Vol. 90 Issue 12
September 21, 2011
Executive pay controversy involving the California Faculty Association
Watch the Daily Titan News in 3
Watch a video that explains the controversy surrounding the CFA.
ONLINE
Get up-toEXCLUSIVES date coverdailytitan.com age on top campus news stories
Scan to view
dailytitan.com/ cfaepcf11/
Scan to view
dailytitan.com The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
CSUF recycles 6,000 tons Officials look into ways to make campus more aware JESSICA ESCORSIA Daily Titan
Despite the large efforts Cal State Fullerton takes to be sustainable and environmentally conscious, one may wonder why something as simple as a recycle bin can’t be found on campus. Recycling bins seem like an easy fix to get students involved with creating a greener environment at CSUF. So why don’t we have these bins available? The answer may just be it’s not that simple. “To do this on campus would require a number of things–space being the most important for storage of the recyclables, labor for collection and sorting of materials, as well as bins located throughout campus,” said Steven Dugas, recycling manager at CSUF’s Physical Plant. Currently, CSUF maintains a recycling program in which all waste goes into the trash cans on campus where they are then emptied into bins that are hauled off and taken to a Material Recovery Facility. DAVID MUÑOZ / Daily Titan While Cal State Fullerton doesn’t have recycling bins on campus, the university is constantly looking into ways to be sustainable and environmentally conscious. Currently, all waste goes into trash cans on campus and is later separated.
Miss Fullerton Pageant 2011: Behind the crown Carly Valdes reveals the skills and determination it takes to be a contestant in a pageant DANIELLE EVANS Daily Titan
Carly Valdes, a second-year liberal studies major, is one of the sweetest and most humble girls you will ever meet. With her bubbly and positive personality, it’s no wonder she beat six other contestants vying for the title of Miss Fullerton 2011 in February. The Miss Fullerton Scholarship Pageant is a preliminary to both the Miss California and Miss America pageants, striving to promote further development of the fundamental life skills of young women. It also provides thousands of dollars to its contestants every year. This aspiring first-grade teacher opened up about the pageant and what it takes to become one of the 59
multi-talented young women who have the opportunity to compete for the state pageant each year.
Q: What steps did you take to prepare? Photo courtesy of Doug. E. Hikawa CSUF student Carly Valdes smiles as she’s crowned Miss Fullerton in February.
President’s pay sparks dispute CAMYRON LEE Daily Titan
In the same meeting where tuition was raised for CSU students, the CSU Board of Trustees voted July 12 to increase a compensa-
tion package by $100,000 for Elliot Hirshman, the incoming San Diego State University president. “Our presidents haven’t gotten a pay increase in a long time, our standing presidents, so of course it’s going to look like … it’s a really big
Photo courtesy of Lori Padelford, San Diego State University Elliot Hirshman, the incoming San Diego State University president, is receiving $100,000 more than his predecessor. The vote to increase compensation came the same day the CSU Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition. Contact Us at dtnewsdesk@gmail.com
Tuition may increase again for CSU students Daily Titan
A: I was really nervous because it was my first year and I was competing against girls that had already been in the system. I was really comfortable with the talent aspect because that was something I’d been doing my whole life, but the interview was really scary for me.
See MISS, page 5
CSU faces cuts BROOKE McCALL
Q: What was the hardest thing you faced while competing for the title of Miss Fullerton?
pay increase, but it’s really not,” said Stephanie Thara, a spokesperson for the CSU Chancellor’s Office. Thara called it “bad timing.” The decision to increase compensation for the position of president had already been decided before both announcements were made, Thara said. However, she justified it by saying the pay was appropriate for Hirshman’s experience and that in order to get the best, they need to compete with the market. “We’re just trying to compete with the market, because we want the best president there is ... We’re going to choose the candidate and pay him according to the market,” Thara said. Some faculty members within the California higher education system aren’t happy with the pay increase for top executives. “We’d like to remind them, that this is a public education system … They’re engaged in public service, this isn’t the private sector, and if you are trying to attract people who
are only coming from the money, then maybe they aren’t the people for the job,” said Steve Jobbitt, assistant professor of history at CSUF and active member of We!, an activist group that is pushing for more state funding for public universities. This fall semester, students within the CSU were welcomed back with news of a 12 percent tuition increase that would raise their student fees to $294 per semester. Members and leaders of We! are not taking this decision lightly. “They had the vote to increase tuition (and) the next vote was to increase compensation ... From a marketing or PR standpoint, how can you spin that? ‘Hey, we increased tuition on these poor students yet we gave this guy a $100,000 compensation increase because he wasn’t happy with over $300,000,’” said Chirag Bhakta, CSUF alumnus and member of We! See PRESIDENT, page 3
See RECYCLE, page 3
With the spring 2012 semester fast approaching, students eagerly wait to see what will happen with the campus budget. In June, Gov. Jerry Brown approved a $650 million CSU budget cut, with another $100 million possible cut in December. The possible $100 million cut in December will depend on state revenue trends. Cal State Fullerton President Milton A. Gordon said in a campuswide message, “We may face another hit mid-year, which we will have to implement in spring. The result would be a $750 million total hit to the CSU–a 27 percent year-to-year reduction in state support, and the lowest funding level we have received in 14 years even though we are serving more than 90,000 additional students.” The CSUs have a budget of $2.1 billion for the 2011-12 school year. The budget hasn’t been this low since the 1998-99 budget. Since 1998, the student population has grown by 90,000 students. Stephanie Thara, the Chancellor’s Office spokesperson, said in response to the possible cut, “We haven’t made a decision on what would happen if there was $100 million trigger (of the budget cut), if the trigger was actually pulled. There has been no talk of a tuition increase.” The status of the $100 million budget cut will not be announced until December. In the meantime, the CSU has taken steps to reduce the effect of the cuts. The Chancellor’s Office has decreased its funding by 14 percent and $400 million were cut in enrollment, programs and operations. “If the trigger is pulled, then we (CSU) will decide exactly how we are consisting all the revenue we are losing, whether it be through cutting services, enrollment or programs, or increasing student tuition or fees. We (CSU) haven’t decided exactly what action we are going to take only because we don’t know if we are going to be pulled,” said Thara.
In August, CSU students suffered a 12 percent tuition increase for the fall 2011 semester, which cost students an additional $294 per semester for full-time undergraduate students, $339 for credential program students and $360 for graduate students. Araceli Barrera, 35, a liberal studies student at CSUF, was affected this semester by the fall 2011 budget increase and had to use more financial aid to pay for her tuition. “As an undergraduate and then with the budget increase this year, it was harder for me because even though I’m going to school through financial aid, there was less financial aid that would go into my pocket for books or for copying paper,” said Barrera. The CSU said tuition fee increases are necessary to maintain the quality of education in universities after several years of budget cuts. Nousha Afshari, 18, a business major, is worried about the possibility of tuition increases because she has to help pay for her schooling. “I understand that we’re in debt, that the country is in debt, I understand that, but I don’t understand, is the increase in my tuition paying for my education or paying to fill that debt? … So what am I paying for? I don’t know and that worries me more than paying it (tuition),” said Afshari. More than three-fourths of state funds and tuition fee dollars for CSUs are spent on students and academic programs. The breakdown is as follows: 42 percent is spent on instruction, 11 percent is spent on academic support, 10.9 percent is spent on student grants and scholarships, 10.8 percent is spent on student services, and 25 percent is spent on institutional support. Gordon said in a campus message that Fullerton is doing everything it can to minimize the impact and the “reductions will not go undetected by students, faculty, staff and others involved in the university. I have been working with the campus community in determining the best way for us to manage these cuts.”