The voice of De Anza since 1967 Volume 61, Issue 1
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025
lavozdeanza.com
New college president discusses goals, hopes
PHOTO BY SEANNA HENRY
DASG Vice President Aura Ozturk, 19, computer science major, and Elections Commissioner Wadi Lin Lei, 21, computer science major, propose changing vice president to “Chair of Administration” at the Jan. 22 DASG General Senate meeting in the Student Council Chambers.
Major changes ahead for DASG campaigns, voting President, vice president no longer run together, among other modifications PHOTO BY YUMENO MATSUO
De Anza College President Omar Torres explains what he wants to contribute to the college community at his office in ADM 127 on Jan. 16.
Omar Torres says he wants De Anza to maintain national level does not necessarily fully culture of equity, inclusion support the work that we as a system
By Seanna Henry LA VOZ STAFF
De Anza College’s new president, Omar Torres, officially took office on Jan. 3; since then, he has been holding his “100 Days of Listening,” where he meets members of the De Anza community one-on-one to learn more about its campus culture. “One of the things that drew me to De Anza immediately is the equity imperative of this college and of this district,” Torres said. “De Anza College has done some remarkable work with ensuring that we are providing support for our students and for our community, both inside and outside of the classroom.” Prior to Torres’ selection as De Anza’s president, he served as chief instructional officer and assistant superintendent at College of the Canyons. He also held the position of president of the California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers Association. Torres said he plans to bring this experience into his new role at De Anza. “I’ve built those professional relationships and those networks, and knowing the people, knowing the players, knowing how the system works, operationally,” Torres said. “(I’m) bringing that experience to this college as the next permanent fifth president.” As president, Torres said he
intends to retain De Anza’s culture of equity and student support. “My role is to learn about that culture, to listen to the people, to learn about where there are new opportunities to engage in dialogue,” Torres said. “With students, with faculty, with staff, with administrators, with the chancellor, with district officials.” Torres emphasized being more “entrepreneurial” in De Anza’s future. “I think there is an incredible opportunity for De Anza to continue to emphasize the fact that we are at the top in transfers,” Torres said. “I also think that as the needs of our workforce and our students evolve and change, there’s an even greater opportunity to further develop economic and workforce development.” Part of this entrepreneurship involves increased investment in career technical education. “It isn’t solely about transfer,” Torres said. “There are also opportunities through industry-recognized credentials and certification for employees that are already in the workforce that may want to reskill or upskill.” Torres’ presidency begins at the same time as the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. However, Torres does not agree with many of the Trump administration’s policies. “The new administration at the
have been engaged in support of students and in support of equity,” Torres said. This includes Trump’s policies on undocumented immigrants. Protocol at De Anza states that if Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers appear on campus, the president’s office should be contacted first. Faculty and staff are instructed to encourage undocumented students to stay in their classroom or a private room while ICE officers are escorted to the president’s office. “I will not disclose any information to ICE agents on any information that I’m not legally required to disclose,” Torres said. “I am committed, as is our district, to (ensuring) that we are protecting our undocumented students and any employees … where they may feel threatened on campus.” As outgoing interim president Christina Espinosa-Pieb passes the torch to Torres, she is also passing on oversight of the Measure G project. Espinosa-Pieb has been a major advocate for the construction of a new creative arts building, reconvening the Measure G task force in June 2024 to plan and budget the project. Torres will be continuing this work. “We are absolutely moving forward with the new creative arts building,” Torres said. “I’ve been having conversations with both district officials and campus administration about the
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The De Anza Student Government Administration Committee proposed changes to election code at the general senate meeting on Jan. 22, weeks before campaigning is set to begin. The committee’s proposed amendments include that the president and vice president will campaign independently, as opposed to running together, adding an election committee, and introducing a “15% table.” To prevent extended elections, an issue faced in last year’s elections, the committee introduced the “15% table,” which streamlined the process by setting a vote threshold for determining winners based on how many candidates run in each race; under the new set of rules, a candidate would have to receive at least 10% of the total ballots cast in races with five or more candidates. Prior to this, all candidates had to receive at least 15% of votes cast, regardless of the number of candidates running in their respective race, in order to be considered elected in accordance with Article VI, Section 1.A of the DASG Elections Code. “No candidate will be considered elected as a DASG Senator who receives less than 15% of the total votes cast in the general election,” the code states. Vice President Aura Ozturk, 19, computer science major and Elections Commissioner Wadi
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By Ingrid Lu LA VOZ STAFF
Lin Lei, 21, computer science major, introduced the changes during the committee meeting. “These changes came from wanting to make the election process easier, fairer and better for everyone,” Lei said. “We saw that students wanted more flexibility in voting, and candidates needed a system that gave them more independence and fairness.” Lei went on to highlight frustrations with the old code which led to the creation of the new version. Lei also restated Ozturk’s point of renaming the vice president’s position to the “Chair of Administration.” “The separation of the president and vice president (Chair of Administration) roles into individual tickets allows candidates to focus on their individual platforms and strengths, giving voters more distinct choices,” Lei said. Lei highlighted the overwhelming workload of the elections commissioner, suggesting the creation of additional support roles to distribute responsibilities. “By replacing the elections committee with the administration committee, we now have a more streamlined system,” Lei said. “The administration committee’s responsibilities regarding elections are clearly defined for all students to know and be aware of.” Lei said that this adjustment would not only ease the burden of the elections commissioner duties but also provide more opportunities
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