Student Senate for California Community Colleges Executive Director Julie Adams removed Region IV Regional Affairs Director Vivek Sharma from his position before its Board of Directors meeting on March 26 in Burlingame.
The senate, which represents California’s 116 community college student governments and 1.8 million students, oversees a $3.2 million budget, backs statewide legislation and informs the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office’s priorities.
Vivek Sharma, Evergreen Valley College economics major, oversaw the senate’s fourth of 10 regions, which encompasses Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, along with Ohlone College in southern Alameda County.
Adams, who is also the senate’s elections chair, said she removed Sharma “in consultation” with the student senate president, Jerry Reyes, Reedley College business administration major. However, Adams said she did “not need the board’s authority to make that removal.”
Adams said she removed Sharma over improper campaign conduct from last October’s election. As a former director, Sharma had access to delegate emails; Adams said this meant he could campaign more thoroughly than other candidates.
The executive director brought Sharma’s removal as an information and discussion item, so the board could not affirm or reverse Adams’ decision.
“We (Reyes and I) brought it forward because we felt that it’s important for you (student directors) to know and understand the process,” Adams said during the meeting. “Every time there is a removal, as elections chair, I am always the one to be accused of having a heavy hand. You all created the process.”
Reyes did not hear public comment on Sharma’s removal while the board discussed it. The public could only comment at the start of the meeting, separated from the board’s business agenda by a half hour of reports under “special orders.”
Sharma wrote to La Voz over Discord that “there isn’t a single policy or mechanism for Julie (Adams) to remove me, a board member, just like that.”
“The bylaws require a hearing with the election committee or a vote by the board. None of that happened,” Sharma wrote. “Julie (Adams) violated our bylaws, disregarded all the policies and removed me on a whim.”
Regional Affairs Director II Kevin Hill, Sierra College computer science and Allied Health major, said the election process outside of the senate’s annual general assembly was “not very clear” since the bylaws did not bar Sharma from campaigning before his region’s October election.
Despite directors’ easy email database access, candidates could still search for regional delegates’ emails. However, different student governments have different email policies.
Some student governments, such as De Anza Student Government, list senators’ emails on their websites, while some others, such as the Associated Students of Skyline College and Mission College Associated Student Government, do not.
Vice President of Regional Affairs and Fresno State political science student Cody Jarvis said while he agreed with Adams’ decision, her power to unilaterally remove directors didn’t sit well with him.
“Going forward, when we eventually have a new executive director … the board should have the say to remove (directors),” Jarvis said. “We (should) put a statute of limitations, … and after that time has expired, we don’t hear out that complaint.”
Regional Affairs Director VII Destiny McLemore, Los Angeles Trade Technical College social justice major, said Adams failed to redact Sharma’s personal phone number and personal email address, publicizing his private information on the internet.
“It was open for the public (to see),” McLemore said. “I wouldn’t want my phone number printed out.”
As of April 15, Adams and the board have not redacted Sharma’s email or phone number.
Regional Affairs Director X Yonatan “Yogi” Hernandez, San Diego City College engineering and journalism major, called Sharma’s emails to delegates “very serious” and said he was “manipulating his own people” for a “negative agenda.”
“For someone to manipulate the system and misuse (contact information), regardless of the time frame, is very disturbing,” Hernandez said. “As a board, we shouldn’t be acknowledging that kind of behavior. I didn’t accept this conversation about this process.”
One of Sharma’s competitors last October, Legislative Affairs Director IV Wesley Marshall, Ohlone College student with over 10 degrees, said that although a majority of the information Sharma had wasn’t confidential or private, he still felt at a disadvantaged.
“I could have searched it (contact information) up myself by going to each individual college,” Marshall said. “But for someone with that access, (if) you go to the master spreads (of student senate delegate contact information), you can get that in two seconds.”
The region elected new officers for the 2026-27 academic year at its March 28 delegate meeting, also in Burlingame. Region IV vice chair DJ William, dual enrolled Gavilan College student, will fill the vacancy at the board’s April 17 meeting.
