Hello fellow students,

Welcome back to the spring semester and hopefully you have adjusted back into “school mode.” We are in the midst of our annual budget process, and doing our best to consider the needs of every student and organization. This is proving a challenge given that we have substantially less money available, but I promise that we are doing our absolute best.

All students are encouraged to attend the President’s Town Hall meetings with University President Dr. Jolene Koester, Faculty President Dr. Jennifer Matos, and myself. We will be there to answer your concerns about the campus, the budget and the CSU. The second date of the town hall is Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 5:00 p.m. in the Lake View Terrace Room (located above the fitness center in the USU). Free snacks and drinks will be provided.

Elections are coming up, and I will be sponsoring several referendums for the students to vote on. If passed, these amendments will change the way that AS operates, and will provide for better representation:

ó Student organizations will see a reduction in waiting time for approval of their constitutions. This initiative will allow the Associated Students Judicial Court to approve an organization’s charter and eliminate the need for the Board of Directors to vote on it. In the past, this vote has largely been a formality that stalls the approval of charters for several weeks.

ó The GPA requirement for Senators will be raised from 2.0 to 2.5. This move is designed to provide students with Senators who are able to spend more time representing their constituents and less time worrying about their academic standing.

ó I will bring more accountability to the Senate by increasing competition for seats. Currently, each student is represented by ten different members of the Senate. Senators are most effective when they represent a narrow constituency that they can advocate for and understand thoroughly. The at-large Senators have too broad of a constituency to be effective on the level that students deserve. I will increase the influence of the Senators representing narrower constituencies by eliminating the at-large Senate seats.

I would also like to clear up a misunderstanding regarding the university’s switch from Blue Books to Green Books on the advice of AS. Green Books are identical to Blue Books in both cost and functionality, but are environmentally friendly. This is a practical way for us to be leaders in making a contribution to sustainability with no downside. There is no reason for us not to make this contribution.

I would like to extend the opportunity for a student who has an interest in public policy to attend the CA State Student Association’s Annual California Higher Education Student Summit (CHESS). The dates for the summit are April 23-26. Any student that is interested can send my Chief of Staff an e-mail at jhpilkington@csunas.org and we will contact you with further details.

Lastly, please save the date for February 26, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. for the Haiti Benefit Concert inside the Northridge Center Complex. We will be hosting the event in collaboration with the University Student Union, Matador Involvement Center, United We Serve, and the Black Student Union. This will be a student led program to raise money for the people of Haiti and students will be encouraged to give a $10 donation at the door or any donation they can afford. I urge everyone to attend and support our brothers and sisters in Haiti during their time in need.