Posted: March 18, 2015 | Written by Aja Sanders
Student Trustee of the Riverside Community College District April Galvan has been dismissed from the Board of Trustees after she completed just one semester of her term.
According to Douglas Graham, coordinator of student activities at RCC, Galvan was dismissed for not fulfilling her requirements as Student Trustee. RCCD is currently taking action to find a replacement for the open seat.
According to Ray Orozco, president of Associated Students of Riverside City College, Galvan’s decision has set a new precedence because it has never happened before. He said that it puts the district in a “weird situation” as they try to fill the seat for the remainder of her term.
Benjamin Vargas, president of Associated Students of Norco College sat in the March 17 board meeting in place of Galvan.
“It was definitely intimidating,” Vargas said. “It was a very important crowd … I’m usually really confident with public speaking, but I was sweating bullets.” Vargas reported some of the issues that are taking place on all three of the RCCD campuses during the board meeting.
“It’s important that I did not give my opinion when I presented the report to the board,” Vargas said. “I have to be unbiased and give just the report.”
Ryan Rudolph, vice president of ASRCC, said that RCC’s student government discussed how the seat will be filled in the March 16 senate meeting. The candidate that is selected for the new 2015 – 2016 term, will also serve on the board for the remainder of Galvan’s term, said Rudolph.
Having the new candidate fulfill the remainder of Galvan’s term is an attempt to fill the seat as soon as possible. The district can not afford to have the seat open for that long, Rudolph said.
There will be an opportunity for RCCD students to vote for who will fill the open seat. “The students are the ones with the voice, as it should be,” said Janet Green, vice president of the board.
According to Rudolph, election packets were released March 16 to all three campuses; Norco College, Moreno Valley and RCC. One candidate from each college will be running for the seat. Trustee Forums, which are open forums for RCCD students to listen and discuss some of the plans that the candidate has for the district, have already begun. RCC held its forum on March 24 12:50 – 1:50 p.m., Norco on March 26, 12:50 – 1:50 p.m. and MVC is scheduled for April 2, 12:50 – 1:50 p.m.
“Elections are scheduled to be held on April 7 and April 8, and the results should be posted by April 10,” said Rudolph.
According to Vargas, the district wants to emphasize that the elections will be available online. In addition, he encourages all students to vote since the elections are going to be online.
During Galvan’s time on the board, “she was pretty active among the three colleges,” said Rudolph. “She attended RCC Senate meetings and was very involved in the Student District Consultation Council meetings.”
According to Rudolph, SCC meetings involved the student presidents from Norco, MVC and RCC; Galvan and the three presidents, Vargas from Norco College, Tyrone Macedone Sr. from Moreno Valley College and Orozco from RCC, discussed important issues on each of the campuses. Subsequently, these issues would be relayed to the RCCD Board of Trustees.
According to Green, Galvan acted as the bridge between the colleges and the board.
“I was really impressed with her and how informative she was,” said Green. “ I was very reliant on her as a mediator between students and the board.”
Orozco said that Galvan’s main focuses during SCC meetings were campus safety and attendance policy for all three campuses.
Rudolph said that with the time that she spent on the board, “she did the best that she could possibly do.”
April Galvan’s biography can be found on http://www.rccd.edu/administration/board/Pages/Student-Trustee—April-Galvan.aspx
