By Rodd Cayton, On-line Forty-Niner May 5, 1997
The $2 million operating budget approved last week by the Associated Students Inc. Senate for the 1997-98 academic year was approved with a minimum of contention.
No program lost money to another and only three monetary changes were made.
The Black Cultural Program Committee received a grant of $5,000 for the Black Consciousness Conference, which is to take place in the fall.
Sen. Dean Johnson was in opposition to the grant, saying that the conference would do little to improve race relations on campus.
"One day of [dialogue] will not do it," Johnson said.
It was Johnson who would offer the motion that would end the 3 1/2 hour meeting. He said that Director of Administrative Services Richard Haller deserved to be recognized for putting the budget together. The 16-1-1 vote passed a budget which was only slightly different from the one which was originally submitted.
There was an attempt to get additional funding for the Isabel Patterson Child Development Center but three different motions failed to get the money moved from other budget areas.
A proposal by Sen. Miriam Galvez would have decreased the funding for the Long Beach Union newspaper by $5,000. The funds would have been transferred to the CDC.
Union writer Michael Coombs, who was allowed to address the Senate at the request of Sen. Tyson Chaney, said that it was unlikely that the publication could increase advertising revenue enough to offset the loss.
Galvez' motion was stymied by a 5-8-4 margin.
Several senators, including Amy Walsh, questioned the CDC's need for funding, considering that no representatives appeared before the Senate to appeal for money. CDC funding remained unchanged at $527,518.
This budget, like the University Student Union budget the Senate approved the previous week, is balanced.
The Student Travel Fund, which is used for students who take trips to enhance their professional opportunities, received $1477, which increased its total budget to $6,000.
The Senate also put to rest a dispute over the A.S.I. logo, which had been changed by president Carl Kemp without approval of the Senate.
The Senate decided to return to the old logo, which features palm trees. Kemp vetoed the Senate's decision. An attempt to override the veto failed to get the required 14 votes, so A.S.I. will continue to use the new logo, which sports a pyramid motif.
Most senators admitted to preferring the new logo, but felt that the change should have been handled by the entire group.
"... big issue is that the rules were broken," Sen. Naomi Rodriguez said.
Sen. Eric Mendoza inquired about the possibility of students choosing a logo.
Sen. Vincent Sulaitis called the logo debate "embarrassing."
Next week the Senate is scheduled to debate a proposal by Kemp which concerns declining revenue for the Alternate Transportation Program.
Kemp's said parking fines and forfeitures, which pay for the program, have gone down.
"More students are parking where they should be," Kemp said. "Fewer students are getting tickets."
Kemp's report says parking revenue has dropped from $750,000 in 1994-95 to a projected $400,000 in 1997-98. This means that the Alternate Transportation Program will suffer.
Kemp provided the Senate with two options: scaling down the Campus Connection shuttle program or eliminating student bus pass subsidies.
Cutting back Campus Connection would mean fewer shuttle buses or less trips.
Eliminating the bus subsidy would double the price of bus passes for Cal State Long Beach students.
Kemp's report says that 789 students receive subsidized bus passes and estimates Campus Connection ridership at 93,000 per month.