On Oct. 28, Mt. SAC President Martha Garcia hosted a forum that gave the campus community progress updates on several solutions to student safety such as the new Student Safety Ambassador program.

The student ambassador program as explained by Shannon Carter, the Associate Vice President of Administrative Services, is a program created so that students can “assist in providing visibility for other students in cases of emergency.”

Along with implementing Mt. SAC’s newfound student safety motto, “See something, Say something,” the student ambassadors would also help guide students around the campus.

“So when [students] see them with their blue vests and they have questions or concerns, our student ambassadors are there to help guide them because we have such a large campus,” Carter said. “But also if they have any sort of concerns, like if they see a hazard, if they see a light bulb is out or something is happening in their classroom.”

Currently, the program has 12 student safety ambassadors with many more undergoing training. These ambassadors have undergone a training plan that includes sexual harassment training, student worker orientation, building evacuation and procedures for student safety ambassadors.

Security cameras as well as a mass alert system have also been installed into the building 26A-D complex, which was promised in the spring 2024 campus safety forum.

Another promise was to install more LED lighting on campus, which was completed in the library, buildings 26A-D, 60 and 61. The light installation in building 2t that was announced is also said to be in progress.

The new Police and Campus Safety Chief Kelli Florman of three months also presented at the forum, showcasing a new website for her department. She highlighted the feedback form on the website, where anyone in the campus community can offer suggestions and complaints online to the campus safety department.

Florman was also asked by a student who said she was sexually assaulted on Mt. SAC’s campus last year on if there are any female cops on the force. After being assaulted, the student said she felt like she wanted to turn to a female cop as it would be more comfortable. She asked if there were any plans on adding more women officers.

Carter said there are four female student safety ambassadors and Florman said there are three public safety officers who are women, one of whom works the night shift. The chief also said her department could do a better job in the recruitment process.

“As we hire in future, we could do a better job of being intentional about recruiting not only females, but recruiting new employees from underserved communities in order to get them to apply,” Florman said.

Another issue brought up was Mt. SAC’s budget as the freshly installed surveillance and alerting system in building 26 were expensive, compounding with faculty rallying for a cost of living adjustment wage increase and ongoing construction deficits.

Garcia explained that the large construction projects are separate from the budget as they are paid for by bonds from the community rather than out of the college’s wallet. With faculty, the president promised there will be more qualified faculty that will be hired and ensures that the college will sustain faculty positions despite budget cuts.

The forum also presented resources that Mt. SAC offers, one of which is the Behavioral Health Services at Mt. SAC. This department offers a short-term mental health counseling session with a licensed therapist that would give therapy sessions.

“It’s important for students to know that those resources are available and it’s also important for students to be aware that you are paying a student fee that provides support or covers the cost for health care services that are available,” Garcia said.

This president’s forum is one of many to come, as it touched on campus safety, programs for students and fielded questions with an open microphone to the campus community. Garcia said she is committed to holding these once every semester.