President Chris Chavez addressed the California State University’s unstable relationship with the state government in Wednesday’s “Confronting Crisis: The Student Defense Initiative,” the State of the Associated Students speech.
“California has essentially said that they don’t care about our campus, our community, our future,” Chavez said.
Chavez’s “student defense initiative” delivers a five-point plan — highlighting academics, logistics, advocacy, morale and outreach — in an attempt to draw a navigational path for students in the budget crisis.
“Simply put, we can’t expect the faculty, staff or administration to have our interest always in mind,” Chavez said. ASI’s goals for the year, with the students first and foremost in mind, are outlined within each category.
Chavez said that despite the hardships imposed by the budget restraints, ASI will continue to fight for programs and services that will not only allow students to reach their goal of graduation but to deal with problems outside the academic scope as well, such as financial literacy counseling, legal aid and health care services.
“We know what we want to get out of a college experience, and the crisis we face threatens our ability to achieve that — and defending what we the students want is the main purpose of our administration this year,” Chavez said.
The possibility of amending the unit cap was also discussed, as Chavez reported faculty concerns for students majoring in more than one department.
“Some faculty members are saying we’ve made it a culture where we’re promoting double majors, and what’s the purpose of it? Are we trying to get students out as soon as possible, or are we trying to give students the opportunity to make themselves more well-rounded?” Chavez said. For students who are double majoring, the unit cap would impose a definite limitation.
Models from San Jose State and San Francisco State are being studied to remedy the issue.
One suggestion from Tony Garcia, senator at large, was to delay the unit cap until the following year. However, Garcia also said he understood the positive aspects of the unit cap.
“It’s not fair if someone has 300 units — they just need to graduate,” Garcia said. “And if we do have a unit cap, that allows us the possibility of getting more students into [Cal State Long Beach],” Garcia said.