ASMHCC’S LACK OF CANDIDATES

As a college student, I have a lot on my plate. I need to go to class and do homework for 16 credits’ worth of classes, go to work to pay for those classes, and take care of myself.

The way the Associated Students of Mt. Hood Community College (ASMHCC, the college’s student body government) is operated, I would never be able to participate in many of its positions due to the current requirements.

As you will see, the time commitment is more than I and many other students would be able to fulfill. Along with this, compensation for the position is low compared to other jobs on and around campus. And I believe these obstacles are why ASMHCC is having a hard time finding candidates for president and vice president this spring.

In fact, when “meet & greet” sessions were hosted in April, only one candidate had applied to run for the vice president position – period. What’s more, this school year’s elected president, Cheyenne Winchell, told the Advocate the job could not keep her afloat, one reason she chose to withdraw from Mt. Hood earlier this year.

Let’s dive into why the time commitment is too much. According to the ASMHCC handbook, the baseline required for the president is 20 hours a week. However, there are so many other required duties for the president I feel as though that time would easily spill past 20 hours.

The minimum number of enrolled college credits to apply for ASMHCC service is six. Let’s presume that for each credit, a student has two hours of homework to go along with it. That gives us 18 hours of schoolwork per week (minimum – counting class time). Now let’s add 20 hours for participating as president – and we are at 38 hours a week, almost a full-time job.

The larger problem is that a lot of us at Mt. Hood don’t take just six credits; many of us take 12 to 16 credits. That is how it’s a significant burden to have to spend that much time on ASMHCC.

Then, there is the problem of compensation, which plagues all layers of ASMHCC.

The president during the Summer Term will receive a $600 stipend for two-to-five hours a week of work. During the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms, the president receives a $600 stipend per term, along with tuition waivers and textbook assistance.

While this is may seem like a lot of money, compared to other on-campus and off-campus jobs available, it is way less. If I worked for 20 hours a week for 10 weeks elsewhere, I could likely make around $3,600, whereas if I were taking 12 credits (at $141.50 per credit), the MHCC tuition waiver and stipend would only add up to $2,298.

This isn’t enough compensation for the type of work ASMHCC elected officers are doing. The remaining student government positions offer less compensation, as they have lesser time commitments: Appointed representatives and coordinators receive only tuition waiver and textbook assistance, while the vice president earns a $400 stipend on top of that.

This leads me to conclude why ASMHCC can’t attract candidates for their top positions: The time commitment and compensation just aren’t feasible for the average student.

While there is definitely an argument the college isn’t looking for the “average student,” it is looking for a candidate who truly wants to serve their college community despite these barriers. I would say that these student government officers still aren’t compensated fairly, even if they have the time available.

Along with education costs, many students at Mt. Hood have outside bills to pay and needs to meet. Even if they wanted to participate as a member of the ASMHCC, the money isn’t enough to lure them away from other jobs.

To fix this, ASMHCC needs to increase compensation on par with other part-time jobs in our area and decrease the time commitment in order to really open the service opportunities to more people.