Starting the fall semester students will have a shorter deadline to drop classes.
The Academic Senate changed the drop deadline from the fourth week of classes to the third week of classes, said ASI President Abigail Hudson.
After the third week of classes, students would no longer be able to drop a class without a serious and compelling reason, Hudson said.
The reason for this change by the senate was because the drop deadline and the add deadline were so near to each other that once students dropped a class, other students were adding the class late, said Hudson
“That is something that I have been adamantly against, as far as making a blanket change from the fourth week to the third week,” Hudson said. “I think that there are other ways I think we can solve that problem. Such as making it the first two weeks you can drop and the third to fourth week you need a permission number or something like that.”
Hudson said the senate thought her idea was good for next year and the drop deadline will change to the third week of classes for the fall semester.
“I guess there’s a lot of problems with bottlenecking and students not being able to get into classes or getting into classes too late, which is understandable,” Hudson said. “But I think that it could really be a problem for students who want to drop after that third-week deadline, and especially if they think about pushing it to a two-week deadline. That could really cause a problem.”
Cristian Sarabia, Senator for the College of Science and Mathematics, discussed the issues facing the college at the meeting as well.
Sarabia said a lot of the equipment in the labs was out-of-date and had become a concern in different departments. There had been some fundraising and by the summer there would be changes, said Sarabia.
“They are going to be putting a lot of the funding to renovate a biology lab and a chemistry lab right now,” Sarabia said. “They are going to also get new equipment that seems out-of-date for all the departments.”
Parking and safety senator-at-large Simone Leighty went over the Sierra Madre Revitalization action plan. There had been a lot of crime issues in this area that were negatively affecting Fresno State students, Leighty said.
“This includes car break-ins, which includes Fresno State students’ cars. Local businesses reported multiple break-ins and thefts, the two fraternities that are along Shaw reported break-ins and theft of personal belongings,” Leighty said. “Also unsafe conditions for students walking to and from campus.”
Some of the current projects in Sierra Madre — one block south of campus, include monthly meetings and neighborhood cleanups while future projects include National Night Out and the renovation of an apartment complex, said Leighty.
Leighty said that she and other ASI members would present the action plan to the Fresno City Council.
The possible faculty strike was also discussed at the meeting in terms of student awareness. Hudson said that ASI was working on creating an FAQ document on the faculty strike to let students know what their rights are during a strike.
There was also talk of the possibility of a hotline that students could call if they are being blocked from going onto campus in the event of a strike, said Hudson.
The next ASI meeting will be Wednesday, March 2 at 4 p.m. in USU 312-314.