Professor criticized for political views — Feb 1.
By David Cowan
Psychology professor Kevin MacDonald had his class interrupted by an organization claiming his views and recent involvement in a political organization, the American Third Option Party, are racist and anti-Semitic.
MacDonald, a tenured professor at Cal State Long Beach, has been making headlines on the matter since he was investigated by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2006. The SPLC tracks hate crimes and groups across America.
“I’m used to being harassed,” MacDonald said. “I expect to be harassed because people on the left don’t like what I think. So what? We should be allowed to teach.”
MacDonald is a member and listed as a director of the American Third Option party, or A3P. The A3P — whose slogan is “Liberty. Sovereignty. Identity.” — is said to be rooted in white nationalism. The A3P is currently on the list of nonqualified political parties but is intending to qualify as a ballot-accessible party by June.
ASI increases recreation center fee to $116 — March 17
By Cynthia Casarez
The opening of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center this fall will also bring an added fee of $116 each semester.
Students voted in February 2007 in favor of building the Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC).
The fee referendum included an agreement to give Associated Students Inc. the ability to raise the fee for inflation purposes. Originally, the fee was $110 and the construction of the SRWC was under budget due to construction costs, but because of a rise in electricity, gas and insurance costs, the fee was raised to $116.
The decision to raise the fee was made in November by the CSULB Student Fee Advisory Committee, and the fee will remain $116 for the next three years.
The fee is part of a debt reduction because the school took a bond in order to initially finance the construction of the SRWC. Susan Brown, director of Physical Planning and Construction Management, said the project costs a total of $61 million.
CSULB seismic structures unsafe due to lack of funding — April 5.
By Stefan Agregado and Matthew Guhit
After a recent investigation discovered that six Cal State Long Beach buildings are unsafe to occupy during a major earthquake, efforts to make every building seismically safe will depend on state funding, according to Susan Brown, CSULB director of Physical Planning and Construction Management.
On March 18, California Watch reported that “nearly 180 public university buildings in California have been judged dangerous to occupy during a major earthquake.” These buildings included Liberal Arts buildings 2, 3 and 4; Peterson Hall 1 and 2; and the University Bookstore.
“The shear walls from Liberal Arts 2, 3 and 4 require strengthening and the windows need to be reinforced with concrete,” Brown said. “The columns at Peterson Hall 1 and 2 will also need reinforcement.”
According to California Watch, four of CSULB’s buildings have been on the hazard list since 1994. However, instead of making repairs to the buildings, state money was used to build other structures, including $120 million for two science buildings and $32 million for an addition to the University Library.
UCs, CSUs waitlist incoming students — April 12
By Jen Holst
Cal State Long Beach is wait-listing applicants for the first time for
fall 2010, forcing some students to wait two more months before they
find out their admission status.
The wait-listing method is being used statewide in both the University of California and California State University systems as the effect of extreme budget cuts made in the past.
Due to the record amount of applicants for the 2010-11 academic year, public universities plan to admit as many students as the state funds them, but no more than that.
“We do what we can with the money we have, but if we don’t have it, then there is nothing we can do,” said Student Orientation, Advising and Registration Director Ken Kelly.
The CSUs alone have a record amount of 609,000 applicants for next fall’s admittance, causing approximately 8,000 students to be wait-listed statewide. CSULB already has more than 3,000 students expecting to transfer this fall, according to a CSULB Division of Academic Affairs newsletter.
False claims made by ASI candidate — April 13
By Zien Halwani
Jason Aula, an Associated Students Inc. treasurer candidate in this year’s election, made false claims on a 2009 application that resulted in a $2,500 scholarship.
On his application, Aula said that he claimed to be a senator for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM).
However, ASI President Chris Chavez said Aula was never a senator for CNSM. According to Chavez, Aula was appointed by the college’s council, but was “never sworn in,” and therefore never served as a senator for the college.
Aula said he sent his application to The Phillips Foundation one or two days before the foundation’s Jan. 15 deadline.
Aula said, “I was under the assumption I was going to be sworn in. According to my understanding, I was a senator as of January 15th.”
While saying he was never “sworn in,” Aula said he did not lie on his application.
Transgender student assaulted with weapon at CSULB — April 23
By David Cowan
A 27-year-old transgender student at Cal State Long Beach reported he was assaulted in a university restroom at 9:30 p.m. on April 15.
The student said he was approached by a suspect in a restroom located on the west side of the KKJZ building.
According to a press release, “the suspect called the student by his first name, and the student responded. The student reported the suspect then pulled the student’s T-shirt up and over the student’s head and pushed him back into the stall. The suspect then used a sharp object to slash the student’s chest. The suspect then fled the area in an unknown direction of travel.”
CSULB plans for another $2 fee increase — May 4
By Marisol Aguilar
After a year of furloughs, cuts in programs and classes, Cal State Long Beach students should prepare for an extra $2 charge to be added onto their University Student Union fee this fall.
The USU fee, originally $50 as of this semester, will be raised to $168 due to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center’s $116 fee and a $2 fee that has been added to the USU fee.
The fee was increased due to inflation purposes, according to Associated Students Inc. President Chris Chavez.
In 2007, students voted in favor of the student fee referendum for the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, which stated that in case of inflation, “the fee would be adjusted every three years from the date of the referendum passage, not to exceed the average Southern California Consumer Price Index [CPI],” according to a previous article by the Daily 49er. Chavez said in the article that the CPI usually doesn’t increase by more than 3 to 4 percent.
Chavez said that the USU will continue to provide as many services and programs as it can to the students.
The $2 addition to the fee will earn the USU more than $60,000 per semester.
“Unfortunately, it had to happen sometime,” Chavez said. “But the programs we can provide will be worth [it] to students.”
The fee increase was recently found by the Daily 49er, but the university has not yet contacted students about the $2 added to the USU fee.
This article was updated on May 25, 2010 at 2:50 p.m.
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