ASI Senate discuss changes about campus safety and highlight inclusivity at Wednesday’s meeting

Associated Students Inc. shared plans for ongoing efforts to make campus a more inclusive space for all students and addressed concerns about the lack of representation at Wednesday’s Senate meeting.

“The Social Justice Inequity Committee discussed having the hashtag #CSUSaysItRight, a campaign that allows students to say their name and the origin of their name,” ASI Chief Government Relations Officer Precious Padilla said. “A lot of the time, students have to Americanize their names, and international students come up with a name that’s completely different.”

ASI also spoke about working with the California State University lawyers to bring informational workshops to campus. In conjunction with the dream success center, ASI will host pop-up legal clinics, and bring lawyers to host informational sessions. The Assembly Bill 540 and undocumented students open forum will be on Oct. 23 in USU 205 at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s still undergoing planning, but it’s important to keep in mind this is work that has been going on for a long time,” said ASI Commissioner Andrade Rodriguez about AB 540 and the open forum. “We finally have the lawyers on campus, and we want to really maximize this resource and have students take advantage.”

The committee also expressed an interest in expanding mental health resources for students, and it announced Counseling and Psychological Services is in the process of hiring an additional psychologist.

“The division of student affairs is partnering up with the dean of the College of Human Health Services to implement mental health programs, such as peer mental health advising,” ASI Vice President Leen Almahdi said. “They are currently seeking grants to be able to make this happen.”

In the past couple weeks, ASI has been working to address student concerns with campus safety. Sen. Jireh Deng said bike cages for Hillside College and Parkside College Dormitories are in the works and should be implemented soon. The senators suggested adding mirrors by the bridge to parking lot G14, as it is dark at night and difficult to see if someone is around the corner, they said.

“Safety locks are being added to classroom doors, where in an emergency, anyone can secure it,” Sen. Ryan Phong said. “There’s a panic bar and you just twist it and lock it. All of the lecture halls have new locks, but they’re going to add them to the liberal arts buildings next.”

Other ASI initiatives included meeting with the University Police Department to combat bike thefts. According to Phong, officers have been putting a notice on bikes with weak locks, and are urging students to register their bike and lock. New bike locks will be $5 for students who register.

The shuttle is still a point of concern for students, as it stops at Beachside College Dormitory after 7 p.m. Currently, students have been using community service officers as escorts, but ASI is still working on an alternate solution.

Lack of representation campus wide is a problem for many, from international students seeking sponsorship to graduate students who have voiced their concerns due to underrepresentation. Another point made was the lack of Latino faculty members on campus.

“I would like to see more representation, someone I can relate to on a personal level so that I would feel more comfortable going to their office hours,” Sen. Citlalli Ortiz said. “I think it’s common for everyone, seeing someone that looks like you doing something you might want to do in the future, I think that can affect you and motivate you.”

ASI is working to implement more programs to help students make the transition to graduate school and bring workshops and programs that specifically target graduate students, as well as job fairs and assistance to those needing sponsorship.

“This is something that has been brought up before, but it’s something we need to talk about,” Ortiz said. “It just doesn’t make sense how the majority of your students are Latinx but you’re only hiring people that are white. It doesn’t make sense in my head.”

The next ASI Senate meeting will be held Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m. in USU 234.