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ASI ELECTIONS 2018
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PEACE GARDEN
ASI donates $1,000 for Mandela statue
Why are supporters upset? By Angelica Hernandez @avh1992
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Illustration by Kong Thao
nance Cam Patterson urged senators to take into consideration the amount of funds that have already been spent on projects this year. “We had a meeting where we allocated $105,000,” Patterson said. “We had another meeting where we allocated another $15,000 reserve pull, and I just want us to be considerate of future senates that we have for ASI.” Sen. Edgar Castro, parking and safety, also spoke about fiscal
By Bineet Kaur
responsibility and the impact a monument would have for students. “I’m in favor of this project, but I feel like the amount [$25,000] is a lot of money,” Castro said. “For example, that could go to more sponsored activity grants, something that will affect the students directly.” A motion was later made by Sen. Travis Childress, Greek affairs, to lower the donation
Ramuel Reyes • The Collegian
seph Castro. After public comment, the senators began to deliberate over the amount of funds to donate to the project. ASI President Blake Zante expressed his support for the project and said that any contribution would be significant to help install a monument that would demonstrate “the values that we claim to hold as a university.” Various senators argued against the requested amount of $25,000. Vice President of Fi-
Students fight to ‘fully fund’ CSUs Next month, California State University (CSU) students and faculty will gather at the state capital to unite in favor of funding higher education. The efforts are in the name of “a fully funded CSU,” said CSU spokeswomen Elizabeth Chapin Hetherington. Jennifer Eagan, president of the California Faculty Association (CFA), said that CSU campuses were originally intended to be universities that serve all kinds of students who are seeking higher education. But now, Eagan said the cost is becoming a barrier for many students. “The CSU is supposed to be a place where anyone who was willing and able to do the work and take the classes and get the grades was promised a place in a fouryear university,” Eagan said in an interview recently. “It’s not supposed to matter how much money a student could afford to pay.” As tuition has increased over time, CSU campuses can no longer accept everyone like they used to, Eagan said. She added that the CSU system turns away more than 30,000 qualified students a year. The reason, she said, is underfunding from the state. “The funding from the state does not keep up with the number of qualified students who want to attend the CSU,” Eagan said. Along with the rising cost to attend a CSU, the CSU student body has evolved, according to Eagan. She said that the student body in the CSU system used to be approximately 70 percent white. Now, about 72 percent of the CSU student body is composed of people of color. Eagan said CSU advocates believe it’s the state government’s responsibility to treat CSU students just as worthy as those from the past. She also said that more students with college degrees are beneficial to California overall. “Those are really not so much expenditures, but investments,” Eagan said. “For every dollar spent by the state on the CSU, the return on the state economy is between four or five dollars.” Eagan noted that the state government has a surplus reserve of approximately $7 billion. “These are very good fiscal times for the state,” Eagan said.
Gina De Young votes during the Associated Students, Inc. Elections at the voting booths set up at the Armenian Genocide Monument on March 20, 2018. Voting ends March 22, 2018. Check your Fresno State e-mail for instructions. The ballot also includes the New USU referendum.
he Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) voted to donate $1,000 for a Nelson Mandela statue, but it’s not the amount for which supporters of the project were hoping. Professors from the Africana studies department spoke during public comment at last week’s ASI senate meeting in an attempt to persuade ASI to donate funds for the installation of a Mandela statue in the Peace Garden at Fresno State. Professor emeritus Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor addressed the senate once again to stress the need for student ownership of the Peace Garden. He had made an appearance at the last senate meeting to propose the donation with University President Dr. Jo-
TUITION