AS Elections 2016: Meet the AS Secretary candidate Dane Cruz

Dane Cruz, a 19 year old first year SMC student, is running for A.S. Secretary as part of the Fresh Start slate. According to Cruz, his position tutoring for the Black Collegians and Adelante program gave him access to enough people where coming up with 50 signatures was never a problem. He is currently running unopposed.

In an email correspondence, he said that his motivation to run stems from the disconnect he feels exists between students and AS officers.

“I do not think anyone is at fault, as I have talked to a few AS officers and they are really nice people,” Cruz said. “It’s all about coming up with ways to get students more involved and active on what is going on.”

This is consistent with his slate’s perspective.

“My slate platform is all about connecting the student body with AS officers…When I saw how motivated everyone was and all the great ideas they had, I knew that I made the right choice to run with Fresh Start,” Cruz said.

He says the current AS board has "great ideas" and that they are doing “the best they can.”

He identified one of the main issues SMC faces as being parking congestion, which he believes can be decreased with better lighting. He said lighting will help by “making it easier for students to find parking faster and not waste time circling the parking structure creating traffic.”

The other major concern he has is cleanliness of the bathrooms, which he believes can be fixed with increased communication with the janitorial staff and the unions they are a part of.

Cruz said, “I will be committed to representing and advocating for all students at SMC by uniting the student body and AS office because students must connect.”