A new year means new challenges and new goals for the Associated Student Government of Fresno City College. After lackluster participation during last semester’s election, the new group, led by new President Edward James, has high expectations of what they can achieve.

“What we have to focus on isn’t building a legacy, it’s building a framework that can build a legacy,” said James.

One of the pillars of that framework will be building awareness of ASG events and keeping an open line of communication with the student body.

“Every senator and executive board member sits in classes,” said James, “so you need to get up in front of those classes and make sure that everyone knows what is going on on campus.”

The school already has a lot of great resources for students, such as the library, Ram Slam and the Employment Resource Center.

“We have to make sure that people know what is here on this campus for them. It’s not that Fresno City doesn’t offer things for student success,” said James, “it’s that the general student may not know about it.”

Another plan for the 2013-1014 academic year is to start the long-discussed plan for designated smoking areas.

“We will be implementing the designated smoking areas,” said James. “It’s a great project and the logistics are done. Now, all we have to do is put it in place.”

Other plans range from creating meaningful communication between the on campus clubs to making sure events like Ram Slam never end.

“We are going to be working with the library a lot this year, they want to know how they can better utilize that space to help students,” said James. “We [also] want to work on institutionalizing Ram Slam to make sure that we always have that final exam assistance that can be so helpful.”

Many of these goals are things that are continuations from the spring semester, when a lot of the goals were not met.

This year’s new members have their work cut out for them, and only time will tell if they will be able to stand up to the challenge.

“We are an entirely new group, just a couple of people turning over from last year and we are still going through applications. And I have no doubt that we will be able to build a great team that the student body will be proud of,” James said.

The “entirely new group” is still not complete, so for the near future ASG will continue its search for more senators.

“We are still looking for new members and going through the applications that we have gotten already,” said Executive Vice-President David Manyvahn. “There will be times when have to patch things up until we find people to fill up the gaps that we have right now.”

With only 10 out of a maximum of 21 senators, ASG is encouraging the student body to become involved in the organization.

“This is something to serve the students,” said Manyvahn. “We are the voice of the students, and you should be ready to be that voice.”