By A press conference was held by the Associated Students, Inc. to give candidates an opportunity to discuss their views on issues important to Cal State Long Beach on Tuesday.
Building stronger relationships between students and ASI, parking and the media were discussed.
In addition, there was a consensus that CSULB is a commuter campus and more effort has to be put forth by ASI and catch students while they’re here to involve them with the campus.
Presidential candidate Erin Swetland said ASI needs to increase its communication to the campus community and provide more opportunities for students to participate.
Swetland said that a monthly newsletter should be sent via e-mail linking students to everything that is happening on campus and what current projects and events ASI is involved in.
ASI vice presidential candidate Christopher Chavez said that ASI needs to work with other student groups that work with promotion, and use their help to help improve involvement in campus activities, which he said have been stagnant. He said working with other groups and organizations will help build stronger campus communication.
“We could do a lot more than just what we could do on our own,” Chavez said. “The stronger the campus community is, the better we will be.”
Continuing from Chavez’s point, Ruben Cordova, a vice presidential candidate, said that candidates have to step out of their own roles when dealing with communication and approach the huge issue by targeting everyone. He said individuals have to use their own organizations for cohesiveness to better serve the students and to actually begin tackling the issues.
“This is an issue that’s huge and it’s not an easy task to do right away,” Cordova said.
Swetland also suggested an increase in carpool parking spots as a solution to parking problems, saying that the existing match list will help pair up students to commute together to campus. She also said ASI should see if it can work with the city to help get people on and off campus.
Raul Preciado disagreed with the carpooling plan. He said carpooling is not the solution because there are too many complications. He thought students should just wait out parking problems and that shuttles are a better solution. Chavez also said that parking problems are a cyclical issue, and as more structures are built, the campus will continue to temporarily lose spaces.
Preciado said he shares in students’ struggles as a commuter student.
President of the Conservative Student Union Jason Aula, giving his own perspective on the parking issue, pointed out that with the budget crisis they need to look at how to finance new parking structures.
Candidates also expressed the need for a good relationship with the media.
“The media is vitally important,” Chavez said, adding that the media is a way of holding the government accountable.
Chavez wants a good two-way relationship with the media, but to keep it an objective relationship so that “when we screw up, they report on it,” he said.
Kasey Schoen, candidate for USU Board of Trustees, said the Union Weekly is home in the University Student Union and that it can help in promoting more. The media needs to be looked into more deeply, she said.
Preciado agreed that the relationship between the media and ASI needs to be strong. He said that he would respond to any comments made by the media and said that there needs to be more accountability.
Aula said he wants to see the Daily Forty-Niner follow a “code of ethics.”
“I feel it’s very unethical, discriminating,” he said.
Disagreeing with Aula, Schoen said she thought that the Daily Forty-Niner is not unethical. Shahin Younessi, a candidate for senator of the College of the Arts, said he also disagreed with the notion that the Daily Forty-Niner is one-sided.
“Who cares, man? It’s a free society,” Younessi said. He said that it was good for the campus to have two perspectives on an issue and that it’s up to the individual which paper he or she decides to read.
Chavez said he would never control the media, and he will have an open door policy for everyone. In response to their comments, Aula said that he agrees that all papers should be independent, but that there is a code of ethics that needs to be followed.
There will be a meet-and-greet for all candidates next Tuesday on the Friendship Walk and Wednesday by the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf from noon to 1 p.m.
Tiffany Rider also contributed to this report.
