Humboldt State Elects a New Student Board

Newly Elected Associated Student Board prepares from the 2020-21 school year

Former Associated Students, Student Affairs Vice President and AS Legislative Vice President Jeremiah Finley will be returning to Humboldt State University next year as the President of AS.

“We’re here to deliver some genuine change,” Finley said. “We’re in a place where we haven’t been before. But I’m optimistic and we should all be optimistic about the direction we’re about to head in.”

Over the summer Finley will be focusing on creating guidelines for allocation processes and beginning to tackle the four-point approach he campaigned on.

“It’s gonna take more than just one person to advocate that something happens,” Finley said. “My leadership style is not centralized. I’m very much a person who’s gonna take input from everybody.”

Finley acknowledges there are students on campus that didn’t vote for him, and not without reason.

“Ultimately, I know that 258 students voted for the runner-up. With that being said, I know 258 students still believe that those points that that candidate brought up were valid, so we want to recognize that.”

Unique to this year, the new AS board will be meeting several times through out the summer, to get a much needed head start.

“I think that the work needs to be done,” Finley said. “That way when we move into the actual academic year, we’re able to hit the ground running.”

AS Representative for the College of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2019-2020 academic year, Montel Floyd will be returning to the AS board next year to serve as an At-Large Representative. He chose to shift roles to gain access to the entire student body.

“This platform allows me to be a voice for all students,” Floyd said. “I don’t take that for granted.”

Malluli Cuellar, Social Justice Equity Officer for AS 2019-2020, is also moving into a new role as the Legislative Vice President-Elect. Cuellar chose to run for the new position largely due to her interest in chairing the Board of Directors.

“I hope to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment at each Board of Directors meeting,” Cuellar said. “While also making sure that Associated Students is running as best as it can internally, and that our codes and bylaws are setting up Associated Students to be the best it can be.”

Floyd intends to spend his next year with the board focusing on breaking down communication barriers between students and administration and ensuring student safety.

“I love advocating for students,” Floyd said. “Listening to their concerns and finding ways to solve the concerns as a collective is what I do best.”

Cuellar believes in the power of student advocacy and students’ collective ability to promote institutional change on campus.

“The student advocacy that occurs within Associated Students is what inspired me to run for elected office for the very first time,” Cuellar said. “And it is what has kept me involved with Associated Students.”

One of Cuellar’s goals for the coming year is to build and foster an environment that is inclusive and provide a safe space for collaborative thinking and change.

“I want to push for Associated Students to continue to actively uplift the student voice and encourage our students to become involved in the governance of our campus by joining committees or writing resolutions.”

With only seven students elected to the AS board for 2020-21, there are still plenty of positions open for students interested in joining. Incoming AS President Finley advocates that all students take the opportunity to share their voice.

“I would recommend everybody to do it,” Finley said. “It’s empowering. You get the chance to show who you are and put your twist and your spin on what advocacy is and what it should look like, and you end up creating some really creative solutions to old problems.”