News in brief

Michaia Hernandez, Mayra Bocanegra / Roundup

ASO banquet

The Associated Students Organization is currently planning their banquet, an annual event that occurs at the end of each spring semester.

This semester’s banquet will be held Saturday, May 28, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills.

According to Joana Dorival, ASO senator and chair of the social-cultural committee, reservations are for a total of 40 people.

Expenses, which are fully covered by ASO’s budget, will come out to approximately $41 per person. Dorival also said that because the banquet is a college-related event, the hotel is discounting the price.

“We’re actually only paying for the food and drinks,” Dorival said.

Budget woes continue

During Monday’s Academic Senate meeting, Vice President of Academic Affairs

Anna Davies, gave a brief synopsis of last week’s Town Hall meeting, where College President Kathleen Burke-Kelly discussed the prospect of a 10 percent budget cut that will affect both students and faculty.

Recent cuts have already affected summer classes and eliminated the possibility of a winter schedule, according to Davies.

The harsh budget situations are expected to continue until the year 2015, according to Davies

“I think it’s terrible that we're eliminating student opportunities,” said Academic President, Tom Rosdahl. “But it all goes back to the state, we have no money”.

As the state progressively continues to reduce sections, the need for adjunct faculty also decreases. “ When people retire, were not replacing,” said Rosdahl. “ We lose 12 faculty members, were only replacing four."

Club funding

The Associated Students Organization voted May 3 to give the Business-Economics Club $250 worth of subsidies for an upcoming speaker event.

The event, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, will feature CSUN graduates speaking about surviving college.

According to Alexander Tabolsky, standing president of the Business-Economics Club, the graduates are all majors in the field of economics, finance, accounting and business.

“They’re going to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of college,” Tabolsky said.

The ASO also approved, through a majority vote, to give $300 to the Vital program, a Pierce College project that involves accounting students giving free tax preparation assistance to community members.

The money will be used to displace expenses for an upcoming banquet for participants of the program.

Textbook policy

The ‘Textbook Taskforce Committee’ plans on implementing a new policy that will result in more affordable books for students.

According to Febe Ruiz, ASO vice president and student representative for the committee, if professors fail to follow a standing policy, the Student Store will order the same textbooks they have been buying for previous semesters.

“We found out that many professors aren’t really following [the two-week notice policy]. They turn in their forms last-minute, and so the Student Store has to order books with overnight shipping,” Ruiz said.

“Books then become more expensive for students.”

Ruiz says that she hopes the new policy will encourage professors to follow the current two-weeks-notice policy.

The committee is currently considering implementing the policy, according to Ruiz.

“We basically write up the policies that we think of, and we finalize plans at a meeting at the end of the semester,” she said.