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| SLC President Brian Ixtlahuac (Photo: Elliot Pond) |
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| SLC Vice President Justen Noll (Photo: Elliot Pond) |
Now that the LBCC SLC election is over, the two winners shared their views on their new positions.
Newly elected SLC President Brian Ixthlahuac and Vice President Justen Noll will officially take office later this year in May. They are working with the current SLC staff to transition themselves into their new positions. The two agreed to an interview where they were asked a few questions about what they plan to do now that they have been elected. They shared their ideas on what they plan to do for the student body before and after they take office, issues they noticed facing students at LBCC, and what they feel their roles will look like in their new positions.
What would you say your mission statement is?
Ixtlahuac: My mission statement would be to never turn a blind eye towards someone looking for help.
Noll: I want to use my service over the next year towards helping the student body have more opportunities to be engaged.
How do you plan to apply the lessons you've learned from past experiences in student government and various extracurricular activities to SLC president and vice president?
Ixtlahuac: Communication is key to make a group event work. I am going to express an open arms attitude which will act as a way for people to communicate with ease.
Noll: How to work with people who have discernible differences from me. In a student leadership position such as SLC VP, the position requires the student leader to serve everyone. As someone who is liberal-minded when it comes to social issues, the people who I grew up with were mostly conservative-minded. Yes, I butted heads several times, but I successfully collaborated with people who had different beliefs than I do. I was able to do that because we treated each other like people, not as conservatives or liberals.
What are the biggest issues facing LBCC students that you would like to address?
Do you have a plan to fix them?
Ixtlahuac: An issue I see facing LBCC students is a lack of involvement due to the lack of advertisement. For example, today [March 8] was International Women’s Day and the DAC [Diversity Achievement Center] had a great presentation from women that marched in the Women’s March on Washington and Portland, but not a lot of people came because they were unaware of the event.
Noll: There is much to be improved upon with involvement and engagement within the student body, mainly with time limitations and division. Many students are in circumstances where they can't be involved in anything outside of their classes. I hope to fix that through outreach efforts, from SLC Q&As to art initiatives. When it comes to division, this is an issue that stems from the November election. The day after Trump won the electoral college, the campus was silent. All the liveliness in the student populous disappeared. Yes, it is not as silent now, but there are a lot of wounds remaining. What I hope I can do is lead by example through lending my ears to students' voices that need to be heard. That can help with the healing process.
What are some ideas you have to better utilize the LB Live app for the student body?
Ixtlahuac: The way I would better utilize the app would be to establish a reminder on the app or create a way that the app will save the date of an event and notify the person a day before to ensure that the student does not forget.
Noll: There is a little bit of irony to this answer, but getting in-person feedback to what students would like to see added, improved, or removed would be valuable. I know, it is a technological age. In spite of that, I want to interact and learn more from the students since that's how we (the student leaders) can definitively learn more to improve the utility of the app.
What would you like the SLC to improve while you're in office?
Ixtlahuac: I would like to see the amount of people coming into the SLC asking about SLC positions increase.
Noll: I would like to see SLC be more face-to-face with students. Over the past few weeks, I've gotten to see the amount of work the SLC is doing (answer: a large amount). Being realistic is important in terms of integrating new initiatives, but I believe that the new staff and I will be able to accomplish having more face-to-face interactions.
How do you plan to involve yourself in the student body until you take office later this year?
Ixtlahuac: I plan to attend all the SLC meeting and go around introducing myself to the LBCC staff.
Noll: I'm currently working with the current SLC staff to get the transition going early so that the current staff doesn't have as much on their shoulders during training. I'm learning more about what efforts and events are going to be carrying over. With that, it will allow me to get involvement and engagement efforts started sooner.
If anyone has any questions you can visit the SLC office at the northeastern part of the courtyard by the Hot Shot Cafe on the LBCC Albany Campus.
At a glance:
Brian Ixtlahuac: brian.ixtlahuac.3352@mail.linnbenton.edu
Justen Noll: justen.noll.6855@mail.linnbenton.edu
LBCC SLC Homepage
LBCC SLC Bylaws
LBCC Current SLC Officers
"The Student Leadership Council (SLC) shall serve as the governing body of the Associated Students of Linn-Benton Community College (ASLBCC). The SLC will also serve as a liaison between the ASLBCC and the college administration, facilitating communication between the two groups as well as communication amongst the student body. The SLC shall provide opportunities for networking, social interactions, and outreach activities." -LBCC SLC Mission Statement
