Newly Approved ASB Constitution Encourages Participation

CAROLINE REN
Copy Editor

With Associated Student Body (ASB) elections drawing close in mid-April, new changes to the ASB constitution will alter the voting process. The new constitution was approved with changes that included assistant positions designed for students who wish to gain experience in their pursued roles. In addition, this will be the first time that current freshmen will be able to run for certain ASB positions, such as a cabinet position.
“The goal was to create more of an inclusive environment at Alhambra High School, and this year’s ASB hopes that it will encourage students to take more leadership positions and ultimately become more involved in their school community,” Student Relations Chairperson Daniel Castaneda said.
Currently, ASB consists of a directorship and a cabinet, but there will also be commissioners in the future. Furthermore, aside from the president, class council officers cannot hold a position on ASB and vice versa.
“Both council and ASB require a lot of dedication, so it makes sense for someone to not have too much on their plate [by being on both council and ASB],” Sophomore Council President Kristie Sham said. “I’m really looking forward to having more underclassmen participate in ASB.”
While each class council previously had a member who was a representative on ASB, that member is now the council president. Additionally, another representative of each class will come from outside the council, meaning there will be two ASB representatives from each graduating class.
“Once we brought [this issue] up, ASB explained it was to have the most direct relationship to make sure deadlines […] would be met,” Sham said.
For the upcoming election, the president of each class council will be elected by the student body, as opposed to the old method of electing nine council members and allowing them to discuss amongst themselves which positions went to whom. A student who runs for class president but does not attain the position can still be elected as a council officer, the exact duty of which will be determined by that council. If that student does become president but had enough votes to be one, of the eight officers for council, his or her spot will be dropped and the person with the next highest amount of votes will be bumped up.
In addition, changes were made to elected and appointed positions. Elected positions are won through a school-wide election, while appointed positions are attained through an interview process. The ASB declaration form for applicants allows them to choose one elected position and up to three appointed positions for which to run. Each term is now one school year long, instead of one semester.
Though the new constitution was approved, it does have additions that may potentially generate conflict in the future.
“Although I am a huge proponent for this new constitution […], I am not particularly thrilled about the fact that in order to run for the presidency during a student’s senior year, [he or she] must have one year of ASB experience prior to declaring the position,” Castaneda said. “I do understand the implications of knowing what you are getting yourself into, but it does make way for some tricky technicalities and […] even limits the pool of future presidents.”
Ultimately, ASB continues to pursue its goal of reaching more of the student body and hearing the students voice their opinions.
“I hope [these changes] will have a positive impact because ASB should be more […] inclusive,” Director of Technology Anthony Le said.