CSSA Elects Executive Officers for 2012-13

The 23 members of the California State Student Association (CSSA) have elected their executive officers for the 2012-13 academic year. The election for the executive officer positions took place at California State University, Monterey Bay on June 17, 2012. The 2012-13 executive officers, who will serve from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013, are as follows:

President - David Allison, CSU San Bernardino

Chair of the Board - Aaron Jimenez, CSU San Bernardino

Vice President of Legislative Affairs - Pedro Ramirez, CSU Long Beach

Vice President of University Affairs - Scott Silviera, CSU San Marcos

The board will elect one additional executive officer – the Vice President of Finance, as well as special officers during its July 14 meeting at the CSU Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach.

Director of Government Relations

We are happy to announce that Ms. Meredith Vivian has accepted the position of CSSA Director of Government Relations and will begin her new role on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. Ms. Vivian currently serves as Communications Manager for State Senator Lou Correa in Orange County, where she is the higher education liaison and oversees English media relations.

Ms. Vivian also worked as a District Representative for State Senator Darrell Steinberg in Los Angeles. In 2010, she was accepted to the nationally recognized CORO Executive Fellows Program, a leadership fellowship that prepares individuals for effective and ethical leadership in public affairs through direct experience and participation in civic life.

Ms. Vivian has experience at both the state and federal level, having interned at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in fall 2008 through the UCDC program. In college, Ms. Vivian also served as External Affairs Director, Vice President, and President of the College Democrats, where she coordinated campaign activities, created voter registration events, and developed the first annual College Democrats of UCSC fundraiser.

Ms. Vivian earned her undergraduate degree in history from UC Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Southern California.

Ms. Vivian currently lives with her fiancé, Brian, and black lab, Chewbacca, in Huntington Beach. She will be relocating to Sacramento in August.

State Proposes "Tuition Deal" to CSU and UC
The governor and legislature have offered the CSU system $125 million (not available until 2013-14) if the system agrees to rescind the $498 tuition increase already approved and enacted for 2012-13. This offering, however, is contingent upon voters approving the governor's tax initiative in November.

If the tax measure is approved then the CSU system would face a $132 million one-time hole in its current budget (2012-13). If the measure fails, then the $125 million will be off the table and the system will face a $250 "trigger cut" for the current year (2012-13).

Some have likened the "deal" to a $125 million carrot being dangled as an incentive for higher education stakeholders and voters to mobilize to support the governor's tax initiative. The CSU Trustees will discuss the proposal and its implications/possibilities at their upcoming meeting in Long Beach.

Cal Grants
While most of the changes to the Cal Grant program affect students at private institutions, unfortunately approximately 50,000 CSU students will be affected by the governor's veto reduction of the Cal-grant B access award from $1,551 to $1,473. The reduction amounts to $78 per recipient.

Federal Update
Congress recently voted to extend low 3.4% interest rates on federally subsidized student loans for another year. President Obama signed a transportation bill which approves $100 billion to continue funding for programs that pave roads and improve bridges and within this legislation, the student loan rate initiative was enveloped. This marks a significant victory for CSSA's federal advocacy efforts and impacts approximately 120,000 CSU students--and millions of students nationwide.

In April, CSULB President F. King Alexander, hand delivered a resolution on behalf of CSU students to the White House urging congress to pass legislation to maintain the 3.4% interest rate for Stafford Loans. The resolution also called for legislation to "force all colleges and universities to annually publish and consistently distribute to the public at-large institutional student loan indebtedness information."

Legislative Update- AB 970 (Fong)
CSSA's sponsored legislation has been approved by the State Assembly as well as the Senate Education Committee and is now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. CSSA continues to build support for this legislation which seeks to ensure transparency and accountability for the state's working families in the determination of student fee increases at the UC system and CSU system. The bill has been amended and its main components now include:

Student Involvement: Mandates student consultation at least 30-days prior to publicly noticing a proposed increase in fees.

Public Notice: Requires the Trustees (and urges Regents) to include in their public notice at which they propose a fee increase: a justification for the fee increase, the purpose of the revenue derived from fee increases, efforts to mitigate impacts of fees to needy students, potential impact to students, and alternative proposals to be considered in lieu of the fees increased.

Public Comment Period: Requires a 45-day comment period prior to acting on any proposed fee increase, in which UC and CSU encourage, solicit, and receive public comments on the proposed increase in fees.

Public Notification: Any fee increase would not become effective before a minimum of 90 days have elapsed after adoption.

July 17, 2012 - CSU Board of Trustees Meeting (Chancellor's Office)

August 2-4, 2012 - CSU Student Leader Conference (CSU Long Beach)

August 5, 2012 - CSSA Plenary Meeting (CSU Long Beach)

August 31, 2012 - Last day to get bills passed through CA legislature

September 14-16, 2012 - CSSA Plenary Meeting (Location TBD)

September 18-19, 2012 - CSU Board of Trustees Meeting (Chancellor's Office)