At Your Service

ASI

Housed on the third floor of the University Union, the Associated Students Inc., or ASI, is an organization that exists to provide services for students. According to its charter, ASI is essentially the student government whose main purpose is to contribute to the welfare of CSUS students.

How does ASI carry out that goal?

It tries in a number of ways. Using funds raised by the $79-per-semester student fee, the not-for-profit corporation disburses a budget of nearly $3 million for services and programs such as Peak Adventures, the Children's Center, the Aquatic Center and Safe Rides.

ASI also funds programs like the Cultural Affairs Series, which brings a diverse selection of speakers to the campus, and Intramural Sports and Recreation. A contract with the athletic department provides funds for the major sports programs at CSUS such as football and basketball.

Through this contract, students can attend football and basketball games for free by showing their student identification cards. Student IDs also allow students free use of Regional Transit's buses and light rail, thanks to a contract between ASI and RT.

ASI is governed by a board of directors, which is elected by students. Unfortunately, only about 10 to 15 percent of the student body actually votes.

The ASI board -- composed of a president, executive vice president, vice president for finance, vice president for university affairs, and a director from each of the university's seven schools -- meets every two weeks while school is in session and makes the policy decisions affecting ASI.

The board also controls the ASI budget and tries to coordinate the dozens of committees that are supposed to help improve the quality of life for students. Whether these student politicians actually succeed is up to you.

Many students don't realize that by paying the yearly fee to ASI, they themselves are members of the student body. Whether we like it or not, we all are a part of Associated Students.

Each spring, students get the chance to select the board for the next academic year. But the majority of the student population avoids the polls like the plague.

In the last year's election, held in April 1998, slightly more than 10 percent of the students bothered to cast their ballots, allowing fewer than 3,000 students to decide the fate of a fee increase referendum. The result: a series of fee increases that will hit students beginning this past fall and continuing until the year 2000.

There should be a bit of excitement among the student government as the spring semester progresses. Students can look forward to the annual spectacle of watching candidates use a menagerie of vague goals as bait to attract voters. This allows the candidates to avoid making solid campaign promises for which they might be held accountable during the next school year when students begin to look at what the board actually accomplishes.

So if you want see a special brand of politics, a brand that can match any in the nation, just keep an eye on ASI next year. We will.

1998-1999 Associated Students, Inc. Board of Directors
President	Gary Davis
Executive Vice President	Gustavo Arroyo
Vice President of Finance	Devin Cook
Vice President of University Affairs	Kim Shaw
Dir. of Arts and Letters	Vacant
Dir. of Business	Stephanie Parrish
Dir. of Education	Vacant
Dir. of Engineering/Computer Science	Vacant
Dir. of Health and Human Services	Vacant
Dir. of Natural Science and Math	Heather Tejada
Dir. of Social Sciences	Vacant
Dir. of Undeclared Students	Vacant
PostBaccalaurate Dir.	Sean South
Dir. of Campus Life	Effie Miller
Dir. of Community Service	Carmen Gonzalez
Executive Director	Carol Ackerson

Campus Police

The Department of Public Safety, as these officers are collectively known, is responsible for investigating all the reports of criminal activity on campus and is the first to respond to emergencies of any kind. They are not rent-a-cops; campus police are duly sworn peace officers.

The “cop shop,” as it is lovingly known to the State Hornet, is located in the Public Service Building off of State University Drive, next to the Children's Center. Operating on the principle that it is better to prevent a crime than have to investigate one, the campus police offer (on the first floor of the building) a full range of brochures and pamphlets designed to help everyone at CSUS be safer.

Subjects covered include personal safety, auto theft, bicycle safety, rape prevention, acquaintance rape, protecting precious personal items, Operation Identification (a program to help recover stolen property) and emergencies on campus.

You can also pick up a copy of the official Emergency Response Manual. This pamphlet covers the procedures to be used in the event of fire, earthquakes, serious injury, bomb threats, hazardous material leaks and how to deal with a crime in progress.

A full-time crime prevention training officer is available upon request for presentations to students, faculty, or staff on personal safety and crime prevention. Additionally, seminars about the Rape Prevention Education Program can also be arranged.

Being duly sworn peace officers, campus police are required to and will enforce all laws regulating the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, as well as enforcing the university's own rules. These rules prohibit the sale and consumption of beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages except at the Pub, the Coffee House and approved events on campus.

Campus police will also enforce the laws governing the use of “controlled substances,” namely illegal drugs. (Duh.)

According to John Hamrick, investigator for the campus police, “the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of a controlled substance on campus is absolutely prohibited on campus and subject to vigorous enforcement.”

Information, assessment and referral services for drug- and alcohol-related problems are also available through the campus health center.

The university, as required by federal law, issues an annual report on crime at CSUS. The report is kept on file at Public Safety and in the Library. While assuring everyone that CSUS is safe, campus police do have some helpful hints on how to keep you and your property from becoming just another statistic in that annual report:

• Always lock up your car, bike and other belongings.
• Walk in well-lit areas after dark. If you need a ride, call the night shuttle service at 278-7260.
• Never leave your backpack or other items unattended.
• Use common sense.

To report an emergency or crime in progress, call 911. To contact campus police about anything, call 278-6851.

Health Center

You can get them at the health center. You can also get any number of other birth control devices there -- cheap, but not free, and best of all, no one will tell your parents.

In fact: Any CSUS student can waltz into the Suzanne A. Snively Student Health Center for treatment of a wide variety of illnesses and injuries, and not have to worry about having insurance. Thanks to those wonderful fees we pay every semester, the Health Center, located in the parking lot across from Sacramento Hall, gives students answers to a number of medical questions.

Services available at the center include general medical care for acute illnesses and injuries, physical exams, birth control, health education, immunizations, lab and pharmacy services, psychological counseling, optometry and X-rays.

A specialized augmented health plan is available $20 per semester, giving students the opportunity to receive additional services (like wart removal!) at little or no cost.

There is a full staff of health care professionals at the center. Most of the services are available on a drop-in basis, although some may require an appointment (like annual OBGYN visits!).

Perhaps the best thing about the center is that students can get items like aspirin, cough medicine, bandages, nasal spray, vitamins, and other over-the-counter medicines at a lower cost than at most drugstores.

Contraceptive foams and jellies are available over the counter. Birth control pills and diaphragms require a family planning appointment before being prescribed.

The center provides pregnancy counseling as well as sexual health counseling. HIV testing is free of charge. All of these purchases and appointments are confidential.

Referrals to specialists or for services the center does not provide are also available.

Hours of operations are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. For more information, call the center at 278-6461.

Women's Resource Center

Anonymous counseling for rape victims, advice for women in transition or in crisis, and assistance for students who wish to make sexual harassment complaints are just some of the services the center provides.

The center also maintains close ties with community organizations involving women and has an extensive referral file for those interested in feminist professionals such as therapists, doctors, lawyers, rape awareness counselors, substance abuse programs and self-defense classes.The center offers a lending library that deals with Women's issues, sponsors campus events, coordinates Women's Herstory Month, and offers internships.

The center is located in Lassen Hall, room 300. Call 278-7388 for hours of operation.

Children's Center

All full- and part-time students, faculty, staff and alumni are eligible to use the facility as priority and space allow. Students receive top priority.

Staff members at the Children's Center are highly qualified childcare providers; they are state-certified and CPR-trained. The center also provides a training ground for the university's child development majors who work their as student assistants.

The center provides three meals daily, prepared in its own kitchen. There are three outdoor play areas, an indoor multi-use play area and eight classrooms. Daily classes may include art, science, language, fantasy and activities designed to improve motor skills. In all areas, great emphasis is placed on building self-esteem.

Cost for the center is based on hourly and monthly rates. Semester-long child care fills fast, and drop-in care is available when space permits. Some financial assistance may be available for qualified students.

The center is located on State University Drive East between the temporary buildings and the Public Safety Building. For more information, contact the center at 278-6216.

The State Hornet

Here's a quick history lesson before we jump onto the bandwagon: The Hornet made its debut as a two-page mimeographed (does anybody remember the smell of a freshly printed sheet of mimeograph paper?) pamphlet on Jan. 14, 1949. The stories were mainly concerned with suggestions about promoting school spirit at Sacramento State College.

Now, a mere 50 years later -- yes that's right, 50 years -- we are a full-blown newspaper. A new issue hits the newsstands scattered around campus each Wednesday morning. We also have a daily presence on the Web at our online edition. The address -- www.csus.edu/hornet.

The Hornet is the newspaper of record for CSUS. What does that mean? It means the university believes a strong newspaper, covering the events and lives of the students, faculty and staff at CSUS, is essential to having a vibrant campus community. So, huddled in front of computers in our state of the art offices (continue reading after you stop laughing), the Hornet staff types away, trying not to miss anything that is newsworthy on campus. Do we succeed? Not as often as we like. Will we stop trying? Hell no. The Hornet will be here, trying to report honestly and openly about your life at CSUS. The good, the bad, the ugly, the magnificent.

You may hear a number of things about the Hornet. Some people feel we are flunkies for the administration, other people feel we are either too liberal, not liberal enough, promote ASI too much or don't give it the support they feel it warrants. The truth is, in our humble opinion, that we are all and none of those things. This year, the editorial staff at the Hornet will support any program we feel warrants our support, and will try to cast the light of publicity on anything, repeat, ANYTHING, that we feel is detrimental to the number one priority at this campus, namely you the student. It will not matter who it is: student, faculty, staff, administration, anything, anybody.

Who writes for the Hornet? Students. The Hornet is a student-run newspaper. While the majority of the staff each year does come from the ever-shrinking population of journalism majors at CSUS, there is a broad representation from all disciplines. We want as many people from as many different fields to be a part of the Hornet family.

We have an open door to our offices in the University Union (second floor, just past the Fireplace Lounge) and want anyone who has an opinion to feel free to let us now how we are doing our job. Write us at 6000 J. St., University Union, Sacramento, Ca, 95819-6102, or e-mail us at hornetnews@csus.edu. Or just give us a holler at 278-6583. don't be silent. The Hornet is the place to try and make your voice heard. Use it.