Pomona College students voted
in the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) election April 7-8,
electing Rachel Jackson PO ’15 ASPC president. The election saw the highest turnout in a decade, drawing votes from more than 65 percent of the student body.
A total of 1,041 students voted in the election, a 9 percent increase from
last year. Smith Campus Center and Student Programs Associate Director Ellie Ash-Balá wrote in an email to TSL that voter turnout was higher than usual for a few reasons,
including increased Facebook presence and a higher number of candidates.
“We
had more candidates this year in general; some positions had four people
running,” Ash-Balá wrote. “More specifically, I’m sure having four candidates
for ASPC President increased interest and awareness of the election.”
Jackson, who ran against Nico Kass PO ’16, Rishi Sangani PO ’15, and Don Swan PO ’15, won by
a very small margin. This is in stark contrast to last year’s election, when
Darrell Jones III PO ’14 ran for ASPC president unopposed.
Jackson is currently abroad in
Argentina and was unavailable for comment. She responded to the news of her election in a public message on Facebook on April 9.
“As ASPC president I will continue the work
achieved by our past two progressive presidents, Sarah Appelbaum [PO ’13] and
DJIII [Jones],” Jackson wrote. “I plan to split ASPC and Pomona administrative
politics wide open. Wide open.”
According to Kimberly Africa PO ’15, Jackson did not run to benefit herself.
“She was running because of the experiences of students who sometimes feel like they don’t belong here at Pomona, the students who often have to be on their toes as they navigate between different spaces,” she wrote in an email to TSL.
One theme in this semester’s elections was the possibility of incorporating a Dynamics of Difference and Power (DDP) breadth
of study requirement into Pomona’s curriculum. A DDP course would require students
to explore areas such as class, ethnicity, religion, and power. The DDP course
is not currently a graduation requirement for Pomona students.
Newly elected Commissioner
of Academic Affairs Emily Glass PO ’15 wrote in an email to TSL that her main goals are to build a
supportive academic environment and to pursue the DDP requirement.
“There has been nearly a decade of work to
pursue a DDP requirement, and I hope that my work could culminate that through
a creation of a sixth Breadth of Study,” Glass wrote. “The
foundation of my two goals is my desire and goal to represent all students and questions
or concerns they have regarding the college’s educational policy.”
Ricardo Morales PO ’15 was
elected vice president for campus events. He plans to maintain a focus on
event infrastructure and security while increasing student input on campus
events.
“My goal definitely for next
year is to increase our influence, and see a lot of these events become a lot
more inclusive to communities that are underrepresented on campus,” Morales
said. “I think a lot of the Pomona population would like to have a say in the
events that they see.”
Morales said that he is excited to
work with Jackson in the ASPC Senate.
“I’ve known her since my
freshman year, she’s a great person, and I think we’re going to work very well
together,” Morales said. “We have the same goals in mind when it comes to what
we want to see happen in the Senate.”
Jackson ran as part of the #slate campaign, which promoted a set of candidates whose platforms focused on diversity, representation, and
inclusivity issues.
“Every
one of y’all who voted for #slate also voted for yourselves to be in those
senate meetings with us,” Jackson wrote on Facebook. “You voted for yourselves to re-think and re-examine all
sorts of power in all sorts of places on campus. Get pumped, because y’all are
the main event of this senate year.”
Complete Results:
ASPC President:
Rachel Jackson PO ’15
Vice President for
Finance: Alex Samuels PO ’15
Vice President for
Campus Events: Ricardo Morales PO ’15
Senior Class
President: Deborah Frempong PO ’15
Commissioner of
Academic Affairs: Emily Glass PO ’15
Commissioner of
Clubs: Joseph Reynolds PO ’15
Commissioner of
Communications: Peter Chen PO ’17
Commissioner of
Community Relations: Andikan Archibong PO ’17
Commissioner of
Environmental Affairs: Angeles Contreras PO ’15
Commissioner of
Off-Campus Relations: Karen Herrera PO ’15
Commissioner of
Sports: Jessica Liu PO ’15
At-Large
Representative on Student Affairs Committee of the Board: Fiker Bekele PO ’16
At-Large
Representative on Finance Committee of the Board: Guy Scherzer PO ’15
At-Large Representative on
Academic Affairs Committee of the Board: Julia Austenfeld PO ’15