With the new semester ramping up towards its sixth week, the student government is currently functioning at a significant decrease in membership of the senate. As sourced from the September 24th agenda discussion, 19 needed members for a governing board, the current government is only at 11 members including a vacant position in the executive board.

When compared to last year’s student agenda listing for September 27th 2023, almost every position was filled except for 4 slots. While there were gaps before in leadership, evident by 2022, which struggled to develop the senate due to students finally coming out of lockdown, there was a somewhat shift in interest for leadership seen during 2023.

Solano’s student government is often vital towards student advocacy in our school, taking on major roles regarding staff and student interaction. Student government is often responsible for legislation and fixing problems throughout campus, similar to the federal government and how it operates.

Each member of the senate and executive board handle specialized tasks, focusing on a variety of subjects. Some are broad, such as leading and presenting legislation like the presidency role. Others are also hyperspecific, such as focusing on public health and safety for students.

The student government concept has existed for decades, with California containing some of the earliest examples such as the university of Berkley’s associated student union, dating back to 1887. Throughout history, student governments have been sources for change on many campuses due to the student led nature of the organizations, advocating for student autonomy and representing the student voice to staff.

Yet, within recent years there’s been a noticeable decline in student involvement. Based on a study conducted by professor Jennifer Miles, Daniel Nadler, and Michael T. Miller back in 2012 and 2020 for the university of Arkansa, only 1 in 5 students would vote in their local student elections for doctoral colleges. In 2020, the study found that they decreased from 4,567 voters in 2011 to 3,878 in 2020.

With this trend being noted, the absence of individual involvement of the student government can create long term problems such as losing needed representation amongst higher education staff as well as struggling to form legislation that could help reform the community.

For students who are interested, Some of the positions available for students to consider joining are the executive secretary, the governing board senator, vocational curriculum senator, etc. You can also contact Denise Martinez, the advisor for the ASSC for more information or go to the Solano College ASSC website.