El Camino College
Associated Students Organization
Senate Meeting Minutes
February 28, 2013
Administration Room 131
1:00pm
I.
Call to Order
 Dillan Horton called the meeting to order at 1:02 pm.
II. Roll Call
Voting Members of the Senate (Present)
Dillan Horton (Chairperson), Brooke Matson, Derrick Moon, Simone Montague-Jackson, Nathan Wofford,
Tiffany Tran, Sarah Hafiz, Jasmine Hormati, Melina Mossberg, Alejandro Ventura, Daniel Carvalho,
Aysha Shaikh, Gustavo Garcia, Emma Robertson, Sarah Rednour, Rachel Tamashiro, Felix Chan, Sean
Borden
Voting Members of the Senate (Absent)
Kelly Ng, Marisa Tam, Valencia Clark, Alexander Clavel, Priscilla Young
Advisors (Present)
Rebecca Cobb, Breanna von Stein
III. Approval of the Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes of February 14th as is made by Jasmine Hormati. Seconded by
Gustavo Garcia. Motion passed.
IV. Approval of the Agenda

Motion to approve the agenda of February 28th as is made by Jasmine Hormati. Seconded by
Sarah Hafiz. Motion passed.
V. Old Business
5.1 Legislative Agenda
 Motion to adopt the 2013 Spring Legislative Agenda made by Jasmine Hormati. Seconded by
Brooke Matson. Motion passed.
VI. New Business
6.1 Resignation Acknowledgments
6.1.1 Melina Mossberg
 She no longer felt comfortable with certain unprofessional behavior that has been acted towards her
from the Senate. She has the best interests for ASO and helped potential ASO members sign up during
Club Rush. She wished the best of luck towards her friends.
6.2 Removals
6.2.1 Alexander Clavel – Senator of Mathematical Sciences
 Motion to approve the removal of Alexander Clavel due to eligibility made by Jasmine
Hormati. Seconded by Gustavo Garcia. Motion passed.
6.3 – Nominations for Appointment
6.3.1 Luis Mendez – Senator of Behavioral & Social Sciences
6.3.2 Anna Hurst – Commissioner of Student Services
6.3.3 Natalie Birresborn – Commissioner of Student Services
6.3.4 Gerald Paul – Fine Arts Division Council Member

As recommended by the President, motion to approve the appointment of the listed members
to their corresponding positions made by Brooke Matson. Seconded by Sarah Hafiz. Motion
passed.
6.4 – Finance Items – Derrick Moon
6.4.1 Spring General Assembly
 Motion to approve up to $1,436 from Rep Fee Conference Account number (72-55229-836115),
$1,598 from AS Conference Attendance Account Number (71-836103), and $300 from ASO
Leadership Training Account Number (71-836190) for the Spring General Assembly, which will
include taking 4 students and 1 advisor, made by Derrick Moon. Seconded by Tiffany Tran. Motion
passed.
6.4.2 ASO Mid-Year Financial Update
 “ASO Accounts Summary as of 2/20.2013” documents were presented to the Senate to display the
mid-year financial balance.
 Aysha asked about a situation in which money is overspent from a particular account. Brooke stated
that it would be determined by the Finance Committee; the goal is to not overspend out of accounts,
but will take from other accounts for emergencies. Derrick stated that money will be allocated to the
AS General Division if there are not enough funds for a specific divisional event. Nathan asked about
the event when we allocate money that we do not have. Brooke stated that we would need to fundraise
a lot more to supplement the accounts. In case of emergencies, the reserve will cover the deficit.
Nathan asked if the reserve can only be accessed in case of deficit spending. Brooke stated that the
Finance Committee is currently working on a policy for when and how we access our reserves; it will
be finalized and brought to the Senate in one to two months. Derrick stated that we can only access the
reserve for long term planning because it is controlled by the district. Nathan asked if there could be a
request for more accessible money from the reserve next year so that we do not have the budget
problems from this year again. Derrick stated that the concern with that is it could be habitual to the
next generations of ASO and it will deplete the reserve quickly. Brooke stated that if we keep taking
money from the reserves every year to supplement the deficit we have lost from year to year, it sets
precedent for the future. Nathan stated that basing it on precedent states on the assumption that we will
remain in this current economic situation, and he asked if the reserve can be accessed on the general
assumption that the economy will pick up years from now. Dillan stated that it is an assumption we
cannot afford to make. Rebecca Cobb stated that because this item will continue to be discussed upon
at the Finance meeting, discussion should be limited.
6.5 – CSU Local Admission & Service Areas Resolution– Dillan Horton


Because of our situation with the budget, the majority of majors at CSU’s who use a Local Admission
& Service Area are impacted, therefore, this system does not take into effect and all students compete
at the same level. However, we are working toward not being constrained by budget so that this system
will become an issue again. Administrations from the CSU’s and community colleges feel that because
it is not an issue now, it does not need to be resolved at the moment. This resolution is to set what our
policy position is as to solving the issue before it becomes a concern again in the future.
Jasmine asked what the next step would be if the Senate were to adopt the resolution. Dillan stated that
regardless of the outcome, they will be meeting with the student government members at CSULB to
discuss the issue and their concern on their campus. If the Senate were to adopt the resolution today,
they will advocate for similar resolution at the SSCCC General Assembly in April to discontinue the
use of Local Admission & Service Area with admission. Jasmine asked if Dillan discussed this with
any other community college senates about how they feel about the issue. Dillan stated that the issue
he sees in General Assembly is that some colleges benefit and some colleges take a loss. El Camino is
one of the colleges that take a loss with this system, while Long Beach City College vastly benefits
from being close to the CSU’s. Jasmine asked that because some schools are content with the system,
if it would be best to partner with another CSU. Dillan stated that if it is an unfair policy, his next
thought should not be part of the unfair system. Brooke stated that there are a lot of benefits that come
from service areas. Some students may not be able to afford to go to a college that’s farther away from
the state; that is where the service area comes in and benefits some students to be able to go to a Cal
State that is nearby them. She stated that it could be dealt with that on a local level, but to take it to the
state level and affect every student in California makes her unsure of the resolution. Nathan stated that
giving students less likely to get in to a closer school the opportunity puts the students living farther
away at a disadvantage to work harder for the same opportunities and location of school. Simone stated
that in Dr. Fallo's letter, he mentioned there are certain schools closer than other schools in CSU Local
Service Area. To benefit the schools farther away and to not benefit the schools closer is unfair. Dr.
Fallo has constructed an eloquent letter as to how it is unfair as well as how it affects minorities.
Brooke stated that her argument is not that it is a bad thing, but it should not affect the entire state.

Nathan stated that preferential treatment based on proximity is dichotomous in itself. Dillan stated that
there was an original resolution written by Chris Wells for the statewide Academic Senate. It called for
filing a complaint with the Department of Education on grounds that the process was discriminatory
towards students. The Academic Senate believed it was too far of a reach, therefore calling for
chancellors to work together and solve the issue.
Motion to adopt the CSU Local Admission & Service Areas Resolution made by Nathan Wofford.
Seconded by Aysha Shaikh. Sean, Gustavo, Jasmine, and Brooke oppose. Tiffany and Sarah Rednour
abstain. Motion passed.
6.6 – Accreditation Self Evaluation Report
The Senate will be updated by the students participating in the Accreditation Self Evaluation Committees.
6.6.1 Tiffany Tran – Mission
 Working with Irene Graff and Chris Gold; writing student perspective for Student Mission.
6.6.2 Stefan Ecklund – Improving Institutional Effectiveness
 Working with Dr. Gold to draft sub-standards and it will be sent to him to revise.
6.6.3 Simone Montague-Jackson – Instructional Programs
 Working with Carolee Vakil-Jessop regarding Student Development Office; draft will sent
over from Carolee to Simone to be edited.
6.6.4 Sarah Hafiz –Student Support Services
 Working with Breanna von Stein on the ASO accreditation to write procedure.
6.6.5 Nathan Wofford – Library & Learning Support
 Has been having heavy schedule conflicts and is figuring out how to be involved without being
able to attend meetings.
6.6.6 Jason Devisfruto – Human Resources
 Working with Lynn Lindberg; having schedule conflicts and is keeping in contact though email
for involvement.
6.6.7 Derrick Moon – Physical Resources
 Working with Dr. Rodriguez; having schedule conflicts, but will be reviewing drafts and keeping
in contact separately from meetings.
6.6.8 Alejandro Ventura – Technical Resources
 Working with John Wagstaff and Pete Marcoux; Wagstaff has drafted a descriptive
summary and committee members are reviewing it.
6.6.9 Derrick Moon – Financial Resources
 His commissioner is attending, but his computer broke and lost all notes.
6.6.10 Brooke Matson – Decision Making Roles & Process
 Working alongside LG and started meeting last semester; answering questions from student
perspective and will finalize individual work.
6.6.11 Dillan Horton – Board & Administrative Organization
 Started meeting in the fall semester; in the process of writing descriptive summary.
VII. Reports
7.1 ASO Member Reports
 Jasmine: There will be a Board meeting March 18th. She thanked those who attended and spoke at the last
Board meeting. Child development will possibly be closed, but the Board decided to keep it open for
another year to see what the Senator can do to increase its enrollment. The Accreditation Commission has
given the school a warning concerning the Student Learning Outcome and it needs to be met by October
2013. Spring semester tends to get busy; try to keep focus on studies as well as role in ASO.
 Brooke: El Camino is on warning. Other colleges are behind on SLO’s but not on warning because they
have not been visited yet. Club Rush was successful. We need to contribute with fundraising to meet quota.
At the next College Counsel Meeting, they will have the latest draft of Making Decisions document. The
draft was brought to the body, but changes will be made and then brought to the next Senate meeting. Make
sure you are meeting with Division Counsels. We made the first decision that not the whole body agreed
on; it is a good thing, just make sure to keep respect for each other and know we are all advocating for the
benefits of the students.
 Simone: Dr. Arce plans on taking out courses that have not been assessed. Some were not activated. 70
courses have not been taught in five to six years. New courses that have been assessed will be up to the
faculty whether or not they get added. A student survey was conducted and students expressed that the
school lacked luster in technology and want Wi-Fi. One INT representatives said El Camino is on watch by
the FBI because students are downloading and watching inappropriate things. She is still meeting with
Tiffany, Ariel, and Sarah concerning Wi-Fi and book rentals. Aysha stated that anything you access using
the ECC server, your El Camino email is scanned and can be viewed.
 Dillan: Will be meeting with student government at CSU Long Beach to discuss issue regarding local
service areas. Next week is College Fair on March 7th. There was a discussion at College Counsel about
splitting the registration for summer and fall semester. The Harlem Shake video has been postponed and
will find the appropriate time and location. Senate leader position is now open.
7.2 ICC Reports
 Club Mixer will be held March 1st. The Blood Drive will be held from March 5 th -7th from 9am-3pm.
7.3 AGS Reports
 The next meeting will be held on March 12th in MBA room 319. Cabinet is thinking of forming committees
per Cabinet member.
7.4 Committee Report
7.4.1 Activities Committee
 Have not been able to conduct a meeting due to people resigning or getting removed. She has been
meeting with Ms. Breanna, Brittany Hubble, and Myeshia Brown about the International Fair on April
18th.
7.4.2 Fundraising Committee
 They are attempting to find good time to have a meeting due to changes to everyone’s schedule.
Nathan has sent out e-mails to those who expressed interest in joining the committee. They are
attempting to get a few fundraisers before spring break.
7.4.3 Policy Committee
 Met yesterday to discuss resolution that the Senate just adopted, as well as goals for the rest of the
semester regarding the review of Constitution By-laws
7.4.5 Public Relations Committee
 First meeting will be held tomorrow. Two people have been removed from the committee and are in
need of more members.
7.4.6 Sustainability Committee
 Met last week. El Camino recycling bins that say “White paper only,” although El Camino does
recycle both colored and white paper. They are working on different projects and setting up things for
the spring semester.
7.5 Adviser Reports
7.5.1 Rebecca Cobb
 Friday afternoons are almost booked; no more meetings on Fridays. The Behavioral Assessment team
has been meeting and dealing with issues on campus. They are trying to get ASO members involved
but students can’t serve on the committee. There was a presentation at Manager’s meeting about the
Career Center. She stated it would be a good idea for Career Center reps to do a presentation. March in
March is on Monday. They recently got information from SSCCC.
7.5.2 Breanna von Stein
 Thanked those who helped with Club Rush. Blood Drive next week. She needs volunteers for Social
Justice Fair.
VIII.

IX.
Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items
None.
Adjournment

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 1:54 pm made by Aysha Shaikh. Seconded by Brooke
Matson. Meeting is adjourned.
___________________________________
Brooke Matson, ASO President
___________________________________
Rebecca Cobb, ASO Advisor