Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 1, 2018 Weekly Print Edition
Vol. 104, Issue 32 www.thedailyaztec.com
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Faculty union condemns Aztec mascot, moniker by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR
The union representing most California State University faculty voted last week to condemn San Diego State’s mascot, as well as those of two other CSU campuses. In a vote at the California Faculty Association 87th annual assembly in Los Angeles on April 14 and 15, members denounced the Aztecs moniker, the mascot’s human representation and “the usage of spears or weapons that connote violent and barbaric representations of Indigenous cultures.” The resolution states SDSU is “on Kumeyaay land and the Kumeyaay were not consulted to create a culturally appropriate mascot.” The CFA also condemned two other CSU mascots — the CSU East Bay Pioneers and the CSU Long Beach 49ers — as being representative of “a genocidal history against Indigenous peoples in California,” though it says CSU Long Beach “has worked to address their problematic mascot ‘Prospector Pete’ with truth-telling, fostered healing, and collective unity with the local Indigenous peoples.” CSU San Marcos and CSU Channel Islands were both
referenced for having “proactively worked with the local Indigenous community on whose land they reside to establish a campus identity that is rooted in place” and having “worked with the Chumash to create a culturally appropriate mascot,” respectively. Faculty Association Vice President Charles Toombs, who is a professor of Africana Studies at SDSU as well as the campus’ CFA chapter president, said the resolution was initiated by the organization’s Indigenous People’s caucus of the Council for Affirmative Action within the CFA before passing with support from the whole assembly. Toombs declined to speculate on what effect the resolution may have on the mascot. “There’s a lot of discussion going on from different people about the Aztec mascot and we’ll certainly see what the task force recommends when it completes its work,” he said. Brandon Jones, who just finished his time as SDSU’s College Republicans president, said he thinks the mascot is a non-issue. “The mascot debate started by students and faculty on campus SEE MASCOT, PAGE 2
Photo by Kelly Smiley
San Diego State’s Aztec mascot at a Mountain West tournament game in Las Vegas in March.
Chancellor White: No tuition increase for 2018-2019 by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR
Tuition levels will remain the same at California State University campuses next year, the chancellor’s office announced April 20. The CSU Board of Trustees was set to discuss the issue in May. The board first considered
raising tuition at a meeting in January after California Gov. Jerry Brown’s office released a budget proposal that many officials said significantly underfunded the 23-campus university system. CSU Chancellor Timothy White said in a statement that despite the budgetary concerns, tuition will remain unchanged for the 20182019 academic year as “our state’s economy is strong and many
lawmakers support the CSU.” Tuition rose just last year, when the Board of Trustees approved a $270 increase for full-time undergraduate students in March 2017. White said the decision to keep tuition flat was not made lightly. “There will be serious adverse consequences if state funding falls short of meeting our university needs,” he said. “Without sufficient
additional dollars, campuses will need to reevaluate staffing levels, programs and services. We would be put in the situation that less is achievable with insufficient funding – less than our aspirations and goals, less than our state’s needs, and less than our students’ expectations.” The governor’s budget proposal in January allocated $92 million — to the CSU system for fiscal
year 2019. That may not be the final number, as the final state budget won’t be voted on until June. But it’s a less-than-ideal starting point, administrators said after the proposal was released. “We expected $102 million,” SEE TUITION, PAGE 2