Tuesday, December 25, 2007

hi koo

Friday Harbor trip
Lavender Farm while blighted
Purple flower pie

Thursday, December 13, 2007

'Project Safe' presentation shown at ASI Senate

Published in the CSULB Daily 49er newspaper Dec. 13.

The last Associated Students, Inc. Senate meeting of the semester on Wednesday was void of any public comments and senator nametags, but fully stocked with holiday sentiments and sugary treats.

Immediately after approving last week's minutes, choosing Sen. Jeff Yutrzenka as senator of the month for November and the realization by ASI Chairwoman and Vice President Lucy Montano that ASI President Mark Andrews was absent for the reading of his report, the director of the Women's Resource Center Marcela Chavez addressed the Senate in a time-certain presentation regarding "Project Safe."

The project is funded by a grant from the Department of Justice's office on Violence Against Women, and is a resource for understanding and preventing relationship violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, according to Chavez.

"We are really bonded to educate our student body, from students all the way to the president, about personal responsibility and how we address the issue about rape by an acquaintance," Chavez said.

Chavez also presented a new, but unapproved, brochure specifically geared toward faculty and staff.

"We find that a lot of faculty do not know what their resources are on campus," Chavez said. "We're trying to get faculty to do more. The brochure will be dispersed once it is finalized."

The brochure also states that all Project Safe services are free and all direct services are confidential and culturally sensitive.

In other Senate news, ASI Executive Director Richard Haller read a report that included the rationale behind withholding information from the Daily Forty-Niner regarding the acquisition of correspondence on BlackBerries used by ASI officials.

Haller said legal counsel was sought before the decision was made to withhold information, and after legal consultation there were concerns that the release of certain information, like e-mails and phone numbers, violated privacy rights.

"Plus, I don't have access to all the information that was requested," said Haller, following the adjournment. "All we get is the billing statement from Verizon."

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Walking around CSULB


I'll be leaving Cal State Long Beach soon. Come January, I'll be a student at Cal State Fullerton.

I took these pictures one day while strolling around campus. Most of them are from the Japanese Garden.








Saturday, December 08, 2007

Senate examines disabled access initiatives

Published in the CSULB Daily 49er newspaper Dec. 6.

An attempt to transform Cal State Long Beach into a fully compliant campus for disabled students is being made by the Accessible Technology Initiative Committee.

Vice President of Student Services Doug Robinson addressed the Associated Students, Inc. Senate Wednesday to offer an explanation and presentation of the initiative originally ordered by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed back in December of 2004.

"This is a system-wide initiative that our campus is heavily engaged in," Robinson said. "It provides disabled individuals with equal access to instructional materials. It also benefits those with different learning styles."

The initiative aims to eventually conform all aspects of university life to allow for equal learning opportunities for everyone. Everything from architectural barriers to the design of Web sites will be taken into consideration.

"Universal design is an overarching principle and it suggests that products and services must be usable by the greatest number of people - including individuals with disabilities," Robinson said. "We found that through the removal of architectural barriers, that when you make it better for disabled people, you make it better for everyone."

There's also a possibility for lawsuits against the university if the campus fails to address these issues, according to Robinson.

"There was a $2 million complaint made at Cal State Fullerton," Robinson said, "because the university didn't move in a timely manner to provide accessible instructional material."

Recently, Cal State San Bernardino lost an $11 million to $12 million lawsuit due to architectural barriers, according to Robinson.

"CSULB will provide support for building accessibility, establish accountability and documentation, and we will communicate how alternative forms of access will be provided," Robinson said. "[Our vision] is to create a culture of access for an inclusive learning and working environment for everyone."

In other Senate news, senior political science major and ASI Associate Justice Erin Adams addressed the Senate to announce that the CSULB undergraduate law journal is open for submissions from any major.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Upgrade






Goodbye.











Hello.