March 2020

President's Message

Greetings Student Leaders!

We wake up, get ready for the day and then go to school, to work or maybe take care of a loved one. Every one of us has a routine, a series of steps we do regularly. As student leaders, we have a few steps we must take annually in order to serve our students.

We have to first define what drives us to be leaders and what we stand for. Is it disproportional impacts? The injustices? Or is it we just want things to be better? Whatever motivates us, it is important we stay true to ourselves. Whatever we stand for, it is important we don't lose sight of our goals. Then, we have to be trained. We have to learn about the system we participate in, so we know how we can change it. Our rights as students must be exercised to the fullest extent of the law, also known as our 9+1 rights (Title 5 §51023.7 (a)). Lastly, we have to act. We write letters, meet with administrators, and serve on committees in order to contribute to policymaking decisions that will impact students. 

We are nearing the end of our routine as student leaders. At our 2019 General Assembly: Students Uniting Beyond Barriers, we gathered to determine our statewide priorities. We recognized that students are struggling to cover the total cost of attending college. At CCCSAA's 2019 Student Leadership Conference, we learned how to be student leaders and use our voice. On March 19, 2020, we will not just take our final step this semester, but we will march for it! We will march on the State Capitol to urge our state representatives to fully fund our education, our future. I look forward to seeing you all there at the March in March.

I am also excited to start the process all over again, as not too long after the March in March is our 2020 General Assembly: Student Voices Hold Power! After, there is a student leadership training opportunity.  The SSCCC has partnered with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to provide all new incoming student leaders throughout the state. I am proud to be your president and look forward to the greatness we will achieve. 

10 Days until March in March! 
25 Days until General Assembly: Student Voices Hold Power
100 Days until June Leadership Training with Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

In Solidarity,

Danny Thirakul

MARCH IN MARCH 

Theme: Fund the Full Cost of College  

Only 10 days until our March in March! We hope you have planned to join us for this important event.  We must use our voice to tell the legislature and governor that they need to fund the future of California -- OUR FUTURE! They need to "Fund the full cost of college!" Fix financial aid; provide more funds for basic needs (e.g. housing, food insecurity, textbooks, childcare); ensure that there are more funds for our low income, veteran, foster youth, and incarcerated and previously incarcerated students; and fund mental and general health just to name some of the costs of attending college.  We need you if they are going to hear our voice!  #MarchinMarch2020 #FixFinancialAid #FundourFuture

2020 General Assembly
April 3 - 5, 2020 in Ontario California 

Can you believe there are only 25 days until the 2020 General Assembly? We have an exciting three days planned for those attending the event.  The SSCCC Events Committee has created a great line up of 27 workshops on a variety of topics from advocacy to transfer.  You can find the workshops on our website here.  

If you have not registered, you have another opportunity to register at a student discounted rate of $350.  However, this March Madness sale ends on March 16th so act quickly! Registration link.  

During this General Assembly, the delegates will consider adopting a new SSCCC Constitution, Bylaws, and Strategic Plan, as well as elect the Executives who will guide the organization into 2020-21.  Delegates will also debate and consider for adoption resolutions that will direct the Board of Directors next year.  All the documents are available on our website -- links below: 

• Background, Constitution, Bylaws 
• Candidate Statements
• Strategic Plan
• Resolution Procedures 
• Final Resolutions Packet

We hope you review these documents with your associated student body and send your delegate to the General Assembly with the direction about how to vote.  

Webinars: The SSCCC Board of Directors have held or will hold webinars on the documents above, as well as a webinar on how to be a delegate.  Webinars that were held in the past, have been archived.  You can find both the archives and the future webinars on the SSCCC Website calendar here.  

Program

The Preliminary Program and workshops are available on the SSCCC website here.  Please do not miss this year's General Assembly.  

COVID-19 
As we prepare for the upcoming General Assembly, we are monitoring guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health and we invite you to do the same. We are also working with the Ontario Convention Center to ensure appropriate procedures are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  You can review their precautions in a letter prepared to address our concerns here.  At this point, all plans are a go for our upcoming General Assembly.  If you have any questions, please contact our Interim Executive Director Dr. Julie Adams at jadams@studentsenateccc.org.

General Assembly Keynote Speakers

OPEN NOW - CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR BOARD OF GOVERNORS STUDENT POSITION

Education Code §71000 provides that the student organization recognized by the California Community College Board of Governors--the SSCCC--shall submit at least three student members to the Governor for the appointment as the student representative to the Board of Governors.  It is that time again!  The Board of Governors Student Representative Application is now available. You can find the application on the website here.      

Pathways to Equity Conference
Transforming Together
September 29-30, 2020
Newport Beach Marriott Hotel

Empower and inspire your colleagues by sharing your insights, discoveries, promising practices and successes related to equity-infused Guided Pathways work.

Student-centered design informs Guided Pathways and Student Equity—two key elements designed to help reach the goals of the Vision for Success. This conference will bring together a diverse community of college practitioners to discuss implementing a Guided Pathways framework with an equity lens. What will you share that can help our system in an equity transformation?

The event will focus on how equity is the foundation of and drives Guided Pathways planning and implementation, and will include inspiring speakers, breakout sessions designed to provide actionable takeaways for college teams and other activities designed to build awareness and knowledge of equity as an institution-wide effort. Be one of our featured speakers, present your work in an informal session or engage attendees with interactive group work. We’re looking for presentations by faculty, classified professionals, students, and administrators featuring innovative approaches, data insights and challenges to overcome. Interactive sessions are encouraged, as is student voice inclusion!

Lightning Sessions – 30 mins
Active Learning Sessions – 1 hour 30 mins

A select number of sessions are planned, so submit your proposal soon. The submission deadline is Friday, April 10, 2020. Applicants will be informed via email about final selections at the end of Spring 2020. Presenters will receive a discounted registration rate.

Submit a proposal >

Please email any questions to Barbara Lezon in Educational Services and Support - blezon@cccco.edu. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Amine El Moznine, VP of Legislative Affairs

The legislative process has begun! During the fall, the SSCCC has been seeking sponsors for key legislation to address several SSCCC resolutions.  In February, the Board of Directors supported sponsorship of the following three bills and supported one other bill.  

Sponsored

• AB 2910 (Weber) - would guarantee an advisory vote for all student trustees.

• AB 2190 (Medina) - would provide a vote to the second member on the statewide Board of Governors.

• AB2884 (Berman) - would authorize community college districts to use restricted lottery funds to provide housing and food assistance to students.  co-sponsored with the Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges (FACCC).

Support

• AB2388 (Berman) - create a focus on a coordinated and integrated approach to address students’ basic needs.

This month, the Assembly and Senate have dropped over a thousand 2000 bills.  The Legislative Affairs Committee will begin analyzing these bills against the existing SSCCC resolutions and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors about which bills to support or oppose.  Watch for future announcements regarding additional positions. 

If you are interested in hearing about the activities of the Legislative Affairs Committee, please check out the SSCCC Calendar for meeting times and agendas and join us. 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

We are seeking volunteers to serve on SSCCC Shared Governance Committees.  This is your opportunity to serve at the state level without making an extensive commitment since some committees meet only two or three times a year.  If you are interested in serving on any of the shared governance committees listed below, please visit the SSCCC website "Serving at the State Level" page to learn about the appointment process and to access the application.  

• Accessibility Standards Workgroup
• Distance Education Technology Advisory Committee
• Library and Learning Resources Program Advisory Committee
• Next up/Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support 

Serving at the state level can be very rewarding.  Consider serving today! 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• SSCCC Board of Directors Meeting, March 20, 2020, CCC Chancellor's Office,  Sacramento 
• SSCCC Executive Committee Meeting, March 27, 2020, TBD. 
• SSCCC Board of Directors Meeting, April 2, 2020, Ontario. 
• SSCCC 2020 Spring General Assembly April 3 - 5, 2020 in Ontario at the Ontario Convention Center.  
• SSCCC Executive Committee Meeting, April 24, 2020, TBD
• SSCCC Board of Directors Meeting, May 1 - 2, 2020, TBD. 
• SSCCC Executive Committee Meeting, May 29, 2020, TBD.  
• SSCCC Board of Directors Meeting, June 12, 2020, Sacramento. 
• Joint Leadership Event with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges June 17 - 18, 2020 in Newport Beach. 
• Check out all the SSCCC events including Regional Meetings, caucuses, and webinars on the SSCCC Calendar.  

All SSCCC Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings are available via teleconference.  Check out the calendar on the SSCCC website (link above) for the agendas and call information at least 72-hours prior to the meeting.