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NIVERSITY IMES
Feb. 16, 2015
www.csulauniversitytimes.com
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
A New Agenda INSIDE: for The CSU
LA ONDA: FALLECE PILAR DE "NEW YORK TIMES" PG 8
WILL THE MEN & WOMENS BASKETBALL TEAMS MAKE IT TO CCAA FINALS? PG 12
PRESIDENT COVINO VISITS LIONS CLUB MEETING PG 11
ARTS & LETTERS NEW REPRESENTATIVES
PG 2
CELEBRATE THE CHINESE NEW YEAR PG 9 COMING OUT OF THE LITERARY CLOSET PG 4
DISCUSSING SB967 & DISCOVERING WHAT SEXUAL ASSAULT MEANS ON CAMPUS PG 3
CSU Chancellor White addresses more initiatives in an online press conference. Angeline Bernabe Staff Reporter
A press conference with CSU Chancellor Timothy White was held on a digital platform to address new graduation initiatives and new financial matters regarding the CSU system. On the morning of February 13th, student reporters from all CSUs were invited to log in to the meeting and pose questions after his address for a brief Q & A discussion. In terms of graduation, White announced a new goal for the CSU system under the name, “CSU Graduation Initiative.” The initiative, originally launched in 2009 to increase graduation rates, was reiterated as a top priority for White on his quest to improve certain aspects about the CSU system. He pointed out that he’d like CSUs to educate 100,000 more students with Bachelors degrees by 2025. In an official statement from the Cal State university blog, some of the goals for advancing the number of bachelor’s degrees include, “Increasing the six-year graduation rate for first-time freshmen to 60 percent. . . Increasing the two-year graduation rate for transfer students to 35 percent,” and “Closing the achievement gap for low-income students to five percent.” White made it imperative that all members of society should succeed, and that it isn’t possible unless an education with these initiatives is implemented. Some of the benefits of the 2025 graduation initiative include keeping high paying jobs from relocating away from California and a larger success rate in students graduating from a California State University.
Issue 208.7
The Sex Toy Event Resumed After a Week Long Debate Nailah Phelps Contributor
Following the cancellation of the “Sex Toys 'R' Us” event last week, President William A. Covino, reinstated the event under the name “Yes means Yes” on Wednesday, February 11. The president released his consent a few hours before the event took place via email. About 20 students attended the event.
Photo Courtesy | Calstate.edu
With the topic of finance, White spoke about the amount of funds being allocated from the state of California such as 25 million dollars worth of money for universities in the CSU system to improve buildings and programs. His mission to attain more funds for the CSU is another top priority on his agenda for the year but also encourages students to take control of what they want done in regards to funds by being a voice at our state’s capitol.
Before entering the event, faculty members checked identification to ensure people were over the age of 18. The representative and guest speaker from The Pleasure Chest, Sara Touchesent said, “We made some changes, not to the content of the discussion, but to the display for sex toys.” She also stated that the University administration was confused about the direction of the event. Touchesent said the administration thought it was going to be a “sex toy party,” and that they did not know what the educational
aspect of “Yes Means Yes” was. The University Times requested interviews from members of the Cross-Cultural Center and their faculty but were denied. “In general when the Pleasure Chest comes out to universities, we talk about sexual empowerment, taking ownership of your sexuality, understanding what consent means, what positivity during sex is, and also introducing a pleasure based aspect on developing sexuality,” Touchesent said. Continue on page 2.
Cancelled Sex Toys Event Leads to Rally
Matt Lopez
pus where minors were present.
As for tuition and Student Success Fees? White said, “I’m not going to raise tuition next year… I would rather see it going up in small increments.” Student Success Fees, which have been a tough subject to talk about over the years, was described by White as something that is slowly being improved upon. By having universities take note of how many students utilize resources on campus, he has found it helpful to regulate where the fees are going and how they’re helping, but providing a stricter system of transparency as to where the fees exactly go on each campus isn’t a top priority on his agenda at the moment.
Frustrated students armed with posters and a speakerphone rallied together in protest to bring attention to the Cross Cultural Center’s event, “Sex Toys R Us.” What was supposed to be an event to educate students on sexual practices and safe use of sex toys turned out to bring more controversy than initially imagined.
This action caused uproar among organizers of the event who felt their voice was being suppressed. “We want to provide a voice, our sexuality had been deemed inappropriate and we want to express our outrage against it,” said Bree Lacey, an organizer of the event. About a half an hour before the rally took place, President Covino reinstated the event by releasing a
You can read more about the 2025 graduation initiative and learn more about the online press conference by visiting www.calstate.edu for more information.
The event was cancelled when the mother of an eighteenyear-old Cal state L.A. student voiced concern to CBS News after finding out about the event; she had felt it was inappropriate to have such an event on a cam-
Contributor
Photo By Timmy Truong
campus wide email that stated:
“I am pleased to report that, after a very productive dialogue with students and University-Student Union leadership, the student event originally scheduled for 3:15 today will Continue on page 2.