Online Forty Niner: v8n1: Garcia to enhance "Beach Pride" on Campus

A proposed bill to eliminate taxation on textbooks, a rock concert in The Pyramid, and launching a new web site are just a few of the things that Associated Students Inc. President Robert Garcia will have the opportunity to deal with during his term in office. To succeed in his goals, Garcia has been putting in 40 to 50 hours a week since he took office in June.

Garcia, a 22-year-old senior with a major in Communication Studies looks at his new position with great enthusiasm.

"There is no position where a student can do more for the campus," he said.

Along with his A.S.I team, Garcia has come up with a list of "Executive Initiatives," which they would like to accomplish in the coming year. Among these initiatives is the web site, Beachpride.com, which is scheduled to be launched September 7.

This web site will focus on campus life, Garcia said. It will include links to other campus web sites, a calendar of events, a book swap for used books, local weather and movie times. Garcia said it is "something that will be able to inform students."

Another key initiative is the creation of a university flag which was raised Friday at the Convocation, an annual event to introduce the school year.

A.S.I also has plans to revise the parking decal, to greater reflect school spirit. A variety of campus improvements, such as painting the kiosks black are also planned.

Another initiative on the list is to start a student rewards program, where students can receive school paraphernalia for attending school events. For this, students will accumulate points at school events and these points can be traded in for T-shirts and hats.

A.S.I has also set forth some more serious initiatives. A leadership endowment that will establish a book scholarship program and offer scholarships to student leaders are goals of the A.S.I, Garcia said. Also, plans to start a Cal State University community service effort will be in effect. The program will include students from other CSU's, and will be lead by CSULB, Garcia said.

"Executive Initiatives" are not all that lies ahead for the student leadership group. They also face a bill that proposes the elimination of textbook tax. This bill is currently sitting on Capitol Hill, and Garcia said, "We are currently tracking its progress. As soon as it gets on the agenda, we will most likely make arrangements to go to testify."

Students will also be treated to a concert in The Pyramid sometime this year, Garcia said. While the date and venue are yet to be determined, the budget has already been approved.

"We want to open The Pyramid to be a regular concert venue." Garcia said. And as for funding, "The amount budgeted for the concert is $50,000, but we have to make a certain amount back," Garcia said. "If we can sell the concert tickets at a reasonable price, we can make back some money to put back in the budget."

Garcia added that while the act is still to be determined, there is a short list of potential bands and the A.S.I is open to suggestions.

With everything on his plate, Garcia realizes that he is only one person with much work to do and realizes the vast importance of is staff.

"I am not alone in coming up with the initiatives. There are many people behind the scenes. All of these things will not be completed with out a team of people out there getting it done. I'm leading a team."

Robert Garcia
A.S.I. president