Spring Break
ASI listens to student concerns at town hall
Benjamin R. Schilter
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: News
Associated Students, Inc. addressed comments and concerns from students and distributed free sandwiches and sodas during a town hall meeting in the University Union on Thursday.
The ASI also set up a bank of laptops for students to take an online survey about the student government. The survey, organized by the Student Relations Committee, asked students the extent of their knowledge of ASI's involvement in campus activities and allowed students to make suggestions as to how ASI could better serve them.
"Even some students who didn't want the sandwiches came to fill out the survey, to see what they could do to help," said Andres Perez, director of the College of Arts And Letters.
Issues discussed included potential increases in tuition, student eligibility for financial aid and alternative purchasing for increasingly expensive textbooks.
ASI President Miguel Cervantes and Executive Vice President Roberto Torres introduced the board members to an audience of 20 people and spoke about the services ASI provides and how the student government is addressing student concerns.
Junior child development major Jasmine Piring asked the directors what the student government was doing to ensure that tuition does not increase a great deal.
"What is ASI doing to keep fees low, or at least not so bad an increase?" Piring asked.
Cervantes understood that many students felt the impact of the fee increases as well. He told the audience that his roommate had to leave school for a time last year to work because he could not keep up with the fee increases. Cervantes said that the CSU system has not been fully funded for at least the past six years and that's where fee increases of more than 100 percent have come from.
"We've worked mainly with members of the state legislature through the CSSA. We're working to advocate the will of the students and talking to each member representative around the state," he said. "We're asking for them to find alternative sources of revenue so they can fully fund the CSU."
Junior social sciences major Brandon Silveira felt that the directors were honest and really wanted to know how students felt about issues that affected them. He particularly appreciated their candor and willingness to reach out to students.
"(I didn't know about) their influence on our state government and how we can influence it as students if we all come together; they made that pretty clear," Silveira said. "I liked how genuine the members were, I liked how they looked at everyone and spoke to us one-on-one, asked if there were any questions or what our opinions were."
Torres said that increasing funding should not be on the backs of students, but he also asked one thing of the students in the audience.
"When there are rallies, you should also be there," he told them. "That is the true power we have."
Ben Schilter can be reached at bschilter@statehornet.com
The ASI also set up a bank of laptops for students to take an online survey about the student government. The survey, organized by the Student Relations Committee, asked students the extent of their knowledge of ASI's involvement in campus activities and allowed students to make suggestions as to how ASI could better serve them.
"Even some students who didn't want the sandwiches came to fill out the survey, to see what they could do to help," said Andres Perez, director of the College of Arts And Letters.
Issues discussed included potential increases in tuition, student eligibility for financial aid and alternative purchasing for increasingly expensive textbooks.
ASI President Miguel Cervantes and Executive Vice President Roberto Torres introduced the board members to an audience of 20 people and spoke about the services ASI provides and how the student government is addressing student concerns.
Junior child development major Jasmine Piring asked the directors what the student government was doing to ensure that tuition does not increase a great deal.
"What is ASI doing to keep fees low, or at least not so bad an increase?" Piring asked.
Cervantes understood that many students felt the impact of the fee increases as well. He told the audience that his roommate had to leave school for a time last year to work because he could not keep up with the fee increases. Cervantes said that the CSU system has not been fully funded for at least the past six years and that's where fee increases of more than 100 percent have come from.
"We've worked mainly with members of the state legislature through the CSSA. We're working to advocate the will of the students and talking to each member representative around the state," he said. "We're asking for them to find alternative sources of revenue so they can fully fund the CSU."
Junior social sciences major Brandon Silveira felt that the directors were honest and really wanted to know how students felt about issues that affected them. He particularly appreciated their candor and willingness to reach out to students.
"(I didn't know about) their influence on our state government and how we can influence it as students if we all come together; they made that pretty clear," Silveira said. "I liked how genuine the members were, I liked how they looked at everyone and spoke to us one-on-one, asked if there were any questions or what our opinions were."
Torres said that increasing funding should not be on the backs of students, but he also asked one thing of the students in the audience.
"When there are rallies, you should also be there," he told them. "That is the true power we have."
Ben Schilter can be reached at bschilter@statehornet.com
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