By The Associated Students, Inc.’s board meeting on Feb. 26 focused on different phases coming for the University Student Union, legislative bills the association is standing behind and the support to fight substance abuse.
Capital Projects Program Manager Lisa Salgado gave an update on the progress of the USU renovations.
Construction is expected to begin in April and will continue through different phases and sections of the area.
The first area being renovated is the Friendship Walk, which will be built next to and leading to the soon-to-be expanded USU building.
The Friendship Walk will consist of alcove seating, a sloped walkway, a lawn with flowering trees and an overlook.
According to Salgado, while the escalators are not in their plans going forward, students should not worry because more elevators will be available.
Representative Nicholas Nieto of the Lobby Corps gave updates on legislative bills.
The ASI Lobby Corps are preparing to attend the California Higher Education Student Summit to express their opposition to many legislative bills mentioned within the California Bills of Interest, drafted by Lobby Corps themselves, including, State Legislative Bill AB-18.
The bill is meant to combat illegal immigration and secure the border by cutting the funding of various welfare, health and housing services available to undocumented immigrants.
According to Executive Vice President Matt Melendrez, the Lobby Corps will also support bills that positively reinforce undocumented students.
“You can also look at the other legislations that [the Lobby Corps] will support at CHESS, like improved affordability, and they will talk about sustainability and affordable housing for our students as well,” Melendrez said.
Nieto said that one of the Senate bills that they will be backing at the summit in Sacramento is SB12, made by Senate Majority Leader Lena Garcia. This bill will support K-12 schools and their immigrant students.
Senate Bill SB12 will also affect many Long Beach students, according to Nieto.
“We are one of the leading schools with an undocumented population, so we feel we should get more support for these reasons. It is an opportunity for students to have a voice in the legislative process,” Nieto said.
The Senate also discussed federal support to combat substance abuse disorders.
Senator of the College of Business Administration, Quinn Bentley, advocated for the federal government to allocate an additional 1 billion dollars (a 2.25% increase of their current funding which is currently between 43-44 billion dollars, according to Bentley) to fund programs that specifically target prevention, research, treatment and overdose reversal medications.
Through Bentley’s research, it was discovered that Stanford University conducted a study that reveals the psychoactive drug Ibogaine had significant effects on veterans that were not only suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder but from substance abuse as well.
Bentley said funding can help bring that same treatment to people here in the States since it is usually found and used outside the country.
