Cuesta College’s student body president, Lindsay Bachman, reflected on her time in office and discussed the upcoming Fall 2020 ASCC Election.

The Cuesta College spring semester elections began on March 24 for the position of Associated Student Social Club (ASCC) President/Student Trustee and Vice-President. The yearly student government elections will have the candidates campaigning for one month, with three-day online voting beginning Monday, April 20, and ending on Wednesday, April 22, at 4 p.m. The results will be posted by Student Life and Leadership staff online.

Despite the current campus closure due to COVID-19, there will still be elections. The ASCC is working on setting up an online voting platform and has extended the deadline for student officer applications. 

Students at Cuesta College will have the opportunity to vote for who they feel is the most qualified candidate to represent them during the 2020-2021 academic year. 

“To be ASCC President is something you really can’t prepare for,” Bachman said. “You have to hop into the position and just do it.

“It takes time management,” Bachman continued. “It’s being mindful of all students when you’re making decisions and when you’re showing up on campus. That comes down to what do we have the power to influence as ASCC and then also how can we exceed those changes.”

Bachman’s first introduction to student government was in sixth grade. She continued her pursuit of student government in junior high school, serving as vice president. According to Bachman, she was a natural for student politics and there was no particular incident that inspired her to run for any of her past and current positions.

Bachman emphasized that when she sees something that needs to be done or fixed, she is naturally drawn to it. That is exactly how Bachman has approached her presidency over the last year at Cuesta College. 

“I would love to hear from students and see if they see any difference,” Bachman said. “If they haven’t, then how can we make a better chance in the future with other presidents moving forward.”

With the position comes challenges that are met with lessons, which Bachman believes will be beneficial in the future. One of the most difficult parts of the job is managing the maintenance of the position, while at the same time managing your colleagues during times of interaction throughout the term. 

“Being present with them [colleagues] is not a duty, but it’s of utmost importance,” Bachman said.

Bachman wasn’t born in San Luis Obispo, but has many roots in the area since her mother moved here when she was a junior in high school. It was those roots that prompted her to make the transition to living here full time and attend Cuesta College. 

Bachman said it only made sense that the Central Coast would be the place for her to begin pursuing her education. She first found Cuesta College in 2016 while pursuing a pre-law degree, and now has switched over to pre-med.  

“I came to SLO to recover,” Bachman said. “My whole platform in life is on quality and this area is a great depiction of that. We all have this quality of living that we strive for, SLO enables people like us to do that.”  

Bachman is referring to the environment of the Central Coast and what it has to offer the community, like hiking and surfing, which she admits are some of her favorite outdoor activities outside of school. She goes on to explain how she feels community colleges are a great way to explore and feel out possible career choices.   

“Cuesta College has been a great stepping stone for me and has given me the opportunity to dig a little deeper and truly find what I want to do and then exercise that and be confident in the next stage of my development which is a university,” Bachman said.   

As Bachman’s term comes to an end, she describes herself as a catalyst of equality for both the student government and the campus as a whole. She takes pride in implementing change and starting extremely difficult conversations that nobody wants to have, like student suicide.  

“And I say catalyst because I came in kind of hard with those things and talked a lot about those things with the administration, with students and brought awareness to it,” Bachman said.  

Her journey as an ASCC student president may be coming to an end, but Bachman realizes that life presents new opportunities and open doors.  She is very excited to see what the future holds. Leaving behind a positive presence, and igniting a voice in other students to become involved in student government to make a difference, is the legacy she hopes to leave behind.

Michael Costa contributed to this story.