The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) voted to spend $31,000 of the $40,570 in planned future operations reserves on various proposals at a meeting on March 14.
Potential CSU advocacy funding
Cecilia Ruesta, a graduate student and member of Students for Quality Education (SQE), spoke during public comment about a budget plan recently proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Opponents of the proposed budget say it would leave the California State University system underfunded in the next year and possibly lead to a tuition increase for Fresno State students, Ruesta said.
Ruesta said SQE, along with other organizations, created an event called Fund the Dream that will take place on April 4 in Sacramento.
“What we are doing is we are actually taking a bus from Fresno all the way to Sacramento with as many students and faculty that can come with us,” Ruesta said. “We are going to start at Gov. Brown’s house and end at the Capitol.”
Ruesta asked for the senate to consider sponsoring a bus of its own to bring even more students to the capitol.
“I think this is a crucial moment for ASI representatives as well as other youth organizations to collaborate and create a coalition with one another,” Ruesta said.
ASI President Blake Zante called the funding situation “dire” and encouraged senators to get involved in a “unified effort” and look into sponsoring a bus for ASI to take students to the capital.
The proposal will be discussed further at the next ASI meeting.
$1,000 for Mandela statue
Professors from the Africana studies department joined professor emeritus Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor to speak during public comment of the ASI meeting about the addition of a Nelson Mandela monument to the Peace Garden.
The project was proposed at an ASI meeting on Feb. 28 where Kapoor and University President Dr. Joseph Castro proposed a donation of $25,000 to help fund the project.
Senators voiced their concerns about the impact of the monument, the value of diversity and the importance of fiscal responsibility before ultimately approving a donation of $1,000 for the Nelson Mandela monument.
$25,000 for undergraduate research
Fresno State Provost Lynnette Zelezny shared an update with the senate about the funding of undergraduate research.
She said Delritta Hornbuckle, the dean of library services for the Henry Madden Library, will donate $50,000 from the library’s budget reserves to fund half of the amount needed for undergraduate research.
Sen. Kevin Ngo, college of science and mathematics, said that the donation from Hornbuckle would only fund half of the usual $100,000 for undergraduate research. Ngo introduced an action item to pull $25,000 from the ASI reserve funds to contribute to bring the total amount to $75,000.
“Undergraduate research is a high priority,” Ngo said. “It’s one of seven different high-impact practices for students.”
Ngo said the 25 percent cut to funding would make the process more rigorous and competitive but would help the program survive and continue to serve students. The action item was approved unanimously for the amount of $25,000.
$5,000 for Rec Center renovations
Sen. Casandra Ramirez-Sanchez, athletics & recreation, presented a proposed $5,000 reserve pull to fund the purchase of card readers and a combo rack for the weight area at the Student Recreation Center on campus.
Sen. Alexandra Chavez, student affairs, voiced her support for the Rec Center upgrades.
“I think this is a really great step forward in renovating the Rec Center,” Chavez said. “It impacts so many students and it’s such a good way for students to be healthy and active. Being active is an integral part of mental health and overall well-being.”
The card readers would be used to deter non-students from participating in intramural sports. The readers would also allow the Rec Center to gather more data about the number of students who are involved in intramurals.
The proposal was later approved.