Associated Students Inc. (ASI) held its second-to-last biweekly Board of Directors meeting last night. It was called to order at 5:13 p.m. and adjourned at 6:11 p.m. Despite the recent events on and around campus, little was mentioned about the three reported sexual assaults. ASI President Sarah Storelli was the only member on the executive board to address the happenings during her report.
Storelli reported that the task force organized by President Jeffrey Armstrong to assess the recent sexual assaults will meet multiple times in the upcoming weeks with student affair program directors, students and faculty. She said the task force will be an on-going process and will continue into president-elect Kiyana Tabrizi’s term.
ASI executive director Rick Johnson also mentioned the sexual assaults in his announcements at the end of the meeting. He reiterated the importance of making safe decisions and staying with friends when celebrating graduations and the end of the 2010-2011 academic year. Johnson said to keep in mind that “the only thing that means ‘Yes’ is ‘Yes'” and that in the judicial system, a person is “innocent until proven guilty.” He concluded by saying: “Let’s be the true leaders we are, and not add to the rumors.”
Other topics discussed during the meeting included: the passing of the 2011-2012 ASI budget, the approval of next year’s involvement with the California State Student Association and approval of the ASI chief of staff and University Union Advisory Board chair, Katie Morrow and Karen Mesrobian, respectively.
The 2011-2012 ASI budget will be $367,243, in comparison to the current budget of $197,597. This money goes toward ASI programs, the Orfalea Family and ASI Children’s Center and ASI student government. It is funded by the $49.77 student fee charge per quarter. The differences in budgets will not affect student fees. The ASI vice chair of board Laurel Hilt said the current ASI reserve fund, which is currently valued at $2.4 million, will account for the budget difference.