Associated Students Charter
| Group Name | Associated Students (AS) |
| Type of Group | Representative Body |
| Description/Purpose/Charge | Associated Students (AS) is the student government of Cypress College. AS offers students the opportunity to gain unique leadership skills as well as personal and professional development. Just as Cypress College is a leading, premiere community college in California, our student government strives to live up to the same level of distinction by upholding and advancing our institution’s core values of equity, excellence, collegiality, inclusiveness, and integrity. The council focus is also on representing and advocating for our fellow students on campus, regional and state levels. This is established by having student representatives serving on our college shared governance committees, having a student trustee representation, designated regional delegate and participation at the annual state level General Assembly. |
| Reporting Relationships | The Associated Students have nine sub-committees: Events, Student Affairs, Inter-Club Council (ICC), Political Discourse, Public Relations, Mental Health, Campus Garden, Civic Engagement, Student Representation. |
| Decision-Making Authority | The Associated Students have the authority to host on- campus student events. The Associated Students have the authority to approve or reject proposals submitted for funding through their allotted budget. The Associated Students have the authority to make decisions regarding the administration of their allotted budget. The Associated Students have the authority to make decisions related to their reports to outside agencies. |
| Membership Composition | President/Chair (1) Executive Vice President (1) Student Trustee (1) Vice President of Internal & External Affairs (1) Vice President of Student Organizations (1) Vice President of Campus Activities (1) Vice President of Fiscal Affairs (1) Vice President of Public Relations (1) Executive Secretary (1) Activities Coordinator (15 maximum) Senator (15 maximum) Advisor (1) Co-Advisor (1) |
| Terms of Membership | Members serve one-year terms, with a maximum of three years of total participation. |
| Membership Process | Members are either elected by the student body or appointed by the chair. |
| Meeting Dates/Times | The Associated Students meet weekly on Monday at 1 p.m. in the Student Life & Leadership building, Building 8, in conference room 150. |
| Meeting Procedures | The Chair and members of the group will adhere to shared governance best practices as follows: Meeting agendas are issued 72 hours in advance of meeting times. Meeting agendas are organized to prioritize funding requests, approvals, actions pending/required, and reports. This committee is subject to the Brown Act and conducts meetings and votes in accordance with these regulations and Robert’s Rules of Order. |
| Consensus Process, Decision-Making, and Documentation | Clear agreements and public indications of understanding and support are critical to maintain forward progress for the work of the group. On occasion, and after extensive dialogue, members will be asked to indicate their agreement to pursue a specific direction or to conclude discussion of a specific topic or action. This agreement will seek to be based on “consensus” which is a general state of agreement rather than a “majority opinion.” Consensus-based decision-making processes attempt to resolve each member’s concerns before asking for agreement and closing discussion regarding a recommendation. The consensus-taking process will proceed according to the following steps: 1. Any member or the chair may ask for an indication of agreement. 2. Members will indicate their degree of support for the selected recommendation as follows: a) agreement with the recommendation, b) support for the good of the whole without necessarily completely embracing the recommendation, c) disagreement with the recommendation. A simple method for indicating degrees of support can be used such as a raise of hand for their vote. 3. If there is no opposition indicated, the agreement will be recorded within the meeting record/notes and discussion will conclude. To sustain the forward progress of the work of the group it may be necessary to record participant agreement related to a specific item without full member consensus. If certain participants have persistent concerns that prevent them from agreeing to the item, then a majority opinion is recorded, and the minority opinion is also captured in the meeting record/notes. |
| Communication and Distribution of Materials | The group will provide timely and accessible documentation (i.e., agendas and minutes) of its activity and outputs that reflect key discussion points and action items. The group will distribute this documentation to their constituency via physical documentation available in the Student Life & Leadership building. |
| Charter Established/Revised Dates | Charter established on: College Opening – 1966 Charter last reviewed on: 03/22/24 Charter last revised/approved on: 03/22/24 |
| Website | www.cypresscollege.edu/student-life/associated-students/ |
| Current Roster | President/Chair Arjun Ayyappan Executive Vice President Katie Wong Student Trustee Jesse Ramirez Jr. Vice President of Internal & External Affairs Kassy Nguyen Vice President of Student Organizations Jordy Galan Vice President of Campus Activities Jenifer Navarro Vice President of Fiscal Affairs Noshin Tahiya Vice President of Public Relations Moises Sandoval Executive Secretary Sydney Phethean Activities Coordinators Haley Do Jackson Goulding Sumin Kim Alyssa Liauw Andrew Phan Samantha Sweiss Tina Tran Sal Turis Senators Fuaad Amin Ryan Ayers Andrew Baldwin Gianna Garza Jonathan Nguyen Ashlynn Smith Nathan Truong Kaiann Yang Advisor David Okawa Co-Advisor Joseph Shonkwiler |
| Constitution/Bylaws Reference | The Associated Students operate under the Constitution/Bylaws approved by the Associated Students. |
| Brown Act | This group is subject to the Brown Act. |