Six months after being elected Associated Students president, Joshua Wood has begun work to fulfill many campaign promises.

Throughout his campaign, Wood focused on building student retention and was in opposition to fee increases, including those to support the Recreation, Wellness and Events Center, building a Greek row and increasing campus security.

To accomplish many of his campaign promises, Wood has developed a three-initiative plan called the Students' Agenda. The plan does not include campus security or the RWEC.

"The three-tier program supports our goal of making it easier for a student to be a student," Wood said.

The first initiative is meant to fulfill Wood's campaign promise concerning low attrition by building a retention center.

According to Institutional Research, a research Web site that analyzes graduation rates and retention, the five-year graduation rate at Sac State for first time freshman students is 31 percent.

With the development of a retention center, Wood hopes to see these percentages increase while creating a support system for incoming freshman.

The retention center would include a 24-hour computer lab, tutoring, mentoring and a program that connects incoming freshman with older experienced students.

Wood assures that no additional increases will be added to fund this project.

"Finances for this project are available, however, the student body must vote to transfer funds from the Spring 1997 Service Fee Referendums to support the retention center," Wood said.

Students vote Nov. 23 and 24 whether to support the project by redirecting fees from financial aid resources to the center's construction.

The plan's second initiative addresses Wood's campaign promise to regulate student fee increases.

The anti-fee increase initiative would ensure that student fees do not increase to the extent that they have in the past. ASI is collecting 300,000 signatures from registered California voters, preferably in the CSU system, to petition the California secretary of state.

If ASI successfully collects signatures within the designated time period, a measure will be placed on the 2006 ballot restricting fee increases from raising more than 5 percent for any academic year.

Brandon Kline, who ran against Wood on the yellow slate, does not believe ASI has a solid agenda because Wood's approach to stabilizing fee increases is not realistic.

"Students deserve a stable, predictable fee structure," Kline said. "But the money will have to come from somewhere."

Fees rose 30 percent in fall 2003, adding $474 onto undergraduate fees and $522 for graduate fees. Sacramento State and ASI are carrying this initiative with help from the CSU Student Governing Board to prevent fees from drastically rising again.

The third initiative in Wood's agenda concerns his promise to develop a Greek row. Wood has been working with Matthew Altier, executive director of the CSUS Foundation, collecting data pertaining to a Greek row.

According to a letter from the ASI office, the organization has found several interested developers for the project.

Wood is also working with Tom Carroll, program adviser for Student Activities, using the San Diego State Greek housing project as a model. At San Diego, the Greek row was a development between Student Housing Corporation and the University Foundation.

The red slate, whose members all sit on ASI's executive board, voted on issues prior to the 2004 election. The majority of its members, including Wood, were against the RWEC measure to increase student fees to fund the project. The RWEC measure passed even though Wood won the election with an anti-RWEC campaign.

Colleen Ripchick, who ran on the red slate and is ASI vice president of university affairs, said that establishing design and construction of the RWEC is ultimately the responsibility of the University Union Board and the CSUS Foundation.

She also said ASI's responsibility to secure and enact the voice of the students was fulfilled when students voted to pass the RWEC measure.

Ripchick said that although the RWEC is not one of ASI's three initiatives, ASI is working behind the scenes to ensure that the voice of the students is heard.

"ASI has established (RWEC) committees and is currently appointing students to these committees in order to support the student voice," Ripchick said.

Eric Guerra, former ASI President, realizes that although ASI does not have control over establishing the physical development of the RWEC, the organization should strive to be involved in the development of the project.

The students' opinion of the project and the services students want from the RWEC are both topics Guerra believes should be addressed thoroughly by ASI.

Guerra believes ASI and Wood should consider the $73 million project an initiative and concentrate on operations of the RWEC that will affect students' lives.

"ASI cannot go into this project after it is developed and expect to be listened to by developers," Guerra said. "It is the little details that will affect the students' involvement with the (RWEC), and ASI is obligated to ensure no student sacrifices are made. ASI has a responsibility to the students to act aggressively in examining these details and argue, for the students, about policies ASI believes should be looked at."

Wood also campaigned to increase campus security by providing additional lighting and increase the visibility of officers around campus. The initiative to make these improvements is in the planning stages. Wood hopes to use word of mouth and different marketing procedures to promote informational resources to students concerned with safety.

"I have met with (Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez) three or four times regarding campus security," Wood said. "We don't want to rush into anything without proper planning."

Wood took office May 31 and is serving a 12-month term with ASI. Next February, new candidates will begin to campaign and plan for an upcoming election.

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