The Bakersfield College Student Government Association conducted a Q&A for the 2020 candidates for a spot on the Board of Trustees on Sept. 30.
The Board of Trustees is a group of members that focus on developing new ways to ensure that schools are providing programs that help students succeed with their education. Although all 2020 candidates were invited to the Q&A, only Yovani Jimenez was present.
BC Director of Student Activity, Nicky Damania, started the conversation with an introduction of the candidate and the student government. The rest of the session was taken over by BC student Vice President, Emma McNellis.
Candidate Jimenez expressed his love for the community and how he plans to be a member of the students.
“I want to be trustee because I believe in the power of education, and I want to be able to represent the Bakersfield students at a trustee level and also my community,” Jimenez said.
His platform is focused on four main points. He wants to increase college assets in rural communities, increase educational assets as well as provide more resources for Kern education, to decrease the educational divide, and improve the industry pathways for colleges in rural communities.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway, Jimenez plans to implement new ways to help students with distant learning. Although he would like for schools to be in-person, the safety of the students and staff is his top priority.
There are no immediate changes that will be happening if Jimenez were to be elected. He assured that any plans he has will be presented in front of the rest of the board members to ensure they are fair to students and the community. Jimenez believes that ethnic studies are an important part of education and even though he does not know much about the topic, he is willing to learn and discover ethnic history.
“I’m always willing to learn cause the role of trustees is not to know everything or to have their own ideas. The job of a trustee is to learn for [the students],” Jimenez said.
The Q&A ended with students thanking the candidate for joining the call, and Jimenez reminded students to vote on Nov.3