FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: July 16, 2019
Revised: July 18, 2019
Contact: Danny Thirakul, President; Amine El Moznine, Vice President of Legislative Affairs
E-Mail: President@studentsenateccc.org; VPLA@studentsenateccc.org
Statement from SSCCC on Article 6 of Associated Students of Ohlone College (ASOC) Constitution
***The original version of this press release erroneously stated the President had already invoked Article 6. Please see the corrected version of this release. Our apologies for any confusion this may have caused. ***
SACRAMENTO, CA — The Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) is proud to support the Associated Students of Ohlone College (ASOC) in their battle to remove Article 6 from their constitution. Article 6 is also known as the Supremacy Clause and vests control over student government and clubs in the Ohlone College President, Dr. Gari Browning.
Article 6 nullifies the ability of ASOC to safely articulate their stances and advocate for themselves, which opens the door to a range of abuses. The ASOC has already seen some of these abuses borne out as their funds have been frozen and their student government effectively prohibited from meeting when they had stances that ran counter to those of the Ohlone College President. Article 6 and the manner in which it has been used has silenced the voices of students at Ohlone College and does not allow for fair representation of student viewpoints and beliefs in the decision-making process on campus.
The only way forward is to remove Article 6 and reinstate power over the ASOC with the students where it rightfully belongs. Such alienation from decision-making processes will only serve to disenfranchise students and ensure that their views are silenced. The SSCCC calls upon the administration to do what is right and reinstate the student government immediately and to remove Article 6 from the constitution.
The SSCCC further urges students and student advocates who have voiced their concern over Article 6 to continue to support the ASOC and to write their Board of Trustees and express their concern that they have failed to represent the needs of their students to the best of their abilities.
