November 9, 2020
To College Assembly and Councils, and Members of the Bellevue College Community:
Statement from Emmanuel Tshimanga, 2020-2021 ASG Vice President
The time has come to put the 2020-2021 Services and Activities Fee Allocation process behind us and actually focus on what can be done to be able to best serve students during these difficult and uncertain times.
It is with sadness and disappointment I realize that some BC faculty and staff are engaging in a fight that I personally believe is motivated by their desire to gain power, show off their personality and showcase their willingness to force their views on other people.
I want to remind Bellevue College faculty and staff that the Associated Student Government welcomes any constructive feedback that will help us move forward and focus on helping students.
Some faculty and staff are engaging in practices that aim to deter us from focusing on what is important to our constituents by making everything about these individual faculty and staff members. It is important to remind them that students remain at the center of the S&A process. This is not an opportunity to bully students or take away their voice and representation.
This attempt to bully students has been going on for a while and it is taking a toll on our ability to focus on our priorities. We are advising these individuals to move on because we are standing behind the decisions made by the previous ASG and the 20-21 S&A Committee.
We understand the role many of you play in leading/managing programs so that our fellow students can have a great experience at BC. But, this is not about you all, it is about us and our fellow students – and it is clearly described in the RCWs.
Stop trying to create division among students by giving a wrong picture of the situation to your students to get them fired up. We believe that we can be stronger together. We encourage our fellow students to reach out and provide their feedback.
It is very disappointing to see these teachers behave this way. BC faculty are the ones we look up to in the classroom – but they are also the ones engaging in practices that diminish their students, such as name-calling, falsehoods, accusations and baseless allegations of wrong-doing and many other things that impact us negatively.
This behavior by this group of faculty and staff is not inclusive, and it is not supporting students.
It is completely inappropriate, and it has to stop. Our priorities remain to enrich the students’ experience at Bellevue College.
Emmanuel Tshimanga, ASG Vice President
Statement from the Associated Student Government of Bellevue College Board of Directors
The 2020-2021 ASG will continue to stand behind last year’s S&A Committee and ASG decisions.
If you are getting feedback that a request was not compliant with RCW 28B.15.045 – S&A Fees, then it is the applicant’s responsibility to re-read the Killian Guidelines, Financial Code, the Services and Activities (S+A) Fee Use – Compliance and Guidance and RCWs from last year and figure out which sections were misunderstood.
The ASG Financial Code, Constitution and Bylaws, Killian Document and Services and Activities (S+A) Fee Use – Compliance and Guidance were all elaborated on, written carefully, and provided for everyone. All these documents clearly state how you can and cannot use S&A funds (student money). So, if you have misunderstandings about what is legal and illegal regarding funding procedures, it is your responsibility to seek clarification from the current ASG and from the BC administrators who put together the Services and Activities (S+A) Fee Use – Compliance and Guidance document.
The 2019-2020 ASG’s decisions WERE appropriate and WILL NOT be overruled for “lack of better term” because the guidelines and laws are in fact very clear:
Even if a request is compliant with all guidelines and laws, the students on the Committee and the ASG have the right to decide how the money should be spent, and can choose NOT to fund any program.
The 2020-2021 ASG officers would recommend for you all to move on professionally from this point, take responsibility for mistakes made, and continue moving forward (NOT backwards) for the sake of improving student life at Bellevue College.
Our team is also working on revising and updating the Financial Code so we will have a more current version on our ASG website as soon as we can.
However, we want to make sure that this is clear to every individual at BC: ASG Officers serve their fellow students, not faculty or staff.
Faculty and staff interference in ASG matters is not welcome at BC and will not be tolerated. It is time for these individuals to take a professional stance and proceed with removing themselves from ASG and student matters over which they have no authority or control.
If there are still any issues or concerns, contact ASG Officers directly. We are happy to schedule a time to meet with anyone who has questions or concerns regarding ASG matters.
Best Regards,
The ASG Officers for AY 2020-21
Ki Ahn, President
Emmanuel Tshimanga, Vice President
Nam Nguyen, Treasurer
Quan Nghiem, Legislative Affairs Representative
Philippine Tembo, Emerging Tech Representative
Gia Lang, Social Responsibility Representative
Theint Thu, Public Relations Representative
Jordan Selemani, Secretary
