeting April 21 in the Riggs Room of the Linde Activities Center.
Elections for the 2013-2014 ASHMC positions ended April 5, 24 hours after voting reached 50 percent quorum (voting cannot end until the quorum is reached at HMC). The council did not see a major change in leadership; there are six new council officers, excluding the incoming first-year class presidents, who will be elected in the fall. The other class presidents remained the same.
The newly elected ASHMC president, Travis Athougies HM ’14, served as ASHMC treasurer the summer and fall of 2013 before his semester abroad this spring. Athougies said the view of ASHMC he gained through his position as treasurer inspired him to run for president.
“As treasurer, I got to see how ASHMC worked at almost every level, and it continually amazed me just how committed our officers were to fostering and developing Mudd culture, whether that be by running dorm and class events, throwing parties, or planning trips,” Athougies said.
Athougies said he plans to keep the policies fairly consistent with those of the previous councils. Under the current president, Josiah Gaskin HM ’13, ASHMC systems were virtualized, thus increasing efficiency.
Athougies does, however, plan to foster greater student engagement, something he feels ASHMC has lost in recent years. In order to do this, he plans to encourage students to attend ASHMC meetings, which are open to the public, and to hold routine forums for students to interact with him directly.
“As ASHMC president, I want to get more students excited about the work ASHMC does and all the clubs and activities that it supports,” Athougies said. “Personally, I think it’s really awesome how involved ASHMC is in running the social and cultural life of Mudd.”
The current and future councils met in a transitional meeting Sunday, April 7, where the current council members voted and the new council observed. In the April 21 budget meeting, the new council members will take over their positions and begin allocating funds from the 2013-2014 budget.
Other winners are: Joshua Edelman HM ’14 and Brett Mills HM ’14 as ASHMC Vice Presidents, Jean-Claude de Sugny HM ’14 as Treasurer, Meg O’Keefe HM ’14 as Chair of the Committee for Activities Planning, Beverly Yeh HM ’14 as the Disciplinary Board Chair, Sam Gutekunst HM ’14 as the Judiciary Board Chair, Rachel Sherman HM ’15 and Coline Devin HM ’15 as Food Chairs, Travis Beckman HM ’15 as Athletics Director, Michael Saffron HM ’15 and Joey Klonowski HM ’14 as the Dormitory Affairs Committee Chairs, Sophie Parks HM ’14 and Jordan Varney HM ’15 as the Social Committee Chairs, Jack Ma HM ’14 as Senior Class President, Mitch Horning HM ’15 and Varun Kanwar HM ’15 as Junior Class Presidents, and Eric Caldwell HM ’16 and Phillip Diffley HM ’16 as Sophomore Class Presidents.
ASHMC is a nonprofit organization that runs independently of the HMC administration.