Earlier this month, San Diego State’s new Associated Students executive board and officers began their summer-long training to take over the million-dollar corporation.
“Think of it (A.S.) like a company that changes its executive board every year,” A.S. Executive Director Christina Brown said. “In only a few months these students, many of whom have never worked for A.S., will be tasked with running a complex organization vital to the SDSU community.”
Summer offers Brown’s team a window to build up the school’s new student leaders through several lengthy training programs that will teach the new recruits about the inner workings of A.S. as well as basic office skills.
“At the end last semester most of the training was conducted by the old executives,” incoming A.S. Vice President of Financial Affairs Alex Padua said. “Our training over the summer has been focused on more of the daily stuff you have to deal with.”
Last week, Padua and the other executives were given a workshop on how handle disciplinary action towards other A.S. representatives. They also had to complete a course on workplace sexual harassment.
“Though a lot of it seems mundane, it’s important that the officers are trained in these areas so we can maintain a healthy culture in A.S.,” Brown said.
Currently the A.S.’s third floor office in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union is flooded with boxes as the new staff have begun to move in. Last year’s A.S. Officers vacated their offices shortly before graduation.
“There’s always an eerie lack of commotion around the office during the first week or so of the summer,” A.S. Programs Coordinator Daphney Bitanga said.
Though the full training of the A.S. officers will not be complete until shortly before the fall semester, the A.S. corporation continues to go along with daily operations.
“A good-sized portion of the staff overseen by A.S. are not students, so the corporation keeps its day-to-day functions running throughout the transition,” Brown said.
According to Brown the new A.S. officers generally begin to take on the full capacity of their position around midsummer, giving them some wiggle room if any staffing issues arise.
Some of the staff positions still remain vacant at this point in the summer but Brown said that most are minor offices that are usually easily filled during the fall semester.
