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NIVERSITY IMES
Feb. 17, 2014
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C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y, L O S A N G E L E S
Issue 205.7
Senate Motion Divides Ethinic Studies
Students speak out during the rally on February 4th | Photo by Timmy Truong
NEWS
Angeline Bernabe Contributor With the ongoing discussion about making Ethnic Studies a required diversity course in the new GE curriculum, both the Chicana/o Studies (CHS) Department and the Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) Program have released similar statements that do not support the motion proposed at the Academic Senate Meeting on Tuesday, February 11th. The statement released by the Dr. Ping Yao, chair of the Asian and Asian American Studies Program, explained how their program took into consideration CSULA’s General Education curriculum as a whole. With the revision to the General Education requirements, the statement said, “We envision that a strengthened AAAS will play an indispensable role in the GE program. For these reasons, we cannot support the motion proposed on February 11th, 2014.”
Similarly, the Chicana/o Studies Department released in an official statement, “The Department of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) does not support the Senate motion proposed on February 11th, 2014.” Just like the statement released by AAAS, the CHS department also addressed the benefits of the new GE Program by explaining, “The Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Pan African Studies, and the Asian/Asian American Studies and Latin American Studies programs were never excluded from the GE program, and more importantly, each department/program has the opportunity to insert and develop core courses within the major that meet the new diversity requirement.” The motion, which was brought forth by Senator Aaron Sonnenschein, proposed, “At least one of the two required diversity courses must be taken in one of the four ethnic/area studies departments/ programs: Asian/Asian American Studies, Chicano Stud-
ies, Latin American Studies (LAS), or Pan-African Studies (PAS) or be a course cross-listed with courses with the aforementioned departments/programs.” While Dr. Melina Abdullah, the chair of Pan African Studies, over the course of the past couple weeks, has passionately shown how a required Ethnic Studies GE course would benefit students, and while Dr. Beth Baker-Cristales, the chair of Latin American Studies, has shown the same support for the requirement, by even publicly addressing her position at the student rally on February 4th on the proposed motion, the presence of the Chicano Studies Department chair, Dr. Bianca Guzman, and Asian and Asian American Studies chair, Dr. Ping Yao, almost appear to be nonexistent. The fact that the motion lacks support from CHS and AAAS has not been heavily acknowledged, though both departments’ statements clearly show their opinion. If AAAS and CHS can see a benefit to the program, why
does it seem that LAS and PAS do not see the benefit? Since January 21st’s Academic Senate meeting in which the first motion to have a required Ethnic Studies course in the curriculum was introduced (and ultimately failed), the talk of the matter has been that Ethnic Studies will be weakened in many ways if the motion does not pass. One of those ways suggests a loss in Ethnic Studies majors. In 2011, an article from Cal State Northridge’s newspaper The Daily Sundial reveals the struggle that Cal State L.A. faced regarding the Asian and Asian American Studies Program. The 2011 article titled, “CSUN community reacts to CSULA’s Ethnic Studies Dispute” shows how the administration decided to suspend the AAAS Program at the time because it was struggling as a program. Regardless if the article does not answer all the questions about the movement now, we can take a look into data.
By looking, it can help determine how Ethnic Studies can be weakened and why the push to make Ethnic Studies a requirement is seen as imperative to some. From CSULA’s Office of Institutional Research, research shows there has been a gradual decline in Ethnic Studies majors since the Winter Quarter of 2008. In the past six years, the number of students who decided to major in Ethnic Studies dropped significantly from a combined total of 136 Ethnic Studies majors in the Winter Quarter of 2008 to a total of 99 Ethnic Studies majors today. If dissected even further, the data shows that each of the departments/programs under Ethnic Studies have dropped in the amount of students who are pursuing each of those majors. Compared to majors like Criminal Justice, or Psychology, which each had over 500 majors in the Winter Quarter
Ethnic Studies Continued On Page 4
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University Times
Feb. 17, 2014
New Poll of CSU Students and Heath Insurance:
Many CSU Students are Uninsured, and It’s All About the Money NEWS
Wendy Lee Walter Zelman Contributors Since September 2013, the California State University Health Insurance Education Project (CSU HIEP) has been educating CSU students about their new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The project is funded by a grant from Covered California, the new state agency tasked with implementing the ACA in California. Results of new poll of over 800 California State University (CSU) students from three different CSU campuses (Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Jose) indicate that income is strongly linked to insurance status. Contrary to popular belief that young adults are uninsured due to a sense of invincibility, the poll shows that the high cost of insurance is the main reason that 30 percent of our students are uninsured. Why CSU students are uninsured Eighty percent of uninsured students responded that they did not have insurance because they could not afford it. Only 7 percent of students responded that they “did not think they need [health insurance]” and even fewer (2 percent) reported that they “did not want it”. Four percent of students responded that they wanted health insurance but had been rejected. When asked which point of view they agreed with most, the vast majority of students (73 percent) responded that they should have insurance to ensure they have access to care if they need it. Another 19 percent of students responded that having health insurance was the “responsible thing to do”. Only 5 percent responded that they did not think they need health insurance, or that they could go to a clinic or public hospital if they need care.
Affordability, not invincibility These results indicate little support for the widely-touted theory that many students think they are “invincible” and thus feel they do not need health insurance. Most students may be in good health, and when compared to older individuals, insurance may not be high on their priority list. But, they know they need it. They just have not been able to afford it. The poll results speak clearly to this point. For a college student, being uninsured is not about invincibility; it is about affordability. The poll results also show a strong connection between access to health insurance and household income. Students with lower incomes are far more likely to be uninsured. About 59 percent of all dependent students reported family incomes of less than $50,000. Among dependent students who are uninsured, that figure was 82 percent. The same connection is true for students who are financially independent. Fifty-nine percent of all independent students reported family incomes of less than $15,000. Among financially independent students who are uninsured, that figure was also higher at 80 percent. Without subsidies, insurance costs more than what students are willing to pay Seventy percent of all students and 85 percent of uninsured students report that the most they would be willing to pay for health insurance is $100 or less per month (the lowest option they could select in the poll). In Covered California, the lowest price Bronze plan in the central Los Angeles area costs $154 per month (before government financial assistance), which is more than 50 percent higher than what students say is the maximum they are willing to pay. Thus, what students appear willing to pay is well below the actual cost of insurance
in the pre-health reform marketplace. Affordable coverage is now within reach for students Fortunately, under the ACA, most CSU students will now be able to obtain affordable coverage. Based on CSU financial aid data, approximately 35-40 percent of CSU students and their family members may be eligible for Medi-Cal, which is free for most who qualify. One big difference in the new Medi-Cal is that low-income adults will be eligible even if they do not have a child. Another 30-40 percent of CSU students live in households with incomes too high to qualify for MediCal, but low enough to qualify them for government financial assistance when they purchase insurance through Covered California. For many CSU students and families, health insurance in Covered California will be discounted as much as 90 percent. Additionally, under the ACA, young adults are permitted to stay on their parent’s insurance policies until they are 26, and more than 80 percent of CSU students are 25 or younger. The CSU HIEP team is doing all that it can to educate students and their families about their new opportunities for accessing affordable health insurance. Our CSU HIEP coordinators at 15 CSU campuses are presenting to students in classrooms and working with key campus organizations to get the message out to students before the March 31st deadline to have health insurance. Want to know more? Visit our website at http://www. calstate.edu/coveredca/ Or, visit Covered California at CoveredCa.com
UT
NIVERSITY IMES Contributors Hector Aguliar Gerardo Amezquita Samantha Carlson Jillian Bell Angeline Bernabe Roxana Hernandez Alexandra Johnson Grant Johnson
Managing Editors Yzzy Gonzalez Timmy Truong Production Manager Lilliana Arrazcaeta Web Editor Carol Venegas
Wendy Lee Walter Zelman
Copy Editor Carol Venegas
Cartoonists Sean Buer Tammy Nguyen
Business/ Advertising Mangager Jim Munson Faculty Advisor Suzanne Regan Distributor Carol Venegas
Graphic Design Aaron Bautista Photographers Jillian Bell Roxana Hernandez Timmy Troung
All opinions and letters in the University Times represent the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the UT or the university. Letters to the editor should include an address, telephone number and identification. Letters may be edited for grammar and length. University Times display and classified advertising should not be construed as the endorsement or investigation of commercial enterprises of ventures. University Times reserves the right to reject any advertising. University Times is published every Monday. Copyright 2014 University Times. All Rights Reserved. Cal State University, Los Angeles 5151 State University Dr. - KH C3098 LA, Ca, 90032 Office 323.343.4215 Advertising 323.343.4270 www.csulauniversitytimes.com csula.ut@gmail.com
University Times
Feb. 17, 2014
Diversity On Campus OPINION
Samantha Carlson Contributor As students who go to school in Los Angeles it is easy to take for granted we study at a school that draws students from all over the world. Taking a look around the food court or at the school library, one can see the variety of racial and ethnic groups that comprise our student body. According to the CSULA Alumni Association in a report updated Feb 2014, there are 50% Hispanic, 21% of Asian American, 11% White, NonHispanic, and 9% Black, nonHispanic students who make up the majority of the ethnic groups at CSULA. Gaby Alavrez, an MFA student in the TVFT department is from Tijuana, Mexico. When asked if she noticed diversity on campus she replied, “Yes, I’ve seen a lot of Hispanic and Indian students.” I asked if she thought
it added to the learning experience and Alvarez replied, “I think it depends on the career, in the Humanities career, of course you’re going to be affected by that person’s background, for sciences, I’m not sure.” I asked Alvarez why she felt this way and she said, “It’s like a melting pot and you get the advantages of learning about people from different cultures.” Lauren Walther, Broadcast Journalism major, after being asked if she thinks diversity adds to the learning experience, stated “Yes, I think it’s interesting to learn about other cultures, I think it would be boring to only hang out with one race. It’s nice to have a wide range of friends and have different perspectives… It feels like you’re missing out on life if you only hang out with people from similar backgrounds…When I went to school in Hawaii, there were a lot of islanders and Samoans that I was exposed to when I went there. Students who go to
school with students from the same racial background miss out on life.” One of the purposes of a college education is to prepare students for a professional life they will encounter after graduation. It can be argued the exposure and interaction that comes from working on a group project or participating in group discussion in the classroom will prepare students for the global work force they will join after graduation. In addition to getting an academic education, students who graduate from CSULA can also gain cultural awareness about cultures they might not have been exposed too. In the past three years I have spent at CSULA, I have made friends with students from Peru, Mexico, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Africa. Where do your college friends originate from?
Tofu Tostadas: A Delicious Healthy New Take FOOD
Alexandra Johnson Contributor I really enjoy Mexican food a whole lot so this recipe is heavily influenced by it. Depending on how lazy you are feeling, this recipe can be done using the microwave as your main cooking source. INGREDIENTS Tostadas Taco Seasoning Seasoning; salt pepper Tofu Beans Bell Peppers Onion Avocado Chop the bell peppers and onion. Sautee the vegetables together in a sauce pan with
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vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, scramble the tofu and mix taco seasoning. The ratio is proportionate, if you use have a package (8 oz.) of tofu, use half a package of seasoning. In another bowl combine beans, I used canned refried beans, with salt and pepper. (Steps 2 and 3 are microwavable friendly. You can heat up the tofu and beans in the microwave for about 2 min. in the microwave or heat them up in a sauce pan. ) Get tostada ready for plating. Cover with beans, tofu and vegetables. Then top it off with a few fresh slices of avocado.
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Feb. 17, 2014
University Times
GE Requirements Discussed With ASI NEWS
Jillian Bell Contributor On Thursday, February 12, the Board of ASI and Representatives held a meeting and panel discussion that included Baaske, Dr. Cheryl A. Koos, Chair of GE Revision Committee and History Department, CSULA Provost Ashish Vaidya and Nancy Wada-Mckee, Assistant VP for Student Affairs. Dr. Koos addressed ASI reps on what she believed to be an issue of the lack of student representation during the revision process. She explained that in 2011 the GE Revision Committee (G.E.R.C) was put into place. In 2012, she explained that two of the ASI representatives, previous ASI president Caroline Monroy, who has graduated and current ASI President Hector Jacinto attended the first organizational meeting that the committee held. Dr. Koos said that was the first and the last G.E.R.C meeting any ASI Representative attended and the answer as of why current President Hector Jacinto didn’t continue participating in these meetings she did not know. When asked how impactful a student being on the com-
Ethnic Studies Cont. from Page 1 of 2008 and reached an impacted status in the span of three years (which shows the growth of the departments), Ethnic Studies has shown a major decrease in the amount of students who want to pursue their majors. The significant decrease in the amount of majors has been important because if there are no majors, then the less likely it would be that students are enrolled in classes involving that major. If there aren’t any students taking a particular course from a department and no demand for that class, then that department will not receive funds for that given class due to a lack of students enrolled. The funds that a class receives is determined by FTES,
mittee would be, Dr. Koos responded that it depended on the students engagement with in the meeting and the student doing more than sitting in the meeting but participating in the meeting. Provost Ashish Vaidya added to the conversation by stating how students, faculty and senators could continue dialogue on the discussion and clear up all confusion, he says, “ We’ve talked about a town hall meeting. we’ve talked about other ways in which we can engage the students. This has to be in partnership with ASI.” Baaske went on to partially take the penalty for the lack of communication with students and considering their views while the GE requirements were being revised. Baaske stated, “I think it’s fair to say that we didn’t effectively communicate with student but I think it’s in part because we didn’t have students there to say ‘hey communicate with us.’” The last question in this meeting was given to the panel by Jimmy Aguirre, student studying Mechanics, in regards to the iClickers. This question resulted in a back and forth dialogue between he and Baaske, ending with them coming to an agreement. or Full Time Equivalent Student, which helps keep track of how many students are in a particular class being taught. So if we take for example AAAS, and take a look at what is provided in the public data from the Office of Institutional Research, the number of majors in that program for Fall 2013 was a total of 12 students. Because only twelve students were majoring in AAAS, the FTES that the AAAS program received was a total value of 44.33. The FTES amount can also be distributed among GE courses as well. For example, if we take a look at the PAS department, there were only 13 undergraduate majors and because there was a demand for PAS in Upper and Lower Division GE courses, the FTES for the PAS department in Fall 2013 was a total of 207.73.
Aguirre stated to the panel, particularly to Baaske, that students have the right to know what every senators vote is. Baaske stated, ‘”if you attend those senate meetings you know how many of them view this issue because they stand up and speak.”Following his response Aguirre asks Baaske, that this being the case, “what was the purpose of the clickers?” Baaske replied by stating, “Because when it comes to voting, if they’re sitting next to the provost and they’re afraid he’s not going to give them tenure maybe they don’t want to tell him exactly how they voted.”
Dr. Koos & Dr. Baaske| Photo by Jillian Bell
According to Wikipedia Academic, tenured positions are considered senior positions and it protects teachers and researchers when the dissent from prevailing opinion, openly disagree with authorities of any sort, or spend time on unfashionable topics.Aguirre brings a follow up question to Baaske, stating, “Well that suggests we may have a much larger issue, doesn’t it?” Baaske agreed stating, “yes it does.” Directly after this statement the meeting was called to an end.
When compared to the Psychology department, which had a total of 782 undergraduate majors alone in the Fall of 2013, the FTES that their department received for their classes in the Lower Division GE curriculum, Upper Division GE, and their major was a total value of 819.40, given that the Psychology Department only has one GE course present in Block D of Lower Division, and about two courses present in the Upper Division Theme. In short, based on the extensive data, Ethnic Studies courses rely heavily on General Education Courses unlike other departments such as Psychology or many other majors on campus. The information provided shows that Ethnic Studies majors need General Education Courses to survive. Based on the statements that both the Chicano/a Stud-
ASI VP for Administration Steven Urrutia & ASI President Hector Jacinto | Photo by Jillian Bell
ies Department and Asian and Asian American Studies Programs released, it’s easy to see how making Ethnic Studies a requirement is not as simple as it sounds.
achieve, would not give Ethnic Studies an opportunity to rely on GE courses in the same way they currently rely on GE courses with the new revision to the GE curriculum.
Since the AAAS Program is still establishing themselves as a major, a required Ethnic Studies GE course (taught by only Ethnic Studies professors) to graduate would mean a greater focus on General Education for a program like AAAS or Chicano Studies, which is also trying to gain majors. Since through that emphasis on General Education, resources will be reallocated in trying to accommodate GE courses rather than the emphasized major.
Overall, a change in the new GE package that was passed could potentially mean Ethnic Studies could lose students if the motion to have Ethnic Studies as a requirement does not pass. For more information on data regarding FTES, Daily Enrollment Reports, and Daily Major Reports for all departments and majors at CSULA, please visit the website of the Office of Institutional Research at ir.calstatela.edu/ir/.
Moreover, the new GE curriculum, which has redefined the meaning of diversity and has changed the requirement of what a diversity course is supposed to have students
To view the official statements of the AAAS Department and CHS Department, please visit the University Times website at csulauniversitytimes.com.
University Times
Feb. 17, 2014
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Third Attempt At Ethnic Studies Motion Ends Unsolved NEWS
Jillian Bell Contributor Tuesday, February 11th, in front of the CSULA bookstore, a press conference took place in regards to making an Ethnic Studies course mandatory within one of the two already required GE Diversity courses. On a campus where 90% of the student body consists of students of color, everyone that spoke at the conference believed that one of the diversity courses should be taught directly from the Ethnic Studies department, giving students the option to take the course from Chicano/a, Pan African, Asian/Asian American, or Latin American Studies. Various Los Angeles news media outlets attended this event, including: KPFK (90.7FM), Channel 4, Los Angeles Times, La Opinion, Hoy, Colorlines, Notes from Atzlan, Golden Eagle Radio, and yours truly, University Times! After thirty minutes speeches, press, students, faculty, community leaders left to attend the Academic Senate meeting where the vote on motion for mandatory Ethnic Study course was scheduled to take place.
Chair of the Academic Senate, Kevin Baaske, opened the meeting and stated “Please remember as guests and as Senators we are committed to a civil exchange, a mutually respectful exchange of ideas, even when people say things that we disagreed with.” A statement was offered to everyone attending the meeting. Baaske announced that the exclamation was particularly for the guests and explained why the executive committee decided to use iClickers in December 2013 for the upcoming and now current year, 2014. The statement also included facts of where senators stand thus far with the revised GE requirements. Dr. Beth Baker – Cristales, senator and assistant professor in the College of Natural and Social Sciences, stated during the meeting that she and other senators had no idea iClicker’s were implemented in the voting process, and when using them in the meeting that took place Tuesday, January 28th, she and some others thought it was only a demonstration or trail. She say, “I looked on how other CSU academic senates handled the issue, I could find
looking through their minutes and announcements, four campuses that currently use clickers for voting, their may be more, that’s what I was able to find, of those four, three of them put that to a vote and so it was voted on. Only one was decided on by executive act and there was another campus in addition to those four that voted on the clickers and voted them down and aren’t using the clickers.” In contrast to the previous meeting, when no students were given the opportunity to speak, during this meeting 10 students and 1 professor, who didn’t sit on the senate, received that chance. Some Senators practiced the method of yielding their turn by instead of using their opportunity to speak on the topic they’d immediately yield their turn to a student. The senators opposing the motion argued that students shouldn’t be forced to take a class in the G.E Requirements, along with stating another argument was that no single department should “own” a diversity course. Veena Prabhu, Professor in College of Business and Economics, stated to students and Senate, “If you feel so pas-
sionate about Ethnic Studies go share with students that this is what Ethnic Studies did for us, they will take the courses but don’t force them.” Jelani Hendrix, Pan African Studies major, received a standing ovation at the end of his speech. He stated that passing the motion would lead to the strengthening of the Ethnic studies department and not passing the motion would be a criminal. Explaining his experience of living in East Los Angeles as a black male, Hendrix revealed having dogs ‘sicked’ on him, people trying to stab him and having guns pulled out on him all due to lack knowledge of social constructs with the surrounding community. Hendrix stated, “We are responsible for our community, are community is a reflection of this University and this University is a reflection of this community. It would be a crime not to make Ethnic studies mandatory. We have to learn American history from a Eurocentric point of view. We cannot allow the oppressor, I’ll say it the oppressor, to tell our story any longer. “
side of the Ethnic Studies Department, and the class included the required intersectionalites then the department could propose that the class be cross-listed. Alejandra Marchevsky, co-director of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, a department where all classes are intersectional, stated cross listing worked fine for their classes. Some Senators announced that they remained in opposition of the motion, while some spoke of taking another stance. In his announcement to reconsider his previous vote where he voted against the motion, Communications Professor and Senator Mohammad Auwal stated, “We have to listen to the voices of the stakeholders and I believe the students have spoken. We can call them misinformed or uniformed but they have spoken.” Senators, Professors, and Student went over time limit for the Academic Senate meeting. Due to this the vote on the motion will be postponed to next Tuesday, February 18th in the Golden Eagle ballroom 3 at 1:30PM.
The other side of the argument was that if a class out-
Total of Ethnic Studies Majors from Winter 2008 to Winter 2014
Note: Majors include BA and MA combined, if applicable Source: CSULA Office of Institutional Research, Daily Major Reports Graphic Design by Aaron Bautista
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University Times
Trend Report: The Utility Jacket FASHION
Roxana Hernandez Contributor You don’t need to be a fashion student to realize the fashion trends that are going on around campus. Of course, I would lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t a fashion enthusiast myself, but the power of observation can go a long way—even if it is subconscious.
Functionality is impressively fashionable during transitioning seasons. The utility jacket has been spotted all across campus in shades of green, blue and khaki. The very functional jacket is usually made out of distressed cotton twill, drawstrings, gold snaps, and a variety of topstitched pockets. You can literally wear it down, or dress it up. Pair the jacket with some
Feb. 17, 2014 skinny jeans and combat boots and you’ve got yourself feeling just enough tough, or wear it over an A-line printed dress with heeled boots and you’ve got yourself a more feminine look. This military inspired jacket has become a closet classic right next to the edgy leather motor jacket and the classic denim jacket. It’s no wonder why so many of us wear it so often! Next time you look at your closet for your Utility Jacket, think outside the box; the versatility it has is its best feature.
Hip Hop Legend Visits EVENTS
Hector Aguliar Contributor On Wednesday, February 19th, CSULA will be hosting a Lyrical and Spoken Word Roundtable to celebrate Black History Month. The event will also feature a lecture by hiphop legend, KRS-One. Kris “KRS-One” Parker, along with the late DJ Scott LaRock, formed one of the most influential hip hop groups of the 1980’s, Boogie Down Productions. Known as a “message-oriented” rapper, Parker used his music to convey his ideas on a wide range of topics. In 1993, he released his first solo album titled, “Return of the Boom Rap.” Parker
would go on to make various hits including, “Step into A World (Rapture’s Delight)” and “Sound of da Police.” Parker has also been known for his activism and being a leader in the ‘Stop the Violence’ movement. After close friend and member of Boogie Down Productions, DJ Scott LaRock was slain while attempting to break up a fight; Parker was inspired to begin the Stop the Violence Movement in 1988. He gathered some of the biggest names in hip hop to come together in support of this movement. Some of these names include Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, and Heavy D, just to name a few.
Because of his outspoken nature and social activism, Parker is no stranger to the lecture circuit. Actually, he has been giving lectures at colleges across the nation since the late 1980’s. Over the years, he has spoken at over 500 colleges. In these lectures he discusses a variety of different topics including, politics, violence, religion and other topics. So don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to hear from a cultural icon and come to the Golden Eagle Ballroom on February 19th at 6PM.
Accessible Citizenships NEWS
Gerardo Amezquita Contributor On February 11th, during the elder portion of the day, the University Student Union held an eloquent presentation by Dr. Julie Avril Minich, issued author and faculty of the University of Austin, Texas. I believe there was genuine effort on her part to appropriately present compound themes to her audience during her presentation. By doing so, it gave clarification to the terminology and concepts introduced. I will disclose that this speech may have appeared to be complicated and stammering, if you knew nothing into the subject of Chicana/o and Disability studies. Dr. Minich gave an insightful summarization into
her recent publication Accessible Citizenships: Disability, Nation, and the Cultural Politics of Greater Mexico. In her academic discourse, she emphasized her focus in the developing concept of a shared relationship between the immigrant and disabilities. She challenged the superficial rhetoric of the media and Congress regarding the immigrant status as plagues harm the national identity when in reality they hold superior, if not vital modes of articulation. She outlined various concepts that come to a unifying theme ministering and understanding the substance of immigration. Not in the perspective of a Chicano/a studies representative, but in the disability standpoint. Her reason for this obligatory reform in perception represents the prerequisite that committed activ-
ist or nay-sayers of immigration need in order to represent the violation of a human’s right. Much of her presentation dwelled into another novelistic source called Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza. From this, it deconstructed the analytic elements of what it meant to be able-bodied in regards to the denotational meaning of being human. Furthermore, she demonstrated various examples of Chicana/o art that devolved disability other than a weakness. Overall, the speech was admirable and a privilege to hear. It was such an interesting and convincing examination that looked into the different modes of operation when confronted with the immigrant’s dilemma of identity.
Utility Jackets | Photos by Roxana Hernandez
Feb. 17, 2014
University Times
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Letter to the Editor: Sputtering Clinic: The Challenges of Student Organizations at CSULA
LETTER
Grant Johnson Contributor Much oxygen and ink has been wasted across CSULA, both in Administration and over in the Union, regarding the university’s sore lack of pride and involvement. This was most recently evidenced by the horrid turnout in last year’s student government elections, with less than a thousand people voting despite the competitive field of candidates. The student government does the best that it can to invigorate the CSULA experience, but it is clear that it cannot do so alone. What CSULA really needs is for student organizations that are strong and able to invigorate campus life, not just for their members, but for the student population at large. Unfortunately, during my time as the A.S.I. Campus Affairs Representative, I saw numerous hurdles which make it difficult for student organizations to rise to the task. The first problem comes when trying to register an event. For a recognized student organization to host an event, on or off campus, it must first submit an event form signed by the club’s president and faculty advisor ten business days prior to the event (and
trust me, there is very little wiggle room in this), and until the form is submitted, no rooms can be reserved or A.S.I. funding requested. While this might be easy enough to work with, if you plan on serving any kind of food at your event (be it a can of soda or packaged candy bar) you will also have to fill out a food permit form. Not only does this form have to be submitted to the Center for Student Involvement prior to the event form, but it also needs to be signed by two other university representatives, the University Auxiliary Services and Risk Management (which happens to be located on the opposite side of campus). While the easiest system would seemingly be for the offices to route it around internally, as they do with most documents, instead it is the responsibility of the filer to run from office to office to get the correct signatures. Many times this process is so burdensome that, whenever they are able, organizations just ignore the regulations and hold their events unofficially. The problem with this is that a food permit and event form are necessary to reserve space in the Union or to acquire A.S.I. funding, and club’s face serious consequences if caught advertising an event that was not registered.
There is also the problem of staying recognized by the university in the first place. While the initial step of starting an organization is reasonably simple (arguably too easy) the issue the really gets clubs is the mandatory meetings that C.S.I. and A.S.I. hold every quarter. Every quarter, an officer from every club must attend one of these meetings, the first one lasting an hour and a half and the second one taking the next hour, briefing them first on everything that the Union does and then giving instruction on how to apply for A.S.I. funding. After having sat through a number of these meetings, I can confidently say that while these meetings might be valuable to attend once, very little new information is added each time, and instead of helping clubs they end up being a way to justify the importance of A.S.I. and C.S.I. If an organization decides to eschew these quarterly meetings or merely forgets, they will lose their recognition from C.S.I. and their club funding privileges from A.S.I. (it should be noted that, of the two, A.S.I.’s seems less egregious). This leads to an absurd situation akin to a teacher that expels his or her high school charges because they refuse to go back to the fifth grade. A.S.I.’s general club funding practices have also proven themselves somewhat flawed. A.S.I. sets aside over $20,000 every year in order to fund club events. This funding must be requested before the event (and technically before any advertising has been done) and, if approved, can only be received in reimbursement, not up front. While there are numerous other issues regarding funding policy, the main issue that causes problems for clubs are the required meetings and documentation. For better or worse, in addition to other documentation, A.S.I. requires that a club submit all required C.S.I. documentation, attend its quarterly meeting, and present their case at the Finance Committee, which only meets every other week. If the club is asking for more than $1000, the request must also go to the A.S.I. Board of Directors, which only meets every other week as well. Since a funding request can only be turned in at the beginning of the week that the Finance Meeting is held, the time line from event conception to the ability to even advertise has now become epic in length. Not only that, but since the funding is based on reimbursement (admittedly, A.S.I. is constrained here by accounting rules) an organization must be able to front the bill ahead of time and hope that its reimbursement (which is another struggle in itself) does not go awry. All of these provisions and complexities give advantages to well-established and well-connected clubs that know how to work the system, having numerous officers to spare at these meetings, and are able to front the cost of putting on massive events without
a guarantee that they will ultimately receive their money. These clubs have also become adept at wringing money for events that, by all rights, should not be paid for with student money. Countless banquets, while technically meeting A.S.I.’s standard of equal access and benefit to the general student population but which are really blatantly internal events, have received funding, putting student money towards the get-togethers of well-connected club members and leaving clubs with truly open events out to dry. Lastly, there is the specter of fragmentation which keeps student organizations from truly creating a “student centered” campus. Currently, there are six organizations relating to business and seven for the pre-medical fields, to name two examples, all of which are struggling for membership, money, and professional speakers. While there is immense overlap in all of these, they all maintain separate organizations out of institutional inertia, meaning that they must each put on smaller events, have a less committed leadership body (since there are only so many people with the energy to guide a club on campus), and leave administration and professionals in their field vexed. Not only that, but even if they wanted to start working together to co-sponsor events, CSI policy does not allow them to give out student organization information of any kind, making it almost impossible to find out how to contact an organization, which hurts recruitment as well. The fractious state of clubs and organizations at CSULA exponentially reduces their ability to function effectively, leaving us with a much diminished campus life and frustration for anyone genuinely interested in getting involved. While all of these problems are serious, they can also been solved to a degree. If CSI and A.S.I. can be convinced to liberalize their policies regarding club meetings and bring their paperwork demands in line, some progress will have been made. The creation of a funding program within A.S.I. that does not require reimbursement, already underway, would also be a great relief, as well as having a Finance Committee more willing to ask tough questions regarding club events. The creation of avenues for clubs and organizations with similar pursuits to communicate and work together, began with the University Council of Clubs and Organizations but still needing serious work, will help to decrease the fragmentation of student organizations. Higher requirements for initial recognition and incentives for clubs that join together might also help. What is clear though is that we cannot maintain the system we have now and hope for a different result. CSULA students must be willing to act and vote in order to secure a greater vitality of life here on this hill in Los Angeles, but without that, nothing will change.
8
University Times
Feb. 17, 2014
Calendar
week SEVEN 19Wednesday
FEBRUARY 17-23
17Monday 18Tuesday ALLWEEK
12PM African Diaspora In 6:15PM Vogue for Me,
1PM U-Lead: Stress Relief
3PM Eat Delicious and Stay 6PM Lyrical + Spoken Word
Nutritious U-SU Plaza
Roundtable Golden Eagle Ballroom
She Workshop Sexy...Healthy..Empowered Student Health Center
3:30PM Eagle iJobs
6PM History Department’s
An Evening with the Deans & Administrators Golden Eagle Ballroom
ECST Week Engineering and Technology Building
Xtreme Fitness Multipurpose Room, Basement U-SU
3:30PM University Times Meeting King Hall C 3098
Latin America U-SU Plaza
Career Center
20Thursday
10AM Career Center Services 3:30PM Trip to South 11:30AM Documentary:
Pasadena Farmer’s Market Bus leaves from U-SU to South Pasadena
12PM Happy Hour in the Pit
Eagle House Blues Los Angeles Room, 3rd Floor U-SU
Career Center
Inequality for All Golden Eagle Ballroom
The Pit, Basement U-SU
1:30PM
Open Mic Poetry Jam with Statement U-SU Theatre
6PM
6:15PM Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey U-SU Theatre
Honey U-SU Theatre
First Annual Celebration Los Angeles Room, 3rd Floor U-SU
21Friday
6AM Ski and Snowboard Trip Big Bear Mountain Resort
9AM Emergent Precarities: A Symposium San Gabriel Room, 3rd Floor U-SU
10AM The Pit Winter Recreation Tournament The Pit, Basement
5PM
Leader to Leader Applications Due Center for Student Involvement, 2nd Floor U-SU
1:30PM
Tennis vs Concordia CSULA Tennis Complex
3:15PM 5PM
6PM
Black History Month Keynote Speaker: KRS-One Lyrical + Spoken Word Roundtable Golden Eagle Ballroom
22Saturday 1PM
CCOE 3rd Annual Alumni Connections Golden Eagle Ballroom
4PM
Graduate Thesis Exhibit Fine Arts Gallery
8PM
Kibbutz Contemportary Dance Company Luckman Fine Arts Complex
A Sign of Intellingence FUN & GAMES Sean Buer Cartoonist
Zoey and Annabelle
FUN & GAMES Tammy Nguyen Cartoonist