Following elections held last week, Bellevue College Associated Student Government has two new leaders: President Yasmin Hassan and Vice President Nathan Levin.
“I plan on being the best I can be and listen to the students’ concerns and act on it within the best of my abilities,” said Hassan about her plans for her role as ASG president. Hassan emphasized student input when making her decisions about issues. “I have to listen to what the students want and I can’t step forth my own agenda,” she added. “I’m hoping to ask around campus and hold surveys and talk to students.”
Hassan enrolled in Bellevue College as a Running Start high school student, and after graduating from high school in June 2018, she decided to continue at Bellevue College to pursue her transfer degree. Last year Hassan got truly involved in Bellevue College and became a part of a community that she had not been a part of before, she said. Becoming the vice president of the Arabic Culture Student Association and a member of the Black Student Union, African Student Association, and Muslim Student Association “really opened me up in what it means to be a leader and a follower,” said Hassan.
In her candidate profile, Hassan said she hopes to bring forth the voice of unrepresented students and said she believes the most pressing problems facing students are not feeling heard and feeling excluded. She wants Bellevue College to be a place where everyone feels included and united.
Hassan is studying English and education to pursue a career as a middle school teacher. In her role as ASG president, she is responsible for leading and guiding the ASG and representing the best interests of Bellevue College students as a whole, while also representing school staff. She said she is eager to learn what students’ top issues are for her to pursue.
Hassan faced Dat Do, Saghar Rasoulamini and Mingzhen Wu for the position of president.
Levin said he wanted to be the vice president because he cares about the student voice. “I believe that we deserve high standards,” he wrote in his candidate profile. He also cited student parking and food quality in the cafeteria as top student issues.
“I have listened to the concerns of the students in the organizations I have been involved with,” he wrote in his candidate profile. “I want your voice to make the most impact this year. We are a powerful team, and together, we can make this year our year. The year of the student’s needs.”
Levin has attended Bellevue College for four years, according to his candidate profile.
Levin faced Joseph Magd for the role of vice president.
New ASG officers are elected every spring quarter, and every student in Bellevue College has the right to cast their vote for the next ASG officers, according to the Bellevue College ASG official website.
The Associated Students of Bellevue College comprises all Bellevue College students. Through the association, all students have a voice “to assure that student issues and concerns are heard,” according to the ASG website.