DASG hosted the first round of internal elections for committee positions on the academic senate Wednesday, April 19. 

The De Anza Student Government election was open to public viewing, but only sitting senate members could vote for candidates. The positions up for election were part of the senate’s internal working groups, including finance and program committees.

During the meeting, candidates for each position were asked to give a two minute personal statement to speak to their qualifications as listed on their  application. 

Election candidate Ian Ang, 20, computer science major, said he was nervous running for the first time, but believes his past involvement will help him in the election.

“It was nerve-racking as I’ve never run for an election before, so even planning my opening statement was a challenge,” Ang said. “The fact that I had to run against three other amazing candidates didn’t help the jitters either. However, at the same time, I was also pretty confident that my experience with the Flea Market will bring value to DASG.”

After candidate introductions, the floor was open for a 10 minute question-and-answer segment. Senators asked the prospective candidates to respond extemporaneously about their field-specific experience.

Once all the questions had been asked and answered, the candidates were asked to leave the room while the senate voted on each position.

Amy Huang, 24, a business tri-major and current sitting president of DASG, said the qualifications of the candidates made the election a difficult decision.

“This is our first time having internal elections, and I’m more than happy with the outcome,” Huang said. “All the candidates are so qualified and (the) senate had an extremely hard time making decisions.” 

With this new system in place, Huang said, “This internal elections system may take a bit more time, but I find it deeply meaningful that we are able to vet through applications and select the best leaders going into the next year.”

Results from week one of internal elections:

Chair of Finance: Nicholas Turangan 

Budget Analysts: Benjamin Furugganan, Aaron Mundanilkunathil and Kate Wang 

Flea Market Liaisons: Ian Ang and Jannah Sheriff 

Events Coordinators: Leondre Lee and Reeya Randhawa 

Environmental Sustainability Coordinator: Adrian Sedgwick