DASB Senate coalitions combat

Janellah Zamora, Staff Writer

With the 2014-2015 school year coming to an end, the DASB election coalitions are running to fill the positions available for the 2015-2016 term.

The coalitions, BRAVE and SHIFT, have distinct aspirations for the student body on the De Anza College campus.

BRAVE stands for Boldly Representing and Advocating for Values of Empowerment.

If elected, the BRAVE candidates propose to make programs at De Anza inclusive to all students, unify the senate and De Anza’s student body and stand for equity, diversity and justice on campus.

“We will continuously fight for students and we will never give up on them,” said vice president candidate Naeema Kaleem of BRAVE. “We really advocate for accessibility and unification for all programs and services on campus.”

BRAVE created fliers, postcards, posters and buttons to promote their coalition.

The SHIFT coalition has three main principles: innovation, integration and initiation. SHIFT’s central focus is to help programs at De Anza represent a larger majority of students.

“We want to shift the way the senate operates to a more modern, transparent and progressive system that encourages innovation rather than keeping the status quo,” said vice president candidate Thy Doan.

SHIFT is using multimedia extensively in its campaign, Doan said.

Although running against BRAVE, Doan said she does not doubt their talent and commitment to the senate.

“However, we do believe that our coalition represents a new era for De Anza,” Doan said. “SHIFT has an innovative vision of what the senate ought to be and will be a catalyst for positive change on campus.”

Kaleem said that students from both coalitions want a friendly campaign because after the election results are posted, they are going to continue working together for the rest of the 2014-2015 school year.

This may be a campaign against each other but members from BRAVE and SHIFT share a similar vision— to aid all De Anza students to the best of their ability.

Both coalitions have been working to create an educational environment that benefits the student body. Students may cast their votes through MyPortal.

Voting begins May 18 and ends May 22.