The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Wednesday October 9, 2019
Volume 106 Issue 21
Both CSU student trustees will CSUF may add more have voting powers in 2020 Each trustee represents nearly 240,000 students in the statewide system. APRIL SHELBY Staff Writer
Next year, students will have a second vote on the California State University Board of Trustees, giving students a greater voice in the CSU decision making process. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, both the first and second-year student trustees who sit on the board will now hold voting power. In July, the law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will provide an additional student vote on the board through voting power. “There might be more of a ways to go in the process of getting more representation on the Board of Trustees,” said Aaron Aguilar, president of Associated Students, Inc. at last week’s ASI town hall meeting. In 1976, the student trustee position was created with a two-year term. The position was appointed by the governor and nominations are given to the CSU and Colleges Student President’s Association. In 2000, the second student
trustee position was created, and the two terms of the trustees were staggered. They were granted voting rights in their second year on the board, leaving one voting student in 25. Today, each student trustee represents nearly 240,000 students each in the CSUs. They’re required to attend board meetings every other month and have opportunities to serve on panels, committees or work groups. Their tuition is covered by the state. The board is comprised of 25 members, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and two CSU students: Juan Garcia, from Cal Poly Pomona, and Maryana Khames, from San Diego State. Juan Garcia is a senior majoring in political science. Garcia describes the position as a “weird balance.” “You’re supposed to provide the student perspective to the board,” Garcia said. “You are also a trustee of the CSU, so even though yes, you represent students, you have to keep in mind that your actions affect not only students.” Garcia and his student colleague, Khames, serve as the two student trustees. Khames said shared governance within campuses also would further
provide the opportunity for students to interact with the president, so making sure that ASI of each campus is a part of the president’s cabinet or have interactions. Mansi Kalra, Associated Students’ vice president, said Aguilar and the Board of Directors chair, Lorren Baker, sit down every month with President Fram Virjee and Vice President of Student Affairs, Harry Le Grande, to discuss things ASI has been working on that are relevant to the president’s office. She also added Tony Pang, student life and le a d e rship director,
serves as Virjee’s representative at ASI board meetings and speaks on his behalf at these sessions. Kalra said when it comes to student representation, whether it is CSU specific or CSUF specific, there are never enough students in the room. “Everything is dictated by administrators,” Kalra said. “Students are always the minority in terms of decision.”
CINDY PORAÑO / DAILY TITAN
Not rapping for the profit Daniel Pita uses his platform to speak about social issues and reformation. HOSAM ELATTAR KIM PHAM Editors
Sociology major Daniel Pita, also known as Pita the Prophet, is a rapper who preaches his message through music. Pita was initially introduced to hip-hop by his family, specifically his older brother, who showered him with old-school hitss and explicit lyrics, piquing his interest in music. “I would listen to corridos, I would listen to rock, I would listen to hip-hop, I would listen to Biggie, Eminem when I was in elementary. I remember that image, that being a hip-hop artist was also intriguing to me,” Pita said. As Pita got older, he began to understand the lyrics of the songs he loved so much, many of which were in Spanish. With the help of his brother, he began to navigate through the creations of artists he used to only know by their beat. “There was a rehab song called, ‘sitting or waiting with the bartender,’ I think,” Pita said. “My brother walked me through that song, and that’s when I was like, ‘Damn, music is more than just sounding good, music has a message to it.’” Pita said he was motivated to become a rapper by listening to Gangstarr and ‘90s rappers, which he calls the “golden era of hiphop.” He touched on how the rap scene has changed since then.
“I think the scene is, right now, the biggest its ever been,” he said.“It’s the pop of our generation or of this era, so I definitely think that because of that it has definitely gotten watered down, and it has gotten tainted.” Despite the evolution of the genre, Pita still rocks with new school hip-hop. “It’s a vibe, and that’s what music is too. We can’t forget that music is a vibe, so I think every era has had that ignorant music or that music that is just to let loose, and I feel like hip hop is like that, and it’s cool,” the rapper said. Pita can be heard preaching, “know your worth,” while sporting his clothing brand of the same name. As someone who works relentlessly at becoming the best version of himself, he understands the importance of growth and practicing the lifestyle he professes. “It’s just like this continuous evolution of yourself as a person, as a being in society,” Pita said. “Persevere and just be who you want to be too. Be creative, be that person that you feel you were destined to be and who cares what anybody thinks.” Pita’s love for lyrics and music took off in his rapping journey. Wrapped in the epitome of golden era hip-hop, he said the genre became the soundtrack to his high school career. Not only does Pita rap, he can hold his own freestyling, another artform he loves to dabble in. SEE PROPHET
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DANIEL VENEGAS / DAILY TITAN
Rapper Pita the Prophet draws inspiration from his sociology courses.
cameras JESSICA BENDA Asst. Editor
HOSAM ELATTAR Editor
Cal State Fullerton’s University Police department are planning to increase the amount of community service officers they have to patrol the campus to increase safety measures on campus, according to Danny Kim, vice president of the division of administration and finance at CSUF. There are currently 40 community service officers employed by University Police. The increase in student service officers, or CSOs, is intended to increase visibility and foot patrol on campus, specifically in parking structures and lots. “We’re having conversations about expanding that significantly so that we have more CSO presence on campus and they can help our patrol officers,” Kim said. “If you’re interested in being a CSO, there will be an ad coming out soon.” Kim came to yesterdays Associated Students board of directors meeting to address changes to campus safety measures including increasing the number of security cameras on campus. Currently there are roughly 500 cameras across campus. Additional cameras could potentially be set up around the Nutwood parking structure, in Titan Hall, the first level of College Park, the State College parking structure, the Children’s Center and the bookstore. Cameras within parking structures are a possibility that the university is contemplating, Kim said. “Parking structures are really hard,” Kim said. “On the outside, it’s easy, but inside, parking has all these columns and things like that. So if you want to cover everything, you have to install a significant number of cameras.” Kim added that the university is still assessing the benefits of adding those cameras as opposed to simply installing cameras on the outside of the lots. Furthermore, University Police department is collaborating with Orange County law enforcement and a security camera consultant to conduct a campus safety assessment of the campus. The study will identify potential areas where technology systems can deter crime on campus and is expected to be completed in March 2020. Kim said efforts have been ongoing since before the recent crimes that occurred on campus. This semester, a student brought a revolver to campus and a former administrator was stabbed to death in the College Park parking lot. Kim did not say how many cameras could potentially be installed on campus. “We’re still in the assessment stage. We’re looking at and hope that we can complete our assessment and devise a new set of plans by spring 2020. We’ll be more than willing to share those plans with this group,” Kim said.
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