Saipan Tribune

Friday, May 24, 2013

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Three vie for NMC STUCO presidency

»Over 120 cast votes on first day of elections

Three candidates are vying for this year's student council president of the Northern Marianas College.

Running for the presidency of the Associated Students of Northern Marianas College are Lawrence E. Camacho and Antonio Tiples, both former student council presidents, and first-time candidate Chenglong “Alex” Shen.

The president of the college's student council gets an honorary seat on the Board of Regents.

Camacho was president last school year and is currently taking up a degree in elementary education. Tiples, who was the top student leader in school year 2010-2011, is a special education program student at the college, while Shen is with the liberal arts program.

The election for the ASNMC's new officers is slated for two days, Sept. 25 and 26, from 9am to 6pm at the Student Center.

The council's elections coordinator, Queanna C. Sablan, noted that over 120 students have already cast their votes as of noon yesterday.

Other positions up for grabs are one seat each for vice president, secretary, and treasurer, and three seats for council senators.

Vice president candidate Richard Pizarro is running unopposed this year. For treasurer, the candidates are Faithful Mendiola, Anne Julia Padilla, and Evert Van Der Maas. Two are vying for the council's secretary: Jolly Ann Cruz and Christina Shaunte Tudela. For senators, the candidates are Daniel Isaac Brown, Jae Hee Kim, Christina Shaunte Tudela, and Evert Van Der Maas.

Last week, the three presidential candidates faced each other in an hourlong debate on issues affecting students. The candidates were asked about their views on security on campus, the online registration system, designated smoking areas for students, and student parking.

Leo Pangelinan, NMC dean of Student Services, told Saipan Tribune yesterday that students were given the opportunity to know their candidates prior to yesterday's elections. The candidates were allowed to campaign on campus for a certain period of time.

All registered students this fall semester are entitled to vote.

Pangelinan said the college expects a turnout of over 400 by the end of the polls today.

The results of the election will be known tonight as soon as the ballots are tabulated and counted.

For the result to become official, ballots must be certified by Pangelinan's office, representatives of the ASNMC, and the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, among others.

The term of the ASNMC president is throughout the duration of the school year, with extension through the summer period. To keep the position, the student leader must maintain a GPA of 3.0.