CSU trustees approve pay raise Amy Williams staff writer The California State University Board of Trustees voted 11-3 on March 20 to increase the salaries of two CSU presidents by roughly 10 percent. Cal State Fullerton President Mildred Garcia will now receive $324,500 a year, while Cal State East Bay’s Leroy Morishita will receive $303,660. Each president will also receive a $12,000 car allowance and $60,000 for housing annually. The decision angered students protesting outside the meeting, who represented those who face further tuition hikes and enrollment cutbacks. Gov. Jerry Brown spoke in opposition of the pay increases. “The colleges, and not just those, but a lot of public employers, think they have to give pay raises. I don’t think so. Because the average person has not gotten a pay raise, and the kids have been paying more in tuition.” CSU administrators defended the raises, as they said they are necessary to attract the best presidents possible to the CSU system. According to CSU trustee Lou Monville, last year the two
presidents in question, “brought in $343 million in external resources back to this institution.” The 23 CSU presidents’ combined salaries consume $7 million of the approximately $2 billion CSU budget. This equates to 0.35 percent. Many who defend the raise said compared to universities across the United States, the CSU schools still have a lower average presidential salary. In response to the decision, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 967 to the Senate Education Committee, which would prohibit pay raises for both CSU and University of California administrators within two years of a tuition hike or budget cut. The bill did not pass the committee. Instead, the Board of Trustees are constrained by the 10 percent limit on presidential salary raises. The decision became even more controversial because at the same meeting, the trustees discussed how to assess the $200 million cut that will occur if Brown’s tax initiative fails this fall. All but eight CSUs may have to wait list all applicants to the Fall 2013 semester, and the Cal Grant system will be further hurt. Some schools may enact unit caps on students.
MONDAY April 2, 2012 Volume 97, Issue 96 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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Mildred Garcia (left) and Leroy Morishita (right). | COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS AND CSU EAST BAY
Secrets, regret and emotions roil in The Old Globe’s latest production.
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Harambee Weekend opens arms
More than 50 African-American students received a warm welcome to kick off Explore SDSU weekend last month. | COURTESY OF BRANDON WILLIAMS
Edward Henderson senior staff writer Last month, San Diego State’s Cross Cultural Center hosted its third annual Harambee Weekend. The event, named after the Swahili word meaning
“all pull together,” hosts recently admitted African American students and their families. Students are given the opportunity to interact with current SDSU students and spend the night in a residence hall before Explore SDSU activities begin the next day. Parents are able to speak with current students, faculty and administrators about pro-
grams SDSU offers to make their children’s transition into college as smooth as possible. The event was created in response to backlash from national coverage of the Compton Cookout hosted by fraternity members from University of California San Diego in February of 2010. The off-campus cookout was hosted to mock black his-
tory month and encouraged guests to wear “ghetto attire.” SDSU student Nasnet Andemariam served as one of the facilitators of Harambee Weekend. “Students were going to feel like they couldn’t come to any school in San Diego because all the schools were racist,” said Andemariam. “(Harambee Weekend) was a part of an initiative to show prospective African American students that SDSU isn’t like that.” Once African American high school students receive acceptance letters from SDSU, they also receive an invitation to attend Harambee Weekend. This year’s event hosted 50 students and their families. While parents spoke with faculty and administrators, student volunteers provided entertainment for the high school students. Performances included spoken word poets, singers and a dance routine from SDSU’s K.O. Hip-Hop Dance Team. After the performances, the overnight portion of the event began in Chapultepec. SDSU student volunteers held an open discussion with the high school students answering questions and concerns about what life is like at SDSU. Volunteers ended the night with games, music and one-onone interaction with students.
Hundreds gather for Pow Wow Faculty behind SDSU’s American Indian studies honored Alejandra Paz staff writer On Saturday, March 17, the San Diego State American Indian Alumni Association hosted its Iipay Mateyum 41st
Annual Pow Wow at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center. The event was sponsored by the SDSU’s President’s Fund while the SDSU Native American Student Alliance tabled in support. Children as young as two years old were in attendance and were exposed to the university at an early age, called the Soaring Eagles. Vice President of the American Indian Alumni Association, Jerry Martinez said the purpose of the powwow is to promote awareness of Native
American heritage throughout the community and surrounding areas. “It is important to enhance the Native American heritage in our campus,” Martinez said. “Presently we have an underrepresented presence of Native Americans on campus.” During the ceremony, retired professor emerita Dr. Gwendalle Cooper was honored for her service to the community and for playing an integral role in inaugurating American Indian studies at SDSU.
SDSU’s Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Aaron Bruce said it is important to acknowledge those who have contributed to the community. He said it was great to see Cooper’s former students supporting her. Bruce said becoming aware of what SDSU was before becoming a university is imperative. “This campus is Kumeyaay land, the land of the original people,” Bruce said. “We must recognize the importance of history as we move forward.”
E N T E R TA I N M E N T New releases from The All American Rejects and Adestria delight.
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I stopped caring if the answers were correct or not. My brain spewed ridiculousness, it was hard enough to pick up a pencil at that point. B A C K PA G E
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