Las Positas College is the home to a number of diverse groups, each with their own interests. These interests pertain to events, resources and other things students may wish to see at the college. LPC has its senates and governances to present cases and make decisions.
The LPC student government is the direct representation of the student body, with members who campaigned for their positions and are elected by fellow students. The LPCSG is also directly funded by students through the student activity fee and the student representation fee, which are $2 and $10 respectively.
Collected fees are used for events, club funding and providing stipends to each member of the student government. The LPCSG president receives up to $5,400 per academic year. Stipends for the other members of the executive board are ranged based on position — up to $500 for LPCSG senators.
The student government is a voice for the student body. As stated in the LPCSG constitution, they are “advocating for our students at the local, state, and national level by making students’ critical issues known.” The academic senate, another senate on campus, follows a similar structure to that of the student government.
Contrary to the LPCSG, the academic senate is split into divisions. Deans and faculty represented by senators represent the interests of each division.
The academic senate’s processes are similar to LPCSG’s, following the structures for old business, new business and member reports. The academic senate has many more reports, each with an allotted time slot, including a slot specifically for student government. LPCSG members are unable to attend academic senate meetings due to concurrent meeting times.
“It was unfortunate,” said academic senate President Ashley Young. “It’s always good to get student voice(s). … Our motto at Las Positas is ‘Students first.’ It’s really important to find out what the students want and what they think.”
Both the academic senate and the student government assist in influencing large decisions regarding the college district.
“The district will have some board policies that it is updating,” Young said. “(The district) will send those updates to us so that we can share them at our meeting, and then people can take them back to their divisions and get feedback from their faculty. … We can kind of gather that information, then take it back up to the district.”
Student government receives materials and feedback from the academic senate regarding district proposals. The LPCSG, like the academic senate, discusses resolutions, policies and other changes.
When the academic senate puts together resolutions, according to Young, it “send(s) (resolutions) off to the student senate and the classified senate so they can look at (them).” Any changes made are sent back to the academic senate.
While the academic senate is neither directly influenced nor elected by students, its decisions do affect students. Young explained that the academic senate intends to make decisions in the best interests of LPC students.
“We always want to hear student voices or opinions,” Young said. “They are the reason we’re here.”
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TOP PHOTO: LPC Student Government President and Vice President incumbents pose for a photoshoot special to The Express, April 23, 2025. Naomi Mangini is President and Arya Ferozy is the Vice President. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Musa Ashraf is the News Editor for The Express. Follow him on X, @MusaZash.
