Chancellor
discusses new alcohol policy
By
Katie Plourd
Online Forty Niner
Managing Editor
Charles B. Reed, the chancellor of the California State University system spoke
with an array of CSU students in a teleconference Wednesday, addressing current
issues, among them was the recently revised alcohol policy.
Reed began by praising the 8 percent student fee buyout implemented by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger this past winter. He said the buyout would add over $54
million to the CSU budget and commended Schwarzenegger for monetary contributions
put into the CSU system from the state level.
“
Because the state economy is going up, the governor is able to put more money
in to the CSU system,” Reed said.
During the conference Reed addressed the alcohol problem throughout CSU campuses
and the recent CSU-wide ban of the sale of alcohol at all athletic events on
university-owned facilities. Alcohol abuse, which according to Reed is the
biggest problem on CSU campuses, is something he said everyone needs to pay
attention to and work on.
He said the policy, which not only bans the sale of alcohol but also proposes
to slowly phase out all alcohol advertisement in university facilities, is
the best solution to tackling the problem.
“
We need to do whatever we need to do to make it safer for students and the
public,” Reed said.
Reed said banning alcohol sales will most likely not deter students from drinking,
such as before they come to events, but said the adminstration should not abstain
from working toward solving the problem of alcohol abuse.
“
I’m not going to say that students aren’t going to drink,” Reed
said, “but we can still educate people about safety and all those types
of things.”
According to Reed, the Student Affairs Committee will be working to create
presentations and education plans implementing the ideas of alcohol education
and the responsible use of alcohol among students.
San Jose State asked Reed about the possibility of students going off campus
to satisfy their alcohol desire, and the effect this would have on commuter
schools, like Cal State Long Beach, where students might be turned off to attending
campus events.
Reed said alcohol related issues off-campus should be dealt with as well.
“
We need to pay attention to less use, greater safety and the risks of drinking
and driving,” he said.
The revised alcohol policy also includes the elimination of beer and wine advertisements
at university facilities. Reed said when the current advertising contracts
end they will be replaced with ads for other products.
Reed said the loss of revenue from these advertisements is not something students
should worry about.
“
There are lots of other things that people want to advertise to students that’s
not as bad as alcohol,” he said. “You have Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Dr.
pepper [and] even bottled water.”
He also commended two programs that will be implemented within the CSU system
in the near future: the need for developing an independent graduate education
system and a new program to encourage high school students to apply to college.
“
For the first time in 40 years the governor and the Department of Finance has
recognized the importance of CSU graduate education and recommended a differential
fund for courses at the master’s level,” Reed said.
Reed said he thinks this is an incredible way to improve the graduate level
programs in the CSU system and create competitive salaries for employees.
Reed is optimistic the state senate and assembly will honor the governor’s
ideas when they are addressed at hearings in March.
Reed talked about targeting prospective students for the CSU system through
the Partner with Parent Institute. The program is aimed at helping under-served
community, such as minorities, who typically are not encouraged to continue
their education at the college level.
The program will be adopted at 125 to 130 middle and high schools focusing
on teaching parents what their children need to do in order to go in to college.
Parents will learn from the nine-week program what classes and tests students
must take to be eligible for college and to encourage their students to study
at home.
“
We want parents to know what it takes to go to college,” Reed said. “Here
they can get the information they need for their kids to go to college.”
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