San Francisco State University Associated Students’ board of directors was inaugurated on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in the Malcolm X Plaza and will serve as board members for the 2023-2024 school year.
The Associated Students board of directors serves as leaders in departments throughout SFSU. Board members have the power to be a voice for students and to help solve any issues regarding students on campus.
AS advocates for students locally and statewide through political advocacy, meeting and discussing with administration and helping students with programs and services that can aid them.
“It is an opportunity for our student government leaders to affirm their dedication to our SF State values and to the educational mission of our university,” said Jamillah Moore, the vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, during the inauguration event. “My only ask is that you [board members] learn from your experiences during your tenure and take those lessons into the world to be a voice for volunteerism, public service and activism.”
The board members were then officially inaugurated by taking an oath conducted by Moore. Members were sworn in to serve SF State students and present themselves in a manner that shows leadership within AS.
Following Moore, the new AS President, Ersa Rao, addressed the campus with her gratitude for what it means to be AS president for the upcoming school year. Rao was previously on the board of directors last year serving as the vice president of facilities and services.
“It’s amazing to feel that a lot of students trust you to make their voices heard,” Rao said. “We want [students] to feel like it’s home and have a healthy, strong, artistic environment and community.”
Rao’s role will be to oversee everything that happens on campus and also be a representative for SF State.
Iese Esera, Rao’s colleague who serves as the chief of staff and chair for AS, oversees the conduct, attendance and accountability for the entire board while also conducting all the meetings for the board members.
Meetings conducted by the AS board of directors are open to all students and occur every other Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez building.
“Being a part of this organization, we’re able to serve students through our programs,” Esera said. “Our top three goals are to strengthen the community, create a legislative agenda that we’re going to take to state and federal levels for advocacy such as D.C and Sacramento and also to talk about higher education policy in terms of underrepresented and marginalized communities.”
