ASG PRESIDENT RESIGNS, WHAT’S NEXT WITH ASG?

Mt. Hood’s Associated Student Government (ASG) president, LilyBelle Moir, has resigned and her seat remains vacant this autumn.

In a controversial decision in the Spring Term of 2020 – called anti-democratic by some past ASG leaders – MHCC Student Life decided to select the ASG president by an application process, instead of an election. Moir was named as president for the 2020-21 school year this summer. However, she resigned shortly thereafter, before this Fall Term began.

Efforts by The Advocate to contact Moir have gone unanswered. But an official statement from the MHCC District Communications office said the departure was due to “personal obligations that limited her ability to take on additional responsibilities at this time.”

The statement concluded, “We wish her the best in her studies at MHCC this year and beyond.”

In a successive move, the school administration has decided to again pursue a selection process for the position of ASG president and vice president, rather than a new election. This was due to the lack of candidates, according to official correspondence by ASG adviser Rozina Lethe: “Due to a small number of applications coming in the department made the decision to hold a selection process for the positions,” Lethe wrote.

Lethe said the advertisement for the vacant offices were spread through social media, student emails and word-of-mouth in (remote) classes by ASG members. Candidate applications were due on Oct. 9, but the response was determined to be too low.

While the move to bypass an election remains controversial to some, ASG activities do continue – for instance, the virtual “Be Kind to your Mind” stress-reduction discussion on Nov. 5, and the upcoming virtual Town Hall session with MHCC President Lisa Skari hosted by the ASG team, set for Nov. 24. And leaders hope that there will be more applicants for several other vacant ASG offices, such as academic affairsrepresentative and vice president.

Any enrolled student who is interested should contact Lethe at [email protected].