Campus Reports: San Luis Obispo

The mission of Associated Students, Inc. at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is to enrich the quality of student life and to complement the educational mission of Cal Poly through shared governance, student employment, student advocacy and a broad spectrum of programming, services and opportunities for leadership and social interaction.

Key Accomplishments

Student Development: In fall 2006, the newly restructured ASI student government’s executive staff came together for the first time. Every member gave countless hours to put together CP Next: Generation Vote, a program to educate and motivate students to vote that pulled in audiences of hundreds. The event was highlighted with a full debate between U.S. Congressional candidates Lois Capps and Victor Tognazzini. Another event, CP Next: Generation Sustain was put on in winter quarter and included a keynote presentation by New York Times science reporter Andy Revkin. The program pulled in even greater audiences than the fall program. In spring 2007, the executive staff team hosted CP Next: Generation Tech, building on the successes of the previous two programs.

Student Services: ASI student government has been working closely with the Cal Poly Corporation to make the acceptance of credit and debit cards at campus vendors a priority. The hardware and software upgrades necessary to allow the use of credit and debit cards has been placed in the corporation budget for 2007-2008 and will be implemented during summer 2007.

Transportation: A survey of over 380 bus riders revealed that the largest priority among students who ride the bus is to extend the service into the late evening hours. Student government collaborated with the city of San Luis Obispo to make the extension a priority. Consequently, the city applied for and won an 18-24 month grant that will allow the SLO Transit service to be extended past 10:30 p.m., fulfilling the No. 1 transit priority among students.

Student Facilities: Student leaders have been conducting an extensive outreach program to find out students’ priorities. Through visits to each of the residence halls, college councils and many clubs, the crowded gym resonated as the most commonly shared concern. To develop a solution to this problem, student leaders have been actively engaging their fellow students to find out how they value an expanded Recreation Center and what the common commitment level is.