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Paper is out. The Web is in.

Starting next fall, Sac State and the rest of the 23-campus California State University system will ask that undergraduate students apply online. The University of California system has also adopted the policy.

Officials from both systems say that 70 percent of students already apply online. Students report the system is easier and more conven-ient than paper, and that computer prompts help them avoid mistakes.

The new rules are for those applying for the fall 2005 academic year. Students who are unable to apply online can contact CSU or UC admissions offices.

Details: Students can apply to the CSU system at www.csumentor.edu. The site has extensive information about the application process as well as campuses and majors.

There’s still room for improvement, but Sac State students seem to be buying into the idea that college life doesn’t have to include heavy drinking.

A spring survey of 1,400 Sac State students shows 39 percent hadn’t had alcohol in the last month, compared to 20 percent nationally. That bolsters findings from last year’s Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, which showed 29 percent of Sac State students had “binged” (drank five drinks at a sitting) in the prior two weeks, compared to 42 percent nationwide, and that Sac State students drink, on average, just half the number of drinks as their national peers.

The most recent survey showed the already low binge-drinking rate has declined another 1.3 percent.

The survey was created by the American College Health Association, and conducted at Sac State by students and staff.

It also showed Sac State students are avoiding tobacco. Overall, 70 percent had never smoked, compared to 57 percent nationally. And 64 percent reported never using marijuana.

Another promising finding for campus officials was that 95 percent of Sac State students had used “protective behaviors” when they went to parties—including alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, setting a drink limit, using a designated driver, having a friend tell them when they’ve had enough, tracking how much they drank, drinking one or fewer drinks each hour, avoiding drinking games, and drinking non-alcoholic “look-alikes.”

Details: (916) 278-5422.

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The Academic Information Resource Center

Recent enrollment growth, voter-approved bonds and fundraising have led to a growth spurt at Sac State.

Three major building projects are underway, including a new home for Sac State-licensed Capital Public Radio and the 80,000 square-foot Modoc Hall. The third project is the Academic Information Resource Center, a 100,000 square-foot building with specialized computer labs and facilities for distance learning that is funded through the 1998 statewide education bond.

Slated to begin in late spring is work on a 3,200-space parking structure near the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex, funded through parking fees.

There are also new entryways, fencing and a lighted, 36-foot sign for Hornet Stadium. That project, along with the new scoreboard, is paid for with a gift of more than $500,000 from Spanos, a Stockton philanthropist.

There’s also plenty of digging from work funded through the last education bond. Crews have updated or installed underground telecommunications lines all over campus. And for almost two years work will continue on water pipes, electrical systems—just about everything underground.

Sac State is looking beyond the current budget troubles as it plans for future demands. Enrollment could reach 40,000—up from the current 28,500—by 2010.

Plans call for a new science building and an addition to Eureka Hall, where future teachers are educated. And a new 650- to 700-bed residence hall could be completed by spring or fall 2006, with other old residence halls being replaced one-by-one as funding allows.

In addition to student housing, a revised campus master plan includes a proposed student health/recreation/convocation center and arena attached to Hornet Stadium, as well as a new bookstore.

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Strong recent growth, coupled with recent state budget cuts, means the CSU system is facing the prospect of not being able to admit all qualified students for the first time since the state’s “Master Plan for Higher Education” was adopted in 1960.

The CSU as a whole took an 11 percent cut to its $2.6 billion state general fund budget this year. As a result, fees throughout the CSU increased 30 percent—now $2,513 a year at Sac State—and while they remain the lowest among similar universities nationwide, the hike was a hardship for many students. In addition, about 2,300 staff and faculty positions were reduced or frozen, and the CSU systemwide office took a $4.5 million cut.

At Sac State, cuts were made to programs across campus. Maintaining classes remains a priority, however, and Sac State was able to hire more than 100 new professors to replace a large number of retirees.
Despite the cuts, enrollment throughout the CSU system will receive funds for about 4 percent growth this year. But that’s not enough to meet demand, and the Legislature has said the CSU and UC systems will not receive funding for any growth next year.

In the face of these challenges the CSU system has decided to focus on “authentic access”—preserving quality instruction and ensuring that those enrolled get the courses they need to graduate.
Students applying to Sac State and other CSU campuses for the following fall are being encouraged to apply during the priority filing period of Oct. 1 through Nov. 30. They’re also being told that many campuses, including Sac State, have curtailed admissions for the spring semesters.

The good news for students hoping to come to Sac State is that about 5,000 students graduate from here each year. So Sac State has room for thousands of newcomers.

More: campus admission offices or www.csumentor.edu.

Sacramento will be the hottest place in American track and field next summer, as Sac State once again hosts U.S. Olympic hopefuls at Hornet Stadium in the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.

The 2004 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will feature eight days of competition July 9-18 (no events July 13 and 14). The top three finishers in each event will represent the United States in the Olympics in Athens.

The 2000 trials at Sac State were the most successful ever, attracting a record 187,104 spectators. In 2004 organizers hope to beat that record, adding 4,000 additional seats in the south part of the stadium. Also with the 2004 event, Sacramento will become just the second city to host consecutive Olympic trials for track and field. Ticket packages are already on sale.

Details: Sacramento Sports Commission at (916) 566-6560 or www.sacsports.com.

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As if finishing her graduate work and teaching kindergarten weren’t strenuous enough, Sac State student Katherine Redcher Bowling also managed to win a gold medal at the U.S. National Olympic Weightlifting Championships in May.

Bowling won the combined national title in the 63-kilogram weight class (138.6 pounds) by taking first in the snatch event, with a 75-kilogram lift (165 pounds) and second in the clean-and-jerk event, with a 92.5-kilogram lift (203.5 pounds).

The first-place national finish was the highest ever for Bowling, who is completing her master’s degree in education and teaches kindergarten at Camellia Elementary School in Sacramento. She’s been a member of the Sac State Weightlifting Club for six years.

Bowling plans to continue competing after graduating and has her sights set on the U.S. Olympic Trials, scheduled for May 2004.

More: www.csus.edu/org/teamsac.

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A $12.3 billion education bond with funding for all segments of public education will be on the ballot in March.

If passed, the bond would provide $10 billion to K-12 schools and $2.3 billion to higher education. Funds would provide for new construction as well as a backlog of renovation and repair projects.

The 23-campus California State University system, of which Sac State is a part, would receive $690 million. The new facilities would help handle the strong enrollment growth of the last few years and predicted growth in coming years.

Since the 1980s the Legislature has determined that public funding for construction projects and major renovations at California public universities and colleges must be financed through voter-approved general obligation bonds. For a bond to qualify for the ballot, it must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and the governor must sign it.

The bond is the second of a pair of recent bonds approved by the Legislature to go before voters–the first of which passed in November 2002.

An earlier bond, approved in 1998, provided funding for the University’s Academic Information Resource Center, a $17.3 million, 100,000 square-foot facility now under construction.

Voter-approved bond funds and interest are repaid from state general funds, primarily income and sales tax. They do not require a tax increase, but do use state revenues.

More: visit www.lao.ca.gov, www.ss.ca.gov or www.calstate.edu.

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From the archives

Fifty years ago this November, the dedication of the first flag to fly at the young Sac State campus was attended by students, faculty, staff and community members. That’s the north entrance to campus and J Street in the background.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Fundraise, fundraise, fundraise. The CSUS Symphonic Wind Ensemble has been invited to the New York Wind Band Festival, April 10 to 14, one of just two college ensembles chosen nationally. The annual educational event includes workshops, clinics and competitions culminating in a gala performance at Carnegie Hall. To get there, the 50-piece ensemble needs help.

“It’s the premier concert hall in the United States,” says ensemble conductor Robert Halseth, also director of wind studies at Sac State. “Tchaikovsky opened it in 1891. Playing there would be a tremendous opportunity for our students.”

Budget constraints have made funds scarce University-wide, and the cost of sending 50 students to New York is significant, no matter how rewarding the experience may be. Ensemble members have embarked on a fundraising effort focused on the $100,000 needed to attend the festival. “Each student needs $2,000 to go, or they’ll miss out on the experience of a lifetime,” says music department chair Ernie Hills.

Donations for the Carnegie Hall trip may be made to the CSUS Trust Foundation at (916) 278-7673.

Former Sac State student body president and recent graduate Eric Guerra is helping guide the 23-campus California State University system.

Guerra, now a graduate student in the Senate Fellows program at Sac State, has been appointed a student member of the CSU Board of Trustees by the governor.

He is one of two student trustees. He’ll serve a two-year term, and during the second year will have full voting powers. He says he’ll focus on two main issues—retention rates and the system’s budget.

More: www.calstate.edu/bot.

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