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Candidates’ Conduct Called Into Question

Jackson Tammariello | News Editor Sarah Nachimson | Copy Editor

The two presidential candidates for Santa Monica College (SMC) Associated Students (A.S.), current Director of Student Advocacy Kamiko Greenwood and Inter-Club Council Vice Chair Olivia Taha, clashed at a A.S Board of Directors meeting on Monday, April 4. During the meeting, Greenwood asserted that an unnamed student at SMC had emailed her about an alleged online profile about Taha on the website Canary Mission, under the name Olivia Hazin. The anonymous site claims to document “individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.”

This profile alleged that Taha made several antisemitic remarks on past social media posts on Facebook and Twitter. Board members questioned Taha on the veracity of the alleged posts. “If these are not your quotes, then you can definitely have a case against them,” A.S. Director of Instructional Support Denise White-Odimo said.

Board members also questioned the timing of the released information. “It seems to be quite convenient that it's been brought to the attention of the Board now, which I think is strange, it's too strange to be serendipitous or circumstantial,” A.S. Vice President Dominic Prendergast said.

Despite efforts by the Board to affirm that the meeting was not the appropriate channel to issue such allegations due to conflict of interest, the heated discussion continued for several minutes.

Greenwood claimed during the meeting that she brought forth this alleged information to honor the unnamed student’s wishes. “This has nothing to do with my candidacy, that's irrelevant in the sense of what has come forth,” Greenwood said.

“As of now, statistically, your next president will be elected by Friday, but it may not remain your next president, if there are any official complaints filed,” A.S. President Joshua Elizondo said to The Corsair. He explained that the Election Committee cannot take action against either candidate to determine if there was any violation unless a formal complaint is filed. As of April 5, no student has filed a formal complaint against Taha or Greenwood.

In the event of a complaint, the Elections Committee would deliberate on the proper course of action, such as investigation into the legitimacy of the alleged posts and possible conflict of interest on the part of Greenwood.

Taha denied the allegations made against her. “These things that are being said about me are not true in any way, shape, or form,” she said. Taha also expressed discomfort because the allegations of antisemitism against her at the meeting took her by suprise. “It was embarrassing. I was humiliated. I was crying,” she said.

Taha said she would neither confirm or deny that she posted the antisemitic posts alleged by the Canary Mission profile because of what she said is a pending legal matter.

Greenwood did not respond to The Corsair’s request for comment.

The Faces of Student Leadership

Jackson Tammariello | News Editor

On March 28, The Corsair sat down with Joshua Elizondo, the President of Santa Monica College (SMC) Associated Students (A.S.), and Dominic Prendergast, the Vice President of A.S., in the Student Services Center to discuss the responsibilities of their positions and the challenges A.S. has faced in a virtual environment.

Despite a student population of nearly 30,000 at SMC, the school’s past A.S. elections have received abysmal voter turnout. In 2018, 1,734 students voted – around 5 percent of the total number of enrolled students. The number rose up to 2,327 students in 2019, but when the pandemic swept the nation in 2020 and pushed everyone online, participation fell drastically, with 490 students voting. In 2021, only 435 students voted.“It is unacceptable that I was elected by 300 and some students when there's a population of 30,000 here,” A.S. President Elizondo said.

Elizondo, who previously served as SMC Student Trustee in 2020, shared his opinion on the reason for the lack of student participation. “I don't think that that is just because of the virtual world,” he said. “It shows that the student engagement on campus and the directors asking for voting, and asking for people to be in-person and talking about voting was what was the driving force.”

He argued that students should not be the only voice advocating for themselves. Instead, he thinks the admin-

"A.S. President Joshua Elizondo (Left) and A.S. Vice President Dominic Prendergast (Right) gathered for an on-camera interview in the SMC student services center in Santa Monica, Calif. on Monday, March 28"

istration needs to step up with their encouragement of student participation.“And I felt like that was – while it is great that students advocate for themselves, it shouldn't be on the students to have students be the participation at the college, the college needs to also step up.”

A.S. Vice President Prendergast also voiced his concern over the lack of student engagement. "Associated Students is a beautiful part of our student community, but I feel in some ways, is disconnected from the student body, because students aren't aware of everything that we do and who we are, and our purpose, and our mission,” he said. “I think that's evident in the amount of students that vote in elections,"

As their terms come to an end, both student leaders cautioned their successors not to enter their positions overconfident or overly ambitious for change over their short term.

“I would recommend to my successors not to rock the boat too hard,” Elizondo said.

He also offered advice to those who approach more contentious topics in their campaigns. “There are several candidates at the moment that have spoken about many issues that are very controversial,” he said. “I do think that while you're in your position, it's one year, you don't have a long time to transform the college into change.”

While Prendergast suggested that ‘rocking the boat’ isn’t always a bad thing, he urged against making changes and decisions that would be in promotion of one’s leadership and self-serving, instead of being altruistic.

He urged candidates to consider all students, not just themselves, when making decisions with the incoming Board.“Be able to work collaboratively, and to take on Board feedback, and welcome advice and suggestions that you don't want to hear as equally as the ones that you do want to hear,” he said.

There are currently eight positions on the ballot during this election, which includes the position of A.S. President. A.S. Vice President, along with four others, will become vacant after the election ends, as there are no candidates running for those roles.

The election runs from Monday, April 4 at 12 a.m., to Thursday, April 7 at 11:59 p.m. The results will be announced on Friday, April 8 at 9 a.m.