Posts tagged with Advocacy
May 8th, 2013 • Access for Students, Impact on California
By Erik Fallis
CSU Public Affairs
In April, the California State Student Association filled the halls of government in Sacramento with hundreds of student voices. The California Higher Education Student Summit is dedicated to equipping students with the tools to be strong leaders and advocates for their peers. Last month’s CHESS was the 18th time students gathered in the state capitol for this purpose.
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March 27th, 2013 • Environmental Sustainability, Impact on California
By Erik Fallis
CSU Public Affairs
Chico State students are thinking through the consequences of collective human actions. Much of the evidence is that our species is making poor decisions, utilizing record levels of the earth’s productive capacity while choking that productive pipeline for future generations.
A coalition of students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and activists are striving for a better path, a healthier path. This Way to Sustainability is an enormous undertaking – a student-run conference that hosts more than 100 speakers and 1,400 participants. This conference brings together those who dare to question the decisions we make today. In so doing, they find many answers about how we might move toward a sustainable future.
Decked out in an elaborate dress of plastic bags, Health Education major Alexandria Gipson (center) quizzes and informs students with trivia about the impact of plastics in the environment. More …
November 21st, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality
Rear Admiral Thomas A. Cropper
President, California Maritime Academy
President Cropper and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood during LaHood's recent visit to The California Maritime Academy
Great organizations lead with best-in-the-world attributes. The California Maritime Academy is a world leader in “pracademics” — the practical reinforcement of academics by real world application. Cadets seamlessly go from learning metallurgical concepts in the classroom to creating functioning parts on the Training Ship Golden Bear. Intellectual learning is tested throughout summer training cruises under the guidance of strong faculty and proven maritime professionals. Cal Maritime is exemplary of a devotion to hands-on learning that one encounters on all Cal State campuses. I know the power of this type of education — I have personally witnessed the tremendous benefits of the CSU approach as the proud father of a son who completed his Cal Maritime degree and a daughter who is finishing at San Diego State. More …
October 17th, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality, Impact on California
By Jamillah Moore
Chancellor, Ventura County Community College District
Sacramento State Alumna
Dr. Moore speaking with Ventura County Community College District faculty.
I take to heart the fact that community colleges exist to serve the community. Building and strengthening the neighborhoods surrounding the 112-campus California Community College system is a shared mission, central focus and key identifier. This mission involves extending a welcoming hand to high school students and giving our college students a supportive boost into their next phase of life.
The California Masterplan for Higher Education also envisioned a public system that would allow any student to work their way to the highest levels of education. Open access community colleges play a critical role in that plan. Some high school graduates’ grades or family finances are not ready for the university. For them, the community college system is the transfer pathway to success. The CSU and community colleges have been working especially hard over the last two years to make that process smoother as more and more students embrace the community college route to a four-year degree.
As the youngest of six girls, I can relate to family financial pressure. Still, my mother early on laid out “the choice” for her children. We could get a job and support ourselves or go to college and my parents would provide all the support they could. My mother was never very subtle about the option she preferred. A woman who experienced the segregation of the Deep South, she knew that education was the path to empowerment.
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August 10th, 2012 • Access for Students, Impact on California
Featuring CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed
with Greg Washington, CSU Fullerton Alumnus and
2011-2012 California State Student Association President
On April 10, 2012, CSU Chancellor Reed and CSSA President Washington went to Sacramento to advocate for students. Watch how their joint advocacy efforts are encouraging reinvestment in the CSU.
June 6th, 2012 • Educational Quality
By Punya Droz
Alumna of Sonoma State
Punya Droz
It was the darkest chapter of Cambodia’s history. The country of my birth was tearing itself apart and my family was caught in the middle. I lost both parents to the Khmer Rouge genocide of professionals with education and government connections – my mother, who served with the American Red Cross, and father, a member of the military.
As I came to live with my grandmother and aunt, my family continued to be up heaved by war, famine and separation.
Dark times test character and values. It is difficult to describe a world in which a person is targeted and killed because they hold a degree. Yet, my family stayed true to its commitment to education – a value I inherited and passed on to my daughter.
My husband, a U.S. Vietnam veteran, and daughter attended my Sonoma State graduation this May. My daughter and I have spent many evenings sitting together doing homework. She is my inspiration, just as I hope to inspire her. More …
May 4th, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality
CSSA officers meet with Marty Block, chairman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
Collaboration, commitment and communication were the underlining themes throughout the 2012 California Higher Education Student Summit. Student leaders from 22 CSU campuses came together to work as one in hopes of achieving a common goal: saving higher education.
From April 20-22, members of the California State Student Association (CSSA) participated in workshops at Sacramento State University where they learned how to effectively disseminate key messages, picked up vital leadership techniques and shared ideas of how to lobby.
When the workshop trainings were completed, the students gathered together for an inspirational awards banquet where stories about the positive effects of advocacy were shared, the need for investment in affordable education was expressed, and recognition of campus and individual student accomplishments were lauded. CSSA President Greg Washington concluded the banquet with one simple phrase that incited a roaring round of applause from his peers: “Team work makes the dream work.” More …
February 28th, 2012 • Access for Students, Educational Quality
By Jimmie LaVerne Thompson
Education Consultant
CSU Alumni Council Secretary
Alumna of CSU Dominguez Hills
Thompson addresses a congregation of thousands at City of Refuge, with associate pastor Seth Gator looking on. CSU Super Sunday is Thompson's first time speaking in front of her church.
My grandsons inspired me to speak at CSU Super Sunday.
As I looked out on the City of Refuge congregation, every young face radiated that same spark of potential I see in them. Some people talk about youth as lost and aimless. The young men and women of City are not lost. They are found and they are alive with the promise of a prosperous and blessed future.
Last Sunday, my grandsons served as more than just inspiration. They served as ushers, taking on my typical church responsibilities. You see, I belong to the congregation of City of Refuge and speaking on behalf of the CSU was really a merging of two worlds. More …
April 29th, 2011 • Access for Students, Impact on California
By Erik Fallis
CSU Public Affairs
During the 16th California Higher Education Student Summit, the student leaders of all 23 CSU campuses joined forces in Sacramento to defend a California dream that is “Made in the CSU.” The California State Student Association offered two days of preparation and training, on April 16 and 17, during which time students learned to lobby the legislature as well as developed leadership skills and knowledge of statewide issues.
After developing their skills, student advocates went to the capitol on April 18 to meet with legislative staff. The students carried a message for their 412,000 peers: that higher education is a critical investment for the future of the state and that CSU students will defend that investment.
This message comes at a critical time. The CSU faces $500 million in cuts with the prospects of even deeper cuts if the state fails to secure additional revenues. Such deep cuts have dire consequences for the entire CSU community, especially current and future students.
Below are a few images from CHESS XVI:
The CHESS XVI Planning Committee, a.k.a. dream team, including from left to right: Miles Nevin (CSSA Executive Director), Kevin Starks (San José State), Michael Quibuyen (CSU Long Beach), Elizabeth Bingham (CSU Channel Islands), Aaron Guerrero (Humboldt State), Olgalilia Ramírez (CSSA Director of Government Relations), Jasmine Gray (CSU Dominguez Hills) and Committee Chair Daniel Galvan (Cal Poly SLO)
March 30th, 2011 • Access for Students, Impact on California
By Erik Fallis
CSU Public Affairs
The month of February ends with a commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the month of March with César Estrada Chávez. Both leaders struggled against the status quo and repression to advocate for rights, equal treatment and opportunity.
During the middle of the month, on March 14, thousands of CSU and community college students marched on Sacramento to preserve the progress made and defend access to higher education for the diverse communities of California.
The rally, called March in March, brought the student voice to the front steps of the California’s capitol. The students were reacting to more than $1.4 billion in cuts to higher education, of which $500 million will be taken from the CSU. Student speakers described the impact of the cuts on their lives, their communities and the state as a whole.
The students are not done yet. The California State Student Association, the CSU’s statewide student voice, holds the California Higher Education Student Summit in Sacramento during the month of April. Student leaders will continue to press lawmakers to prioritize higher education and the students of this state.
Below are a few images from the March in March.
CSSA President Chris Chavez, bullhorn in hand, prepares to lead students on a march to the steps of the state capitol
Students, alumni, faculty and friends lend us your voices and views.
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