Meet ASMHCC’s New Vice President

Image from mhcc.edu

The votes are in, and the new president and vice president of the Associated Students of Mount Hood Community College (ASMHCC) have been selected.

The winners announced on May 8 are no surprise, because just two candidates entered the race for those respective roles in 2024-25.

Alessandra (Dante) Sciarratta will be president, with Ty Brintnall serving as the student body government’s vice president. Their primary goal is to support the entire MHCC student body and ensure that the college administration fairly represents students.

Brintnall is studying computer science in his first year at Mt. Hood. He said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time at the college and is looking forward to what next year brings.

He joined the student government as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Representative last Winter Term, part of the Access and Diversity Council that focuses on ensuring that all students are equally represented and their needs are met.

Brintnall said he was drawn to run for the vice president position to convert “the voice from the student body and try to make a change for what they are advocating for.” The lesser time commitment of the VP position, compared to the president’s role, made it more appealing for him, he noted, adding he is excited to work under the direction and guidance of Sciarratta.

He identified two main problems, or challenges, within the college that ASMHCC wants to tackle. First is growing student engagement and the number of special events for students to help invigorate the campus.

The second problem many students have expressed frustration over is the chronic lack of food options. Brintnall said he hopes to further the work the ASMHCC has done this year in re-opening the Vista Dining Hall, located on the south side of the Academic Center’s Main Mall.

The biggest sticking point is “…the lack of staff in Riverview [Café],” he noted – operated by the same local restaurant charged with running the Vista food service. ASMHCC has been trying to increase the Riverview staff on campus and to grow their staff so that they can reopen the dining hall, he said.

This spring’s student government election season was plagued with both a minimal number of candidates and issues with properly informing and getting the word out to Mt. Hood students about running for an elected position.

With the new MHCC website being launched in March, right in the middle of the election cycle, it became difficult for students to learn more about the available positions and to run for election, Brintnall noted.

Even so, voter turnout increased from last year, with 306 students voting in this election cycle.

While the top two roles have been filled for next academic year, many non-elected positions in student government are still open. Brintnall said working in student government is a great way to meet new people and make many friends at a community college, where it can be hard to meet new people.

Anyone interested may email [email protected] to learn more.

Andrew Hull

Editor-in-Chief