Campus Reports: Channel Islands

The Associated Students, Inc. of California State University, Channel Islands is dedicated to serving the student body by voicing the needs of all students through equal representation. For 2005-2007, student government focused on the further development and enhancement of ASI’s four platforms. This was accomplished through co-curricular programs, communication and student unification as well as leadership programs.

Key Accomplishments

Leadership and Involvement: The Associated Students, Inc. of CSU Channel Islands made the platform of leadership and involvement a top priority. Through a survey done in May 2006, 95 percent of the students felt the Student Union should be a priority for the campus. That is why student government as the official voice of the students worked closely with ASI to progress with the Student Union. Once the location was approved, the students were approached with a fee referendum, which 73 percent of the students accepted. ASI is now in the planning and facilitating process for the building of the Student Union.

Civic Engagement: ASI improved upon the platform of civic engagement with the extremely successful Readership Program. Student government correlated with USA Today to provide the students of CSU Channel Islands with free newspapers from USA Today, The Ventura County Star, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. The availability of these newspapers increased student awareness and students’ understanding of current events locally, nationally and internationally. This co-curricular program was also successful among professors, who came to depend on this resource for their courses, which allowed students an opportunity to share thoughts and ideas related to being responsible citizens.

Internal Structure: ASI further advanced its platform of internal structure by establishing the first senate committees. The first is the Committee on Student Advocacy, which consists of three senators and three students-at-large to advocate on behalf of CSU Channel Islands students about pertinent campus issues. The next committee is the Bylaws Committee, which is composed of three senators who studied the bylaws and mission statement of the CSU Channel Islands student government, making the necessary and appropriate changes to drastically improve the current document. Both of the committees have improved communication relations within student government.