ASG plans an event-filled academic year
DOING WORK (Casie Nguyen)
With new staff members and a bigger office, the Saddleback College Associated Student Government will use funds gathered from vending machines, ASG stamps, the bookstore, cafeteria, and vendors for the many activities and events they have planned for the campus this academic year. The ASG has put aside approximately $54,000 for student related occasions.
Homecoming and Awareness Week are only a few of the events to take place according to Marcos Rico, Vice President of Events Cabinet of ASG. He hopes to add more social events to bring people together on campus. He is planning a movie night or video game night at Saddleback to increase the networking between students. The dates for these events will be announced soon.
The first upcoming event is the blood drive on Sept. 22, which is open to all students who want to donate blood to the Red Cross.
The ASG also plans on helping the communities fight against sexual abuse. Although the date is currently unknown, the council plans to spread awareness for sexual abuse, HIV, and AIDS that are affecting us today.
The Homecoming is set for Oct. 10 “We really want to get people involved in homecoming,” said Secretary of State of Events Liz Castro, 20, liberal studies, “We want to have it bigger than previous years.”
The Homecoming festivities will start at 5 p.m. and Homecoming king and queen will be announced during halftime at the football game. The Appreciation of Pilipino American Culture club is also set to perform sometime during the event. ASG is also adding a couple of new twists. There will be a bounce house, face painting, arts and crafts, and popular carnival foods such as churros and cotton candy. Many local vendors will also be present, trying to sell their products to the public.
The ASG plans to emphasize it’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices during Earth Week. The student government said that Earth Week last year was a total success with local bands rocking out and vendors such as the Veggie Grill catering free food. ASG also hosted raffles with green product t-shirts and environmentally friendly products. They also made their flyers for the event smaller in order to save paper. The ASG hopes to continue this success in the spring with Earth Week 2.0.
This year, events cabinet Vice President Marco Rico hopes to organize more local fundraisers to help the community. The ASG will lend a helping hand around Thanksgiving with its Turkey Drive for underprivileged families. During Christmas, there will be a Toys for Tots drive where residents and students can donate toys to underprivileged children.
If you’re short on cash and want a discount to these events, getting an ASB stamp provides a limited amount of discounts. With an ASB stamp, all sport games will be free and discounts on campus on events and food. The ASB stamp will also give you a book of coupons to local restaurants such as Cherry on Top and Wingstop. Among the benefits included are discounted movie tickets, and free games of bowling. ASB stamps can be purchased in the new ASG office for $10.
The ASG claims to actively listens to what students want, and as a result, the organization’s stated goal this year is to involve the entire student body and faculty. ASG sits in on College Wide Committees that include professors, staff, and board members to discuss what needs to be done to the school in order to improve it. “We’re the student voice,” Castro said “We’re representing you.”