| Legislative Affairs Committee
The 2005-2006 Policy Agenda has been the committee main priority. The committee was divided into sub-groups to brainstorm strategies and methods that can be implemented to accomplish this year's goals.
Currently at priority level one is Assembly Bill 700, requesting more Cal Grants for CSU students. Media alerts and targeted publicity will be launched to bring attention to the importance of AB 700. The budget subcommittee suggested maintaining a constant presence in Sacramento through lobbying efforts and building coalitions with the Parent Teacher Association, California Faculty Association, and the Student Aid Commission. The committee will also be supporting a bill eliminating sales tax on textbooks. Media will be utilized to promote the bill and the problem of rising textbook prices.
The last issue addressed was the upcoming special election. The committee briefly went over the various propositions on the ballot. Proposition 76 was given the most attention during the discussion, due to the impact the proposition has on higher education and the CSU budget. The Legislative Committee will host a panel discussion on Proposition 76, during the CSSA conference in October at CSU Humboldt.
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University Affairs Committee
The University Affairs Committee reviewed Title V changes and confirmed that the revisions made to the code satisfied expressed student concerns. The Chancellor will also be revising Executive Order 628, which addresses university - judicial process. When the revised version of Executive Order 628 becomes available the board will review the changes also.
The revised language to Title V can be found on the Board of Trustees website at http://www.calstate.edu/BOT/agendas/, Under the Educational Policy Committee.
The committee approved the policy agenda for the 2005-2006. This year's policy agenda will focus on four items: academic advising, parking, enrollment management, and collective bargaining. Objectives and key contacts were identified in order to accomplish these goals.
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| Associated Student President Highlight:
Kamar O'Guinn
A 21-year-old native of Oakland, California Kamar O'Guinn is currently in his third year at California State University, East Bay, where he has sustained a 3.96 grade point average. Kamar is working towards a special degree in Democracy, Arts and Cultural Studies. His activities on campus is not limited to the classroom but extend to leadership positions including Vice President of the Underground Poets Society, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Black Student Union and Chair of Associated Students Incorporated. His membership on the California State Student Association Board of Directors provides his constituents with a state-wide voice on issues concerning students today.
As Chair of the Associated Student Incorporated O'Guinn has six goals for the upcoming academic year.
- Pass the ASI Fee Referendum in the Fall Revise
- Change ASI's political structure through moving away from a board of director structure
- Recruit more students from the campus community to fill university committees
- Expand ASI's visibility on campus by adopting a new marketing scheme and updating the ASI website
- Improve the ASI's business practices
- Stabilize the Early Childhood Education Center
"If we understand and do a better job of engaging our students we'll make sure that our victories serve as more than personally gratifying victories, but also as victories that mean something for our students," Said O'Guinn on advising how to be an effective student leader.
In addition to his many roles at his university campus, O'Guinn also finds time to give back. He serves daily as an after school tutor and mentor at a local Oakland middle school, and has worked with low income, first generation at-risk students through the university's Summer Bridge Program.
Those who know O'Guinn would describe him as reserved, intelligent, and strikingly passionate about life. This passion is what has helped him succeed and is directly derived from his unique life experiences while being raised in Oakland. Though he is unsure about his future life goals he is considering graduate or law school upon graduation, and commits to being an agent of social change.
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Voter Registration Education and Mobilization: Special Elections Training
A special elections training was held during September in order to equip students with the tools needed to empower their student body to be involved in civic engagement for the November 8th special election. Two trainings were held, one at CSU, Long Beach, on September 16, 2005 and a second training was held at CSU, Sacramento on September 23, 2005.
Students that attended the workshop learned techniques to mobilize their peers, students were educated about California State Laws on registration regulations. Participants learned how to design their own seven – week plan to mobilize students to vote on their campus.
CSSA would like to applaud all of the presenters that participated in the trainings. Thank you to; Jennifer Brown, the Organizing Director for United States Student Association, Dushyant Bala Outreach Coordinator for Election Services Bureau, and Sarah Stein a field representative from California Public Interest Research Group.
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| Multicultural Caucus Update
The Multicultural Caucus during its September meeting in Long Beach served as an outlet for constructive dialogue about different issues of diversity concerning higher education. A topic continuing to surface is the implications of the word "diversity." The core of the discussion centered on the word diversity what it means, who it includes and excludes. Additional concerns addressed include the sensitivity of the CSSA meeting calendar to religious holidays. The caucus recognized the difficulty of accommodating everyone's religious practices. It was concluded it is appropriate to recognize and educate each other on various religions around the world. The timing and length of the monthly meetings also surfaced as appoint of concern.. Currently, the meeting time is not conducive for members to attend the Multicultural Caucus session held at the end of the day. Suggestions included meeting earlier in the day to ensure more board participation. The committee's recommendation has been forwarded to the Internal Affairs committee for further review.
The caucus has begun setting the policy agenda for the year. The two identified agenda topics are: homophobia on the CSU Campuses and promoting faculty diversity in a way that will facilitate a conducive learning environment.
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| Internal Review Board
The Internal Review Board (IRB) met in September to discuss plans for the student trustee search. The committee approved the promotional materials for the Student Trustee Search and the timeline for the search was also agreed upon. Applications became available on the CSSA website on September 22, 2005 and are due on Wednesday, October 12, 2005. The IRB will be reviewing the applications on October 15, 2005 at the CSSA Conference at Humboldt State. Qualified applicants will be forwarded Student Trustee Interview Panel. The interviews will take place at the CSSA conference at CSU, Bakersfield in November. |
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