Associated Students Inc. President Lucy Nguyen describes herself as mildly obsessed with Cal State Long Beach. Cramming up to 30 meetings with administrators, faculty and Beach Club organizations a week, Nguyen often forgets to eat.
One of Nguyen’s primary goals this fiscal year is to promote ASI advocacy and make the duties and availability of ASI known to more students.
If students don’t know about their student representatives, they will never seek them and will never communicate their needs to ASI, according to Nguyen.
“See that girl eating that sandwich?” Nguyen said, pointing at a student sitting across the University Student Union dining plaza. “How do I know what she needs? I could go up to her. ‘Hey, how are you? What is there that I could do to help you?’ But, there are 35,000 students here. We can’t reach everyone.”
Furthermore, she said she believes spreading knowledge to students about ASI would help eliminate misconceptions about the powers of the ASI Senate.
On Sept. 19, freshman marketing major Sean Graves presented a petition to have Nguyen recalled. Graves’ accusations of negligence, incompetence and misuse of office, were misdirected, she said.
According to Nguyen, a statement in the petition faulted her for not stopping tuition increases. Nguyen said that, while she opposed the increases, the issue is out of her hands. Tuition increases are approved through the CSU Board of Trustees, not through the ASI president.
“I understand the frustrations and the hurt, but in order for us to move forward, we have to unite,” Nguyen said. “We’ve got to use this passion, this enthusiasm for student success to let the legislators, let Sacramento know that we’re worth it.”
In 2010, when Nguyen was vice president, she was met with another petition for her recall.
An anonymous group filed the petition to recall and remove 2010-11 ASI President James Ahumada, Nguyen and ASI Treasurer Jameson Nyeholt. ASI Judiciary later ruled people filing a petition to recall ASI student executives must be degree-earning students who pay ASI fees.
Nguyen suggests for students to seek public information on ASI published through the student government website before making accusations of corruption.
“I really wish he had come to me beforehand, but I do admire his admission and passion,” Nguyen said on Graves’ petition proposal. “He’s a freshman and feels so strongly about certain issues and I think that’s kind of cool.”
According to Nguyen, Graves has yet to submit the petition to the ASI Judiciary, meaning it has yet to be set into motion.
Nguyen was proud to announce; however, the success of advocating ASI during the 2011-2012 orientation.
More than 200 freshman expressed their interest in joining ASI and more than 100 are participating actively.
Nguyen’s latest idea to further reach out to students is “Coffee with the ASI President,” a weekly coffee stand in which students can have free coffee with Nguyen and discuss current CSULB issues.
Still in the planning process, she will most likely arrange the meetings for two to three hours per week. According to Nguyen, the event should begin once ASI Communications has finished designing the banner.
Nguyen’s first four months of presidency were mostly filled with appointing more than 100 members onto student committees, commissions and her cabinet.
Nguyen says her most recent achievement was reinstating Friday shuttles.
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