“We want to make sure that the students and faculty, the ones that have the most vested interest in this, are the ones who are determining whether or not we switch,” Associated Students, Inc. President Jason Colombini said.
Hannah Croft
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The California State Students Association (CSSA) is on Cal Poly students’ side.
The CSSA voted to submit a resolution to California State University (CSU) Chancellor Timothy White regarding the quarter-to-semester conversion of Cal Poly as well as Cal Poly Pomona and California State Universities East Bay, San Bernadino, Bakersfield and Los Angeles.
In their January meeting, the CSSA read the resolution, which they began working on in December. This past weekend, they read it again and voted to pass the resolution on to the chancellor’s office. It urges Chancellor White to allow for student input on the switch from quarters to semesters.
The CSSA represents the entire CSU system and carries more weight than individual voices, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) President Jason Colombini said in an earlier interview with Mustang News, and their support may mean more to the chancellor.
Colombini has been at the forefront of the resolution from day one and has expressed a desire to maintain Cal Poly’s quarter system.
“We wanted to see if we could take it one step higher,” Colombini said.
The goal of the resolution, he said, was to ensure the decision-making processes would be dialogues, not demands. Three schools — Bakersfield, Los Angeles and San Bernadino — are already in the process of converting. The CSSA wants to see students and faculty included in the conversion process as well as in the decision-making process for those who have yet to start the conversion.
‘“We want to make sure that the students and faculty, the ones that have the most vested interest in this, are the ones who are determining whether or not we switch,” Colombini said.
Each CSU has a particular strength, Colombini said. Whether it’s nursing or architecture, those strengths contribute to a diverse 23-campus system.
“What’s to say that being on quarters or semesters isn’t also part of the diversity of the CSU?” he said.
The resolution was approved in a 23-0 vote, which sends the “strongest message possible,” according to Colombini.
The CSSA executive board will send the resolution to White. It will be treated much like an advisory vote on campus, and does not need to be honored by White.
“It’s up to his prerogative,” Colombini said. “But we’ve done everything we really can. This is the last thing we can think of.”