September 14, 2015
Vol. 41, No. 1
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Take advantage of centers at CSUB CAMPUS
By David Kaplan Multimedia Editor
The different centers at the CSU Bakersfield campus offer many services to students that students are paying for when they pay their tuition. The more students know about these offers, the more they can take advantage of them. Some of these centers are showcasing new things this school year. For students who are new to CSUB or are not familiar with all of the services at CSUB here’s a look at what some of the major campus centers offer students.
Student Union The Student Union is between the Runner Cafe and the Student Recreation Center on the south side of campus. The front desk in the Student Union is where students can go to get any answers to any questions they have about the campus. If the desk employees, or “Information Specialist” doesn’t know the answer, they will call around campus to find the answer. The lounge is the large open room on the right-hand side before you reach the front desk. E.J. Callahan, director of Student Union said, “The lounge is available for students between classes”. The lounge features tables, high chairs, couches, and desks with free computers open to anyone on campus. Free Wi-Fi is available not only in the lounge but in the entire Student Union as well. Past the front desk in the hallway is a microwave for students to use if they don’t want to wait in a line to use a microwave in The Runner Cafe. Past the microwave, there is a room on the left-side. This room is being turned into “The
Game Room.” The goal is to put three forty inch TVs here,” Callahan said. X-box and Playstation will be available to students.” He added that it is so that they can blow off some steam and play some games. The multipurpose room is where various events are school held. Departments throughout the school use this room for functions. There will be a back to school dance in the room the first week of school. The “Green Room” and the “Blue Room” are available for clubs or for studying. The rooms can be reserved, but walk-ins are available if the room is open. The room can be checked out for 45 minutes. Callahan said you can check the room out for studying. All you do is ask the employee at the front desk if the room is taken, and if it isn’t you give the employee your student I.D. and the room is yours. Students can also find the bookstore in The Student Union. Campus programming plus the Spirit Team in the Student Union is a good place for students to get a list of events of what’s happening and where. If students have questions regarding Associated Students Incorporated, they can also go to the Student Union where the ASI staff works. “The idea behind the union is a student space, [which] they can go and meet people, find out ways to get involved or just relax between classes,” Callahan said.
Health Center The Health Center is directly behind a grass field behind the Science III building. [See CENTERS, Page 2]
AJ Alvarado/The Runner
Sophomore nursing major Andrew Nguyen helps out a student at the CSU Bakersfield Bookstore on Sept. 9. The bookstore is inside the Student Union, which is one of the many locations on campus where students can get assistance.
CSUB continues adjusting to state mandates DROUGHT
By Patricia Rocha News Editor
With California rainfall at record lows and both state and city water mandates in effect, CSU Bakersfield’s facilities management has risen to the challenges a drought brings to such a large, lush campus. State mandate called for a 25 percent cut in water usage compared to 2013 usage starting in January of 2015. As of Sept. 1, 2015, campus usage is 44 percent below the relative 2013 water use. An additional mandate put in place June 1, 2015, due to the city of Bakersfield’s lack of conservation compared to other areas of the state, required a 36 percent cut.
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Again, CSUB exceeded the requirement at 55 percent below June-September 2013 usage. Assistant Vice President of Facilities Planning Development and Operations Patrick Jacobs said that the necessary changes made to exceed the mandates focuses on outside irrigation almost exclusively. “It really doesn’t matter what you do in the buildings,” Jacobs said. “The total building water use for restroom, toilets, urinals, and drinking fountains is 15 percent of our total. “The big number, 85 percent of our total, is irrigation outside, so I don’t focus very much on the inside because there’s not much to be gained there.” Though Jacobs does encourage faculty and students to be aware
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of how much water they consume, the installation of lowflow toilets, waterless urinals and updated drinking fountains leaves little to waste already. “Some people go so far as
“Some people go so far as ‘don’t flush the toilet every time you use it.’ I’m not into that at all.” Patrick Jacobs Assistant VP of Facilities Planning Development and Operations
Get Money: CSUB offers jobs to students. Page 3 No Worries: The best places on campus to study. Page 3
‘don’t flush the toilet every time you use it,’ I’m not into that at all,” he said. He added the main way to see major changes number-wise is all in the grass. Previously grassy areas on campus near Science Buildings I and III as well as the library are already under conversion to low-water-use shrubs and mulch. “We’ve focused on our water use in general and then we’ve tried to take out areas of [turf] grass where we can because turf grass uses like three times as much water as plants do,” he said. Though it may seem obvious to continue replacing grass with shrubs for such conservation, cost is a factor facilities man-
agement must consider. “We’re going to try to eliminate turf grass wherever possible, where we don’t need it,” he said. “The problem is, it’s expensive. Those three little areas are costing us over a quarter of a million dollars. So to do it wholly around the campus would be a multi-million dollar deal. “That includes killing the grass, putting in drip irrigation, putting in plants [and] all that stuff. It’s not a cheap fix, but wherever possible we will continue to head in that direction.” By doing this, CSUB has saved over 76 million gallons compared to 2013. That amount far more than what either the state or the city has mandated.
However, should future drought conditions worsen and even more drastic mandates put in place, Jacobs is certain CSUB plant life wouldn’t survive. “We’re trying not to kill them but we’re trying to essentially stress them to the point of still being alive but not thriving,” Jacobs said about the other patches of campus greenery not getting converted. “We’re at a point right now where if we were to use less water, we’d be killing things,” he said. “So if we were asked to cut another 20 percent, we might as well just kill the grass. “Could we live another year at this same level we’re at right now? Yes, we could if we had to.”
Save up: Helpful ways to save money on books. Page 5 Big Mac: CSUB hires Bob Macaluso as new baseball coach. Page 6
Road to Redemption: Men’s soccer season preview. Page 7 Heart of a Champion: Volleyball hopes for big year again. Page 8
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