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Anti-recreation
center Coalition returns, Councilman Colonna
speaks to Senate
Visiting
• Frank Colonna, Long Beach city councilman
and CSULB alumnus, told the senate of his
plans to run for mayor and discussed ideas
for commercial development near campus.
Jon Cook / Online Forty-Niner
By
Daniel Linck Savino
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant Opinion Editor
The
CSULB Coalition to Stop the $35 Million
Rec. Center returned Wednesday afternoon
to the Associated Senate halls, and they
came representing six campus groups. Several
of the groups had representatives present.
They voiced their opposition to the center,
and each talked about their concerns.
Elisa
Herrera, from the History Students Association,
said her group is opposed to the center
because "the funding is unnecessary
and a waste."
The
money should not be spent, she said, "on
things we already have on campus—the
bowling alley, all the tennis courts, the
basketball courts, the gym, everything like
that. It could go to student groups or it
could go towards academic issues or academic
organizations."
Raphael
Hernandez spoke on behalf of La Raza, the
Chicano/Latino Student Association and Action
In Defense of Education, a group he described
as a "student network fighting for
educational justice." Hernandez believes
that the money could be better spent on
education.
A
representative of the Muslim Student Association
echoed this sentiment, urging the Senate
to focus on academic issues.
Senator
Morgan Wheeler countered one of the underlying
Coalition concerns.
"One
great misperception about this is that we
are pursuing a rec. center. What's going
on right now," he said, is a "preliminary
assessment of need."
At
the end of the Senate meeting, AS Vice President
Erik Joliff also responded to the Coalition.
He spoke directly towards the Coalition,
which put flyers on chairs in the focus
group rooms.
"The
focus groups were brought out here for a
preliminary assessment," Joliff said.
"The main objective of them was to
get student opinion and to get it objectively.
It's difficult to get that when student
groups are creating flyers telling students
how to vote on the focus group questions."
He
also addressed the Coalition's dollar figures,
stated repeatedly in the flyers, that put
the price of the recreation center at $30
million, funded by a $75 semesterly fee.
"It's
really speculative at this point to even
talk about a total price for the rec. center,"
Joliff said, and it is "even more speculative
to talk about a student fee increase. It's
important to realize that this is very preliminary."
In
a visit focusing on other matters, a member
of the Long Beach City Council spoke to
the senate.
Frank
Colonna represents the 3rd district of Long
Beach, which includes CSULB, Belmont Shore,
Naples Island, College Park and all of the
Alamitos Bay region.
Colonna,
a CSULB graduate, made many complimentary
remarks about the state of the campus, talked
briefly about his life history, and mentioned
the current talks to build a commercial
structure in the area along Studebaker Road
north of 7th Street.
The
location currently holds several large fuel
tanks formerly used by the Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power's Haynes Generating Station.
The station consists of a series of steam-driven
power plants along the San Gabriel River.
There are plans to convert some the land
into a commercial development, and there
is specific interest in a Home Depot.
Colonna,
however, would prefer to see more up-scale
businesses, along the lines of "a Saks
Fifth Avenue." The region's wetlands,
most visible from the Pacific Coast Highway
at the Marina Pacifica shopping center,
would not be affected.
He
also mentioned a potential mayoral campaign.
Colonna has formed an exploratory committee
to look into running for mayor, and he expressed
his interest in such a run.
At
the end of his talk, he gave certificates
of appreciation to AS President Mike Johnson
and Vice President Erik Joliff. He thanked
them for their efforts and the spirit of
volunteerism that they have shown in their
AS work.
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