Monique Reyna was appointed president of the Associated Student Government of Fresno City College during the organization’s meeting yesterday.  

Reyna was a senator as well as ASG’s secretary.  In addition, she was the organization’s official representative to the media.

The appointment was greeted with a standing ovation from both the senate and the members of the audience.

“I had other people talk to me, even [people] outside of the senate, and just to have that many people believe in me is just amazing,” Reyna said.

Reyna will replace Nathan Alonzo who resigned last week in connection with accusations of misconduct at the recent CCCSAA conference.

Reyna’s mid-year ascension to the ASG presidency comes after the mass resignation of the organization’s executive board in the last two weeks.

Nathan Alonzo, president; Rachel McKinley, legislative vice president; Caitlin Mack, executive vice president; Rene Villa, president pro-tempore; and Senators Hugo Garcia and Desteni Battle resigned their positions due to their conduct at the conference.

Several of the ASG members that resigned are alleged to have used alcohol and/or drugs at the student-paid conference, CCCSAA, which took place from Oct. 19 to 21.

While some members maintain their innocence and have claimed “personal reasons” as the cause of their resignation, others say their departure is motivated by a desire to see ASG get back to its mission of student advocacy.

“I saw the kind of attention we were getting after this instance at the conference. It was negative and I felt that a lot of it, and so many people were alleged to have been implicated in it, it just really cast the organization in a negative light,” said former ASG President Alonzo.

Following the publication of the allegations in the Nov. 1 issue of the Rampage, the accused students received certified mail from the office of Chris Villa, the vice president of Student Services, summoning them to a meeting.  Since it is a disciplinary issue, no information has been released regarding the outcomes of their meetings with Villa.

All CCCSAA conference delegates are required to sign a code of conduct form, pledging to behave a certain way.  One of the main purposes of the pledge is to ensure that attendees represent their colleges with professionalism.  

CCCSAA is a conference designed for student leaders to develop as leaders.  Expenses for FCC delegates totaled $10,118 and were charged to the student representation fee, a fee supposed to go for student advocacy although it can also be utilized for student leaders to develop themselves in that role.

Rumors of misconduct surfaced soon after the conference; several sources, including both ASG members and staff members in the Student Activities office, came forward, pointing fingers at specific members of the delegation and accusing them of drinking and using drugs during the trip.  

David Thammavongsa, a Rampage reporter, attended the conference as a member Inter-Club Council on behalf of his club, Sustainable Action.  He claimed he drank alcohol with members of the ASG.  Thammavongsa has resigned from his position in ICC.  

“I’ve realized the best thing to do is to take responsibility for one’s actions,” Thammavongsa said.  “I hope the college and my colleagues will forgive me.”

ASG now has the difficult task of rebuilding with very little precedence to guide it.  This is the first time that ASG’s executive board members have resigned en masse.   

Reyna now has the responsibility of appointing new executive board members, as well as guiding the organization to a successful student advocacy mission.

Reyna will present a new executive board to the senate on Nov. 20.  The senate can approve or oppose their appointment with a two-thirds majority vote.  If Reyna’s selections are denied by the senate, she will have to find a new selection of people to fill the board, and take it before the senate again.

Another issue discussed in the meeting yesterday was whether or not to begin the removal process against the members alleged to have acted improperly at CCCSAA, but have not resigned.

Despite Adviser Sean Henderson’s plea that ASG decide whether or not they’d attempt to remove the members, many members wouldn’t specifically give a yes or no answer, and spoke only about their feelings on the situation.

Sen. Sarah Hayes stood up and said she would seek the removal of any person involved in the CCCSAA misconduct who had not resigned.  Trustee Mike Wilson quickly seconded her statement, stating that it was the right thing to do.

“If I do not see a letter of resignation from them, I personally will be going for a removal process for them,” said Sen. Hayes.

Meanwhile, former ASG Sen. James Demaree, who was removed from his position in September for “conduct unbecoming of an elected student official”, is awaiting the verdict of ASG’s official appeals committee on whether he can return to the ASG or not.

The committee met on Friday, and Jan Bensen, who sits on the committee, says that they will announce their decision “before Thanksgiving.”