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| Vice President-elect John Maine |
On Feb. 17 and 18. students received an electronic ballot in their Linn-Benton email inboxes, prompting them to elect new representatives to the Student Leadership Council.
Out of the 2,433 full-time students attending LBCC, only 180 chose to cast their votes in the second-ever SLC election held on campus.
The SLC needed 3 percent of the full-time student body to vote and received votes from 7.4 percent, resulting in an admissible election.
“Most of the students here don’t even know what the SLC is and that’s unfortunate,” said John Maine, SLC vice president-elect.
Maine was elected last week with 104 votes. His opponent, Jason Shirley, conceded the election with 76 votes.
The campaigners had just under two weeks to rally support.
“It was a tough race,” said Shirley. “I came in as an outsider. John was established already. All and all I think I did a really good job during the election.”
Former SLC Vice President Eric Slyter ran unopposed and garnered enough votes to take the position of SLC president.
“We could have not received the minimum number of votes, and it would have been a little bit more complicated process, but I probably would have come out as president,” said Slyter. “This was the second year we actually got the minimum number of votes, so yes, I think it was successful.”
Slyter has worked several positions on the SLC team in the past two years, beginning as a volunteer.
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| President-elect Eric Slyter |
“I’m really excited,” said Slyter “I think I have a really pretty good idea of what our potential is and the ultimate direction of the team.”
Slyter believes his past experiences have given him an eye for what the SLC is or isn’t capable of, and a few ideas for improvements.
Under the guidance of Associate Dean of Student Engagement Leslie Hammond, Slyter is currently focusing on improving communication within the SLC team. Together they have designed new leadership trainings for the upcoming SLC team members, noting a lack of effective training and goal implementation in the past.
Slyter also raised concerns with the follow-through of the SLC. While the team has been effective in making decisions, the physical effort and implementation often becomes lost between meetings.
“It takes a sort of guided effort, keeping people on track, keeping that goal in mind and making sure that communication is open,” said Slyter.
Slyter is also looking for ways to give back to students, whether it be through reducing the price of textbooks or increasing awareness and availability of unused scholarships and talent grants on campus. His ambition for his time as president is “ultimately to create a positive college experience,” aligning his goals closely with that of the college administration.
Maine will begin his term as vice president directing his focus towards improving the college experience for students and reevaluating the SLC’s current situation, calling on repercussions for individuals in the SLC not performing their jobs.
“We need to have a strong Student Leadership Council that can pick up and fix this, and not have it happen again, or have a plan if something drastic does happen,” said Maine, referring to the mid-term resignation of former SLC President Paola Gonzalez.
While aiming for SLC budget reevaluation and transparency with the student body, Maine also intends to evaluate the necessity of the SLC’s involvement with student lobby group Oregon Student’s Association.
“I really want to focus on diverting our funds back towards the students and trying to run at a bare minimum,” said Maine.
He is investigating the possibility of an SLC funded “free” printing plan for students, although student fees directly fund the SLC budget.
“Oohlala,” a college-centered social media app will become available under a new name for students and staff which Maine and Slyter hope will bring ease and convenience to campus communication and connections.
Both Slyter and Maine agree that any changes made over the next year should be for the benefit of the student body and the college.
“It’s about providing the structure and opportunities for people to do well, giving students the opportunity to succeed. I know that’s really vague and generalized, but ultimately that’s what the student leadership is supposed to be here to do,” said Slyter.
