Students who cannot attend Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) meetings in person will soon have a new way to learn about what is going on with their student government.

Starting Feb. 24, ASI meetings will also be streamed live on the Internet, so students can access the meetings from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Valerie Hosch, director of communications for ASI, said the organization has been working to make meetings available to all students.

Hosch said she hopes students will become more engaged in things happening on campus by being aware of what their student government is doing.

“Knowing what is going on around campus is the first step to getting involved and making a difference at Fresno State,” Hosch said.

“One of the issues we heard from students last semester was that some were unable to attend the Senate meetings,” Hosch said. “We are hoping that by broadcasting the meetings live, more students will be informed about campus issues and what ASI is doing to represent them.”

ASI will also keep a library of past meetings on the Web site so students can watch previous Senate meetings, ASI chief of staff Cole Rojewski said.

Rojewski said it is important for students to have access to Senate meetings so they can get involved on campus.

“ASI wants to engage all students on what we are working on and get their input,” Rojewski said. “Many decisions made at these meetings affect all students.”

He said students will be able to learn about what is happening around them, so they can be better prepared to take action.

“Students can stay up-to-date on current issues and actions that affect them,” Rojewski said. “They will be better informed, so when they take action, they will be able to know what has been done by the ASI Senate.”

ASI President Jessica Sweeten said streaming Senate meetings live is a great way to give students the opportunity to learn what ASI is doing for Fresno State.

“Students will definitely benefit from the live meetings,” Sweeten said. “Those that are not able to attend can watch online and learn about the inner workings of our organization.”

Melissa Mata, the Senator of undergraduate and graduate affairs, said she is very excited about the meetings being streamed live, and thinks it will help keep ASI available to students.

“I think it is another big step toward shared governance and accountability,” Mata said.

A link will be available on the ASI Web site, www.asi.csufresno.edu, and the Bulldog Blog Web site, www.bulldogblog.net, for students to access the video streaming of meetings, Hosch said.

Senate meetings are held in room 3212 of the Henry Madden Library at 4 p.m. every other Wednesday.