ASO cuts club funds

STEVEN TAN Reporter @stevent_roundup

ASO has partially stopped funding events and club activities at Pierce College following new leadership, which seeks to restructure policies and give new recommendations for what ASO members can do to raise funding.

Clubs on campus will have to continue to partially fund themselves this semester while the ASO upholds its restructured policies on budgeting and financing.

“In a sense, with this ASO, we try to really revamp and live up to what the student government should be at college,” ASO President Efren Lopez said. “There is going to be a lot of structural change in ASO.”

Lopez said that previous leadership was lenient when it came to funding activities; however, the ASO is encouraging clubs to seek other alternatives such as fundraising for their events.

ASO treasurer Matthew Aguilera said, with a focus on budgeting, only significant items that clubs and departments need will be financed.

"We are encouraging clubs and departments to fundraise for particular things they are requesting that don’t correlate with the goals of ASO,” Aguilera said. “Things that are not significant to their cause like food, drinks; we are not catering to students in that sense. We are trying to support them with larger, more significant items.”

The Graphic Literature Club disbanded in spring due to disinterest is rechartering this semester. According to the club's president Patrick Genter, ASO didn't fund them, so they had to fundraise themselves.

"The last time we did a fundraiser was last fall semester.

From there, we made $163 in funds,” Genter said. “What ASO does help us with, is providing the paperwork we need to fill out for fundraising events.” job at supporting the cultural identities and diversity of our campus.”

Lopez said that Pierce clubs can take initiative and ask outside organizations for donations and funds.

According to Macias, the campus coming together during this time of uncertainty over DACA is necessary. “I went [to the march] to support. Once I started seeing the flyers I tried to promote them here at the library to build the awareness across campus,” Macias said. “DACA students aren’t just latino, whether you are a DACA student or not, it's good to show that we are aware about these issues, that we are conscious.”

Shigueru Tsuha, Sociology Instructor, said Latino/Hispanic

Heritage Month puts a spotlight on the people around us, making us more aware of our surroundings.

“We are a diverse society, and we are going to continue to become more diverse,” Tsuha said. “You can look around and see ourselves represented in our community, but at the same time it's a group that gets scapegoated a lot.” “When there’s that kind of negativity going around in society as a whole, I believe it's very easy to feel bad about oneself, and maybe to some degree there’s some self-hatred going on.”

People can't continue to foster the idea of what a Latino is, said Tsuha.