the crier podcast 3

The podcast episode is an interview with Jalon, the current Student Association trustee at Corning Community College. They discuss the importance of student government and its role in supporting and giving a voice to students. Jalon explains his goals and how being in student government has allowed him to learn about the inner workings of the college and be involved in problem-solving. They also discuss the upcoming student government elections and the requirements to run for a position. Additionally, they mention the Red Baron Leadership Academy, which helps students develop their leadership skills. Lastly, they touch on the possibility of reforming the Senate in the future. Good afternoon, Red Barons. Welcome back to the Crier Podcast. My name is Joshua Doneskos, and I am your editor-in-chief. I also have next to me, once again, the great Frank McDowell, our producer. Good morning, everyone. So, we have a very special podcast. It's probably one of our first special podcasts, because it's going to be an interview. One of the most important things that I can think of is student government. I've been in student government before in my previous colleges, and it's always been fun. It's always been a very interesting learning experience, and I would like to use this podcast to get the word out of how fun it can be, how interesting it can be, but also how useful it can be. So, I have next to me our current Student Association trustee, Jalon, and he's going to introduce himself. How are you guys doing? This is your boy, Jay, or Jalon Warner. So, giving a little overview of myself. With it, I came back to school after not being in school since, like, 2016 or so. So, I am an adult learner or an untraditional student. Also with it, I came into CCC with a program of financial accounting management and business administration. My goals for it is actually to be able to open up my own businesses and also understand the financial world, structure, and language further down the road. Awesome. Yeah, I know. So, that sounds pretty much like every nontraditional student has that similar goal, maybe not opening up their own business, but just getting into a new career. So, we're all there. I definitely feel you, because I myself am a nontraditional student. Really, how does Student Association fit in with your goals? So, with it, with me being the student trustee, there is, one, first and foremost, learning, like, kind of the back end, the backbones of how the college is kind of being ran in the sense that you wouldn't see. So, you have the movie to where you're seeing the face value of the movie, but you don't see all the backstage crew doing their things, the makeup crew. So, that's what trustee has allowed me to be able to do, is see how an organization is actually being able to function, the problems, the success, and the solutions. Fantastic. So, let's back it up, and let's talk about exactly, for Corning Community College, what is the Student Association? Student Association, that would be your student government. And with it, we're supposed to be not only the voice for students, which is kind of what the trustee does. It's not only being the voice, but it's also like a place where students, if they do have any ideas, comments, or concerns, they can actually be brought to light, even if it is events and sadness as well. So, if they wanted to have a bonfire or something like that, we could be able to create that to happen. Any issues that comes about, that's what student government is probably here for. Wow, that's absolutely epic. I never would have imagined having a body of students going out for other students like that and really supporting the campus, which is what I'm hearing. That's what it's all about, is supporting the student body, giving a voice to the student body, because we need that. Sometimes we may feel unheard and unseen. You don't want to feel like a money pot to the school. You want to feel cared for. And it really helps that you have faculty and fellow students who are willing to be that bridge and provide that support and care. I really, really enjoy that. Yeah, and even with that, with a lot of that, with that feeling too, a lot of people, they end up kind of brushing it to the side, you know what I'm saying, to where now it's almost like a silent suffering. Because also they may not be as vocal about it. So even having somebody to go to and then with it, they can address the issue and also get the connections to be able to really push forward, that is a beautiful thing. I can't imagine a better person to be vocal. A little back story for our listeners. Jelan is a friend of a coworker. He just randomly comes in asking about a wine tasting. And I'm a Somali, as you heard, and I go through this, and I probably ignored my tables on accident just talking to you for like an hour. So we just, you know, if there's one thing I can say about you, you have a gift for speaking, and I think you speak very well. I really appreciate that. So I can imagine that you're an effective voice for us. So I really appreciate the work that you do. And speaking of the work, we do have some upcoming projects. Now the first thing we've got to talk about is the most important, is the elections. So we have some people out there who are right now who are maybe earlier in their college career, and they're wanting to serve on the student association. In fact, after I met with you earlier today, a gentleman who was running for trustee came up and asked me for my signature, and I thought that was kind of funny. And I gladly signed it for him, and I hope that he listens to this. I hope that you listen to this and take a lot from it because it is a very important position. So let's talk about the elections themselves, when they're taking place, and what it takes to be elected. Yes, sir. So with it, actually the student government this week, we're ending in the 22nd of March, and then going into next week, which will be ending in the 29th of March, we actually have three different time periods where we'll be tabling, also to give additional information about the elections, also giving out the election packets. You're going to table, you're going to be out there giving out information to students who are interested, and you have packets for that, which explains everything. Yes. So with it, in that packet, it kind of gives you an overview on your requirements. So with one of them is keeping a good standing grade point average. Your GPA has to be above a 2.0. So that is definitely a requirement. Then also, with taking the role that you would be put in the sentence, you would also. . . So 2.0 grade point average, and with it you need to have 50 signatures, right? There is the 50 signatures, and then there's also the letter of intent. And so how I would see the letter of intent is, what would you want to be able to give while you're in the student government in whichever position you're looking at? And also, what would you be able to gain for yourself personally on your growth? So, for instance, we're even talking about a student trustee and presidents and all in the other positions. And with this, what part of yourself can definitely expand off of any of those? Yes, I can imagine that with any of these positions. So if you're a finance person, you might benefit from being a treasurer. Exactly. Or if you are wanting to do HR stuff or you want to lead activities, coordinator sounds really great. But really, it sounds like it is a crucible almost. It's a place to learn leadership. Yes, sir. I agree. And don't you have leadership academy stuff? Don't you guys have lessons or something like that? So with it, that is also with the clubs as well, but student government with each of us being leaders. Once a month, there is the RBLA. RBLA is the Red Baron Leadership Academy, which also allows not only to hone in on your leadership skills, but also I've realized too is they understand the relationship within yourself. Because what I got out of it is how could you lead others if you can't even lead yourself? That is a fantastic idea. I've heard that in many different ways, but that's the theme of leadership. First, you got to start with yourself. You got to be able to lead yourself. Then you can start to lead others. I've taken several leadership courses, and I would be very interested just as a student to take the leadership academy. But really, if you want to become a better leader, you want to be a better student, better at anything, especially at your job, then this is a good opportunity to really get into the nitty-gritty of leadership. Because it's going to take some ingenuity. It's going to take effort. It's going to take imagination. It definitely is not the easiest task to lead. You can manage someone. You can run numbers, crunch numbers, and cut where you need to cut, expand where you need to expand. But leadership is about being that person that has an idea and has the vision, has the drive to get to the goal. It's not always about numbers. It's about motivation, and it's about being the bridge, being the vehicle for change, whatever that is. It could be speaking up for a student body. It could be having a new event, and that's change. It could be a change in leadership, and you have to be able to navigate those things with grace and effectiveness. And even with what you were speaking on, it reminds me of a statement that I've heard, is there is a difference between being a boss and being a leader. A boss will tell you what to do, and with it, they just want the results to be done. A leader will help you figure it out. Yeah. As a president or vice president or trustee, you're here to help the student body and faculty, but along with faculty, to figure it out. Why are we here? What are we doing? Where are we going? And that's basically what leaders are going to do. So Corning Community College leaders, they're the guys who figure it out. That's great, and I'm glad that you're one of them. So I hope that those who are listening who are interested in becoming leaders, that you have that same mentality, because I think that's the best mentality you can have, is I'm going to be the guy to figure it all out. So the next thing we're going to talk about is a possibility. So if you are currently unable to be elected, there could one day be a reforming of the Senate. So this is just a general idea. This is not a guarantee. It might not happen, but it is something that we can make happen if we had the drive to do so. And so in the past, we've had a Senate. We've had a body of students along with Student Association or part of Student Association that were essentially liaisons. It would be very awesome if we could have a small body of students who are the liaisons between clubs and programs and helping in various ways. In your mind, a Senate would look like and how it would benefit to have more students in Student Association, maybe not as officers, but certainly as senators? First and foremost, I want to say that this is just an idea. Yeah, absolutely, just an idea. This is definitely just an idea. But even with it, how I would see it is like if you did run for student government and didn't get elected, or even with it, you are not interested in running for student government, what I would see is like a Senate or the House of Representatives is like practically you are going to be able to address issues within like I guess your group of people or your category that you feel like is being neglected in a sense. For instance, it's not just limited, it's generally either male or women. Having like a woman or a male representative or even a non-binary representative, that could be one. Even another one could be athletes, which is a whole different group. It's not limited to just that. Also, there could be a commuters and Perry Hall representative to be able to speak on those things, even adult learners, traditional, you know what I'm saying? So it could be just about any, even if it was to be different ethnicities. You would be able to come in and be able to vocalize for almost like advocating for the people that, you know, closely connect and associate with you. I wouldn't say that it would be like exactly a board position, but you would be able to definitely vocalize any ideas, comments, concerns, questions, etc. That sounds like a great idea. To be honest with you, it would be very difficult for five people to take on that role of trying to advocate for absolutely every category. So it's always nice to have that one person speaking for a particular category, should they wish to have one representative in the Senate, and then be able to hash out ideas and disseminate ideas and changes that are necessary to be made. So I think that would be a great purpose for a Senate. And I think we should work on starting that up. I mean, it only takes a few people to start a Senate. There are no hard and fast rules, but it would be very smart to have, you know, if you feel like you would like to speak on half of who you want to speak for. So for me, let's say I wanted to speak on behalf of nontraditional students, and I become that liaison, that guy. And every time there's an issue or concern, or maybe you want to see some type of change with the nontraditional students, then I would be responsible, and yes, it is a responsibility, responsible for getting those ideas to the Student Association, and then those ideas are circulated and percolated, and then a solution, if there is one, is implemented. Well, see, even with it as well, I am a commuter. So I'm not going to be informed as much as the struggles of, like I said, being in Perry Hall, and also maybe not having a license on what may be going on, you know what I'm saying? So even like for somebody to represent and vocalize that stuff for the Perry Hall, you know, people, that's addressing stuff that even you and I wouldn't know about. You know, it can be fascinating to us because we wouldn't know. Even another thing, too, is even if you are a Perry Hall student, you may, like you said, not be an athlete. So there's even going on breaks, going on trips to Saddnax, and with it, if they have a meet or something like that, then they have to be on campus or be around in a sense, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. These are stuff that if you're not in those categories, you wouldn't know much about. Excellent. So let us do something for you guys. I'm more than happy to be the, I guess, the liaison or the person who would be speaking on behalf of this idea, because I like this idea, to the student body. If you are interested in being a part of a senate to have your various categories represented among student association members, feel free to reach out to the crier. And if we get enough interest, we could potentially see where that could go, and I could help being a project manager for something like that. And I know we don't have a lot of time left in the semester. This is more of like a long-term project. This can't happen overnight. But I'm more than happy to be a go-to person for this particular idea and project and see just where it goes. So if you have any interest whatsoever, email the crier. I'm the one who takes care of it. I will be seeing and responding to your emails. And if I get enough interest, I will let this trustee absolutely know. Yes, sir. So let's move on to the next biggest important project student government has, and that is prom. I had no idea that you could have a prom at a two-year college. So let's talk about it. What's prom all about? Prom, this is prom 2.0. Prom 2.0. Yes, sir, because we already went to prom when we were in high school, you know what I'm saying? So this is prom 2.0. This is actually going to be April 12th. And with it, the theme is going to be like Met Gala or like red carpet theme, you know what I'm saying? So with it, even your boy, student trustee, your boy Jay, you can trust me. I'm going to be over there, and I'm going to be doing interviews for all the fabulous outfits I see out there, all the stunning, you know, people, you know what I'm saying? The cutest couples, you know what I'm saying? So with it, and even people having the most lit time, trust and believe, I'm going to want to interview you, too. So the red carpet interviews, and also we're even possibly going to have awards over there to give out to, you know, this, that, and next. Maybe even like a king, queen, maybe. Oh, prom queen or queen. Maybe even like different categories on some things. It's still in development. This is, you know. You've got two weeks to develop these things. Oh, right, right. And so with it, don't want to give too much information out, especially, you know. It's still in the works. It's still in the works on what's going to be going on. You said April 12th is prom. April 12th, and I believe it's going to be 7 to 11. 7 to 11. Yeah. That's a good time to have a prom, to be honest with you. I never actually went to high school prom. Really? Yeah, never. Well, I actually, I didn't go to junior prom, but I went to two senior proms. Nice. So I got invited over to the Horse Heads prom to sit next. And then with it, I asked my grandma how her prom experience was. And she told me she never went to prom. I said, I'm going to change that. So I took my grandma to my school's senior prom. Oh, fantastic. That is awesome. You know, my wife and I have learned how to dance. We know how to do some basic ballroom. Well, I mean, I got married. We did a whole choreographed dance for our first dance. It was very awesome. And then we took some ballroom lessons up at Full Person Winery through a Canandaigua teacher. It was absolutely fantastic. We actually won prom king and queen at the culminating event. So I will be there. I'll be at the prom. My wife will be there. We're not feeling too sick, obviously. It's still a couple weeks away. I mean, something is going on. It's crazy. I'll be there, and I already have my outfit, red velvet. Oh, man. I'm going to be dancing with you. You said you took lessons. I thought that was real soon. So I have to ask, because we took ballroom, we do a lot of slow dancing, we've done a little bit of salsa, and we've done a lot of jazz stuff, like swinging and foxtrot. I'm curious. Is there going to be a DJ there? Is there going to be a wide variety of music? What kind of music will be played? Can you give us a preview of the kind of dances we should learn before we go to prom? Hey, so we're just trying to have a good time. You know what I'm saying? And I want to say it's genre-specific. From what I understand, we are working on getting a DJ over there. And even with it, we're going to have food over there as well for people you know. I was going to give you my next question. You know we've got to eat. You know what I'm saying? And also, you'll be dancing like that, you know. I'm going to be thirsty. What kind of drinks? Are they going to be student-friendly drinks? Oh, yes. We're going to do student-friendly drinks. And we ain't going to be serving no, let's say, adult punches. Yeah, no punches. No adult punches. Man, it's true. It's going to be sweet tea, not twisted. Very well, very well. I can handle that. I can handle that. So, yeah. And even with the DJ, it wouldn't be just one genre. We can get any of the genres. All right. So that we can make requests. Because I have a few Frank Sinatra songs I like to dance to. So I definitely will be out there. I may join you for the interviewing. The crier would absolutely love to get in on hearing student perspective on the prom. Bring your friends. Bring family. And, of course, bring your significant others. And have a really good night on April 12th. And I will see you there. But we need to wrap this up. So, Jalon, thank you for coming out and speaking on behalf of Student Association. It is a wonderful thing that you are doing. It's a wonderful thing that you will eventually pass on to another student who will have the torch and responsibility of speaking on behalf of the student body. Which is, again, very important. As they're learning leadership skills, they'll learn empathy and compassion as well within that role. And being able to vocalize issues and much-needed changes at Corning Community College. It's a big responsibility. Any of these roles are big responsibilities. So take them seriously. And I wish all those who are trying for a position good luck. I'm more than happy to sign anybody's paper. With that, is there anything else? So, for a student that is interested, can they reach out to you? So, with it, there is the student government office that is downstairs in the Commons. And with it, it's like your first right if you're heading over to the game room. It's going to be that right. And then with it, you'll see the Baron Bear on the window. And that will be our office. There's also Student Life as well, if you have any information. Dacia, she is up there. She is kind of like our director or our advisor that helps us out with student government. So, for prom, where is that going to be located? So, with it, we would love it for it to be an outside event over by, like, the gym. I was told it's over by the gym. But also, if it becomes, depending on weather conditions, it might be the cafeteria lunchroom or even the gymnasium itself. It might be a tightly-packed house, but I think that will be fun. Great. I would love to have it outside, especially if the weather is nice and, with it, it's more spring. Oh, I hope so. I'm really tired of this cold weather. But I'm from North Carolina, so that makes sense. Anything else you want to say? Sign off on anything? Actually, I do want to mention something as well. As we were speaking on the Senate, speaking for the different groups representing this side and that side, there is a form that definitely could be used to be able to express what you have going on and what changes you would like to see. And that form happens every month. It is the saga. Yes, normally, like, clubs do come in and we do give our reports on what we are doing, what we have done, and what we are planning on doing. But with that form, that is where if you have something that you want to address, then they are able to take that and take it to whichever areas will be able to help with creating a solution on whichever places, whether it is a club, a faculty member. And the more that we do it, the more involvement is going to work on progressing the school. So you heard it here. Get your voices out there. Several fantastic routes to get your voices heard. I think that will conclude our podcast for today. There will be many more like this. We may have you back at some point in time, especially if there is something important to update us on. But other than that, I will close it out like I usually do. Be empowered, Red Barons. Be empowered. And have a great rest of your week.