New ASDVC president elected

In an election that drew 55 percent fewer votes than last year, Katerina Schreck was elected president of the Associated Students of DVC.

Running on the UAID coalition slate, Schreck beat out Francisco Hinajosa, current Inter Club Council president and Progressive Democratic Students coalition member, who had run and lost for the position of ASDVC president four times before.

Schreck got 322 votes, while Hinajosa only got 245.

The other executive board winners are as follows: Chang Min (Kevin) Park, vice president of executive affairs; Brian Donovan, vice president of legislative affairs; Tsz Ching (Chelsea) Cheung, controller; Alexis Terrill, secretary; Ricky Wong, parliamentarian; Chung Ki Cheng,  public relations officer; Lak Hak (Derek) Cheang,  activities coordinator; Daija Cornelious, minority affairs officer; and Vanessa Poon,  webmaster.

But an elections code violation complaint was filed Tuesday by current activities coordinator Adrian Briones against Hinajosa and Nick Holmes, both of whom were defeated for the positions of president and vice president of executive affairs respectively, as well as Donovan who ran unopposed and won the vice president of legislative affairs position, said student life manager Adriana Lopez.

Briones himself lost race for the position of webmaster to Vanessa Poon.

While last year UAID swept the election, this year the two coalitions that ran were evenly matched. Five candidates from each coalition won, including Cornelious who was endorsed by the PDS slate, although not an official member.

Only 626 students of the more than 20,000 who attend DVC voiced their opinions at the voting booths this past Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. This is compared to the 1,389 students who voted in last year’s election and the 1,201 who voted in 2008.

Student life manager Lopez attributed the low voter turnout to possibly her own inexperience in publicizing an election on the DVC campus, as well as a lack of competition among the candidates.

“When there is more competition…there tends to be more word that gets out,” Lopez said.

Last year’s election was much more competitive, with as many as four students running for a given position. This year, the maximum for any one position was two candidates and four candidates ran unopposed.


The elections code violation complaint filed by Briones alleges that flyers circulated prior to and during voting contained factually inaccurate and libelous information about him and president-elect Schreck, both of whom are members of the UAID coalition.

“The whole understanding about the idea of freedom of speech is that there is an exception for slanderous or libelous charges,” Lopez said.

The flyers were signed by Frank Runninghorse, a member of the Students for a Democratic Society, a club that Holmes and Donovan also belong to.

Briones charges that the three PDS coalition members, Hinajosa, Holmes and Donovan, violated section 7.04 of the Elections Code which states, “Candidates are responsible for the actions of their campaign committee, whether authorized or not.” 

The election committee, chaired by Ben Prayada, current vice president of executive affairs, will make a determination at the next committee meeting on April 29.

At the voting booths students were also asked to vote on a $1 student representation fee, which failed.

The fee would have been charged to students at the beginning of every semester to help pay for ASDVC and Inter Club Council members to attend leadership trainings and conferences where they would represent the student body.

The fee failed last year as well.


Contact Ariel Messman-Rucker at amessmanrucker@theinquireronline.com

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5 comments

Anonymous

Thu May 6 2010 19:11

After reading these comments it is pretty sad to see how all of those anonymous people feel. What don’t all you people who have negative comments like this do something about it instead of criticizing? Get off you butts and join ASDVC or a Club to make a difference, don’t be negative if none of you have solutions—because that makes each and every one of you no good as those who you are criticizing! Yes people join for their apps, but there are those who join to get involved. Why don’t all of you join to get involved and stop your complaining. Otherwise none of you should have anything to say about ASDVC or the elections.

Anonymous

Tue May 4 2010 01:28

ASDVC is for loser man. If you have to use ASDVC as a stepping stone to transfer, you must be really stupid. Anyone can get into Berkeley.....

Anonymous

Mon May 3 2010 21:43

The last ASDVC president slept with 80 guys, yet was too greedy to give any loving back to the school.

Anonymous

Mon May 3 2010 21:40

The reason there is a lower voting turn out is because students at DVC know that the only reason anyone runs is for their own agenda. Sorrow after sorrow, disappointment after disappointment.

ASDVC is a stepping stone for transfer students.

Enjoy UC Berkeley or UCLA and never look back, everyone is too afraid to admit that because they don't want to damper their blind optimism.

How's that book rental program doing?
How about those steep parking fines (quotas) ?
Any change in funding the classrooms ?

If anything, ASDVC should dissolve and all their money should go to the people who actually make a difference at DVC; THE PROFESSORS.

Anonymous

Mon Apr 26 2010 19:45

At least the last asdvc president was smokin hot....this sucks...it's like going from a damn good looking clinton to a richard nixon. but hopefully, these kids will do something...like getting the parking permit prices lowered or stop charging us like $5 every semester for the student union building that no one uses...besides for that steak burrito.

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