Vote Today for ASO's General Election!

Written by Emely Antunes Otsuka, ASO's Chief Newsletter Senator

Happy Tuesday, Wildcats!

Today, and until April 30th, you can vote for your next West LA College’s ASO President and Vice-President for the academic year of 2021-2022, as well as for your next Student Trustee for the same year. This election is very important for you and your fellow students because you will decide who will represent you and advocate for you while you are a West LA College student. To make your decision on who to vote, each candidate wrote a bio about themselves and their goal as your next representatives. You can read them below:

Student Body President Candidate: Ronne White-McLilly

As the President, I will work with clubs and programs like the Black Student Union (in development) and Puente to meet the needs of students. I was a part of the Black Collegians Program at Santa Monica College, and the program works with the Adelante Program. The Adelante Program is similar to the Puente Project. I write this to make the point that both Programs worked together to meet the needs of students. One of the opportunities that they provided students was to be a mentor. I was able to work with my peers from both programs to mentor middle school students. The students who we mentored were all students of color and some will be future first-generation college students. Both programs worked together to break the stereotypes of community colleges, and what college students look like. Therefore, during my time at West Los Angeles College, I will work with programs to provide a similar opportunity for students on campus. The achievement gap is real, and many of us students understand the mistakes that have been made in the past. Therefore, an opportunity to be a mentor will allow college students to make an impact and work towards closing the achievement gap. Going to college and finishing college will not be taboo to students of color. Additionally, I plan to close the achievement gap by working with our math department to create a math cohort. Math is a subject that many students drop and/or don't pass. I have spoken to students who change their majors because they are struggling to pass math. Therefore, as the President, I will work towards creating a math cohort for students. My goal is to build bridges and provide the resources that help students get across the finish line. The needs of every student will vary, therefore, I will work towards making an equitable, inclusive, and safe campus that meets the diverse needs of all students. Education is necessary for people to have upward mobility so they can escape poverty. Therefore, together we can work towards closing the achievement gap.

Student Body President Candidate: Rylynn “Heaven” Adams

Candidate running for Student Body: Hello my name is Rylynn but you can call me Heaven, I’ve been at West Los Angeles College since 2020 working on getting my health science degree. My long term goal is to become an OB/GYN. My love for women’s health and caring for others make it the perfect career. Speaking of my love for caring for others I’d be honored to open my benevolent arms and become your next student body president! As president I’d be the voice of the students, the voice of you. As a student myself I understand your needs and nothing is too big to ask. Without your intelligence and dedication this generation would be spiraling. Let me assist you in getting to your overall goal. Vote for Rylynn Adams the president for YOU!

Student Body Vice-President Candidate: Shaleia Wall-Wilson

Hello, Wildcats! My name is Shaleia Wall-Wilson, and I am running for Vice President of ASO. I have always loved being active in school and have been in positions of leadership since elementary school. My first role in leadership being in fourth and fifth grade when I was on student counsel at my school, where we helped come up with ideas and helped organize events and fundraisers. Throughout high school I was in five clubs and served as VP and eventually President for one club and served a year as Secretary for Key Club International and am currently the Executive Secretary of ASO. I believe that I would be a great candidate for Vice President because I have a lot of experience in school leadership being that I have held many positions and am passionate about advocating for all student’s education. I am looking forward to continuing representing the West student body, and I have many ideas for this upcoming school year. My main goal as Vice President would be to make sure that all students feel like they are a valuable part of West LA, especially those with disabilities, minorities, and other groups that might often feel excluded. As a minority I have been in situations where I have felt left out and felt like I didn't belong at the schools I have attended in the past. Because I know what this feels like firsthand, I understand the importance of making sure everyone feels comfortable in their own skin. As your Vice President I will work to make West Los Angeles College a safe and supportive space for all students.

Election opens on Monday, April 26 at 8 a.m. PDT and

closes at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 30.