What is Associated Students?
Student Associates Candidates Skander Zmerli (Director of Budget Management) and Nathan Silberberg (Secretary) at the Associate Students Forum at Santa Monica College Campus on Tuesday March 26, 2019. Photo by Tanya Barcessat / The Corsair)
Most students are familiar with the expected enrollment fee, health fee, and student identification when they enroll at higher institutions of education, but what about the Associated Students (A.S) fee? The A.S. fee is often overlooked by students as they are typically more concerned with getting into a class, and utilizing the resources of the campus throughout the academic year, however those resources have strong ties to decisions made by the Associated Students.
At Santa Monica College (SMC), some allocations of the Associated Student fees give students access to numerous benefits on campus such as free printing at the A.S. Computer Lab, free scantrons and bluebooks, local Santa Monica restaurant discounts, and free rides from Big Blue Bus. Associated Students also provides educational support for study abroad scholarships and free bicycle repair classes. While the benefits are wide ranging, it’s undetermined how many students utilize them as they have the option to opt in or out of the $19.50 Associated Students fee when they enroll.
One of the most coveted aspects of Associated Students is leadership. Every semester, students that meet the A.S. membership election code has a chance to run for election in numerous leadership positions. Monday, March 16, was to mark the beginning of campaigns and election debate for the Associated Student elections, and to culminate with a voting period from March 23, 2020 thru Thursday, March 26, 2020.
