Sheng Moua and Mao Vang sit in one of the new bowling alley
tables paid with student fees.
Esteban Cortez / The Collegian
Each Fresno State student pays more than $100 each semester to support their University Student Union. The student union board members want every student to know they have a say in how money is spent.
Chairman of the USU board Yesenia Carrillo and 14 other board members are trying to bring more awareness to the student body on what the USU has to offer.
“We are trying to target freshman classes to let them know what we have to offer,” Carrillo said. “We want to encourage people to use the USU.”
Carrillo wants students to understand that the USU is an advisory board. They take information they gather from the student body, such as how to spend the student union money. They then relay the ideas to Associated Students, Inc., who ultimately vote and make decisions.
Carrillo said they are making presentations for freshman classes in order to teach them early what the USU offers. The board members are making other strides to get students more involved.
Hydration stations are an example of a recent decision made by ASI from a recommendation brought forth by Student Union board members.
There are three hydration stations located in the USU, one on each floor. They make it easy to fill up your empty plastic or reusable water bottles because of an area located on the drinking fountain that pours water into any bottle, automatically.
The fountains have saved hundreds of thousands of plastic water bottles during the year and a half they have been on campus, said Mehrzad Zarrin, who is in charge of facility operations at the USU. This number can be monitored because the fountain counts every time it is used, to represent the amount of plastic bottles it has saved.
Zarrin said these each fountains cost more than $1,200 ,which comes from student fees.
Nicole Johnson explained how the board recommended the recent renovations to the bowling alley and rooms in the USU.
“Some of the meeting rooms in the USU got new flat screen projectors,” Johnson said. “The bowling alley got new tables and the rec room is getting all new furniture.”
The meeting rooms are open for all students to reserve for any reason. They are used for club meetings, fraternity meetings and other school oriented activities but students always have priority.
David Aguilar, junior and board member, said the board is actively involved in putting together a suggestion box that will be located in the reservation and information center at the USU. “We want to gauge student’s opinions as much as possible.”
The board hopes the suggestion box will give them ideas for future projects. Carrillo said one project they are working on is renovating the fountain located in front of the bookstore.
“We are hoping to be done by next May,” Carrillo added. “We want to add a concrete wall around it where people can sit. We are trying to renovate the look of it.”
Any student can attend the weekly USU board meetings and are encouraged to do so, Carrillo said. The meetings are held Mondays at the upper floor of the USU.
