Elections for Associated Students of College of the Desert for the 2025 – 2026 school year are now open. Students are able to vote online starting today, Monday, May 12, until Thursday May 15.

On Wednesday, May 7, The Chaparral put out a call on social media for candidates in the ASCOD election to submit a photo and more information about their campaign to be featured in this story. Below are the candidates who responded and some details about why they are running for student government.

Keith Prouty:

Keith Prouty is a second-year student running for ASCOD president. He currently holds the position of Student Senator. For Prouty, the ultimate goal of ASCOD is visibility. “Assisting the students in whatever they care about, advocating for things that are in the interest of the students whether they’re aware of it or not, and overall just improving student life, whatever that comes from,” he said. 

Prouty chose to run for president for a number of reasons. Typically, ASCOD members go from a senator position to an officer position before applying for president. Since Prouty is transferring next spring, he decided to take the jump from senator to president. He has built connections with the current president, and feels he has gotten a “peak behind the curtains” into what it means to be president that other ASCOD members might not have. “Since I’m not gonna be here that long, and I do want to make an impact and feel like I have a stable hand in how procedures work, a good mentality over making mistakes and getting things processed, and had a close connection to the past president to get a little insight on how it works deeply, I feel like I’m in a good position to fight for that and take on those responsibilities.” 

If elected, Prouty hopes to improve signage and involvement, elevate the status of community and to directly ask students and departments what they need or want to see.

“Voting for me specifically is beneficial to the students because I have experience, I’m knowledgeable about areas of improvement from my experience as a senator, I’m knowledgeable of how far to take those actions and what are the best commencements, I am able to hold myself accountable if I do make mistakes. If I do make mistakes I absolutely admit that is my mistake, I will improve on it. I am entirely all ears. Something that all of my fellow members inspire to be, as well as me, is someone who is completely able to just walk up to one of the buildings, talk to several students, go in, ask what are some things they want, and attempt the absolute best to execute that,” Prouty said. 

Jenitza Perez:

Jenitza Perez is a second-year student running for Officer of Communications. She currently holds the position of Independent Senator. To Perez, ASCOD is about bringing students’ visions and voices to fruition. “ASCOD, in my own words, is basically having the student voices and really preaching for what they want to see in the school, what they see in the future of COD, and honestly just bringing those things to life,” she said. 

If elected, Perez will focus on student engagement and raising awareness for events held on campus. “If I am elected, I am hoping to being more student involvement. There’s so many events happening on campus and those clubs put in money, effort, and time, so I just really want students to know and hear about those events and actually show up.” 

Perez encourages students to be involved and even join ASCOD. “ASCOD is open to anyone. Don’t believe that you can’t do enough or you’re not enough. Just try out for ASCOD because once you get in it, you never want to leave.” 

Kelly Dominguez:

Kelly Dominguez is a fourth-year student running for Independent Senator. He does not currently hold a position in ASCOD. Dominguez chose to run for Independent Senator because he is nearing the end of his time at College of the Desert but still wants to make a difference. “I feel that if I had two more years here at College of the Desert, I would’ve run for an executive position, but as I near the end of my journey here at College of the Desert, I figured, I could still represent the student body in a lesser capacity when it comes to responsibilities. But ultimately, when it comes to voting, every member of ASCOD’s vote is equal. Having less responsibility is actually going to allow me to engage more on campus activities and free up my time…I feel like that’s where I am gonna be more effective in being involved with campus resources. Not only on the main campus, but all the campuses throughout our Coachella Valley,” he said. 

If elected, Dominguez hopes to bring more involvement on Social Media. He recognizes that the younger generation of students is very involved online and wants to cater to that. “Something that I want to implement for ASCOD for the future is to create more social content where students can actually see where the resources are on our campus so they have a better idea of where they can go. It’s one thing to read about it on a flyer or a letter, it’s another thing to visually see something and recognize where it is.” 

Dominguez encourages students to vote, whether it be in the ASCOD election or something off-campus. “I encourage participation. I think it’s awesome that every single student has the ability to vote and I encourage everybody to participate in not only the upcoming election, but in any election on or off campus,” he said. 

Sarah Ghazawi:

Sarah Ghazawi is a first-year student running for Officer of Academic Affairs. She does not currently hold a position in ASCOD. To Ghazawi, the goal of ASCOD is to be a program that is for students and the improvement of student life. “ASCOD is the student government. It is by the students and for the students. ASCOD’s goal should always be to improve student life, programs, and academics,” she said. 

If elected, Ghazawi will prioritize students and encourage those who may be unsure as to what pursuing an education will look like for them. “As a first-generation student, I know how scary it is to pursue an education. If elected, I will ensure first-generation students have all of the resources and support they need to succeed. I will prioritize student issues and student life at COD.” 

Ghazawi encourages students to vote because voting is a way to give your voice a platform. “A vote for me is a vote for your student rights,” she said. 

Anyssa Tellez-Iniesta:

Anyssa Tellez-Iniesta is a second-year student running for Officer of Communications. She does not currently hold a position in ASCOD. To Tellez-Iniesta, ASCOD is the voice of our student body and should act in their best interest. “To me when I think of student government or in this case ASCOD, we are essentially the voice of our student body meaning that we make decisions with the best interest of the students,” she said. 

While campaigning, Tellez-Iniesta asked students if they felt that they were being truly heard by ASCOD. To her surprise, many said that they actually feel the opposite, and also felt they were not being properly informed about what is happening on campus. “That is exactly why I chose to run for Officer of Communications. It is a responsibility and duty to keep students informed through either social media presence, or through physical advertising such as flyers, posters, signs, banners, etc. I would like to, if elected, break down this barrier students feel with student government and develop easier, direct ways to access information on events and programs at COD,” she said. 

Tellez-Iniesta wants to put in the work to make sure every student is informed and is fairly considered for any opportunity on campus. “Every student has a voice no matter if you are part-time or full-time, STEM or Art Major, parent or not, no matter who you are, you have a voice, so LET IT BE HEARD!” 

Voting for ASCOD elections is entirely online this year. Students will have to log into SurveyMonkey with their full name and student ID to access the voting portal. To vote, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ASCOD2526. Voting closes at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.