Notes and Thoughts -- 12/11-12/31 tour of Central America

Besides the beautiful scenery and welcoming faces that one would expect to see, I have also realized that apparently even while on vacation, access to an affordable education and social justice remain issues requiring immediate attention. The past week has indeed been exhausting, and has pushed me to the limits of my personal fortitude… but it has also allowed me to realize that the things we place a priority on in the United States are also very volatile issues within other countries. In the short time that I have been out of the country, I have found myself taking part in campaigns promoting equity within the access to education, women's rights, GLBT awareness, and even free democratic elections. And while there have been many obstacles in the way of the efforts of myself and my newly found partners and friends, such as the outbreaks of civil unrest and violence as well as the epidemic of cholera that has been devastating the south-eastern border between Guatemala and Honduras, I have found that these campaigns have been more than worth the effort when taking into context the fruit of our efforts.

For example, over the past three days, regions 14A and 16 as well as zone 4 in Guatemala have all passed several pieces of legislation aimed at encouraging the distribution and installation of solar panels in their public office buildings.

In addition, through the work on the part of several non-profit international humanitarian organizations, I have seen the formation of three new school districts in rural towns as well as the beginning steps to the reconstruction of a prominent cathedral in the town of Esquipulas.

Perhaps the most humorous aspect of all is that despite all the turmoil and civil unrest within the country, I still have found a certain level of peace and comfort. Perhaps it is because I am visiting the home of my ancestors. Perhaps it is the quiet serenity of the lifestyle of the people whose main source of income is through the commercial trade of agriculture.

However, I think that most of all, it is because of the knowledge that even while away from home, I still see that that all of us share similar goals, hopes, and dreams.

Note: I´ll likely write a second part to this and add pictures later on, but seeing as my access to the internet is severely limited, this will have to suffice for the time being.

What is Student Representation?

Student Representation creates a structure to ensure that students' views are heard. A form of student government is usually necessary at a University to ensure a committed effort to receiving and responding to student feedback in order to bring about improvement in the quality of the student experience and development of learning and teaching within the institution. The underlying principle is that any student from any background on any degree programme should be able to contribute to and enhance his or her experience at the University.

--Adapted from The University Of Manchester

At CSULA, we do have a student government association, the Associated Students Incorporated at California State University Los Angeles. However, like any organization, the underlying fundamental behavior of this association has a direct link with its leadership. In any given year, if a President who has been elected into office and has committed to providing true student representation even in the face of challenges from the University administration, faculty, and staff proves to be an knowledgeable in their charge and shows character by challenging University policies and proposals when they are against the desire of a majority of the student population, then the rest of the association will follow suit. However, when a President takes upon a lax and complacent attitude and chooses to bow down to the views of the administration, how can the association be expected to show character? Not only would they have to oppose the University administration, they would have to face possible retribution from within their own association!

Using dictionary.com (an alternative source, of course), I have found the definition of "to lead" to take upon three similar definitions:

1. To go before or with to show the way
2. To influence or induce
3. To guide in direction, course, action, or opinion

For any person to claim that as the Chair of an organization (within CSULA, an ASI President also serves as the Chair for the Board of Directors of ASI), one is restricted to pure neutrality in all cases or issues is, and please do forgive the expression, a claim of supreme ignorance and a coward's excuse for inaction. A basic, underlying responsibility of a Chair in any organization is to ensure that the association's Board of Directors has the information to make informed decisions. 

An excuse that may be brought up is that it takes time to educate an entire Board of the issues that concern students and that perhaps a people differ in their ability to lead. My refutation to this particular claim is that any person that agrees to lead must be confident in his/her ability to execute the duties of his/her position. 

Therefore, it is my claim that student representation is whatever the student leadership deems it to be. If the leadership is strong and committed to the best interests of the student body, then students will receive ample representation. If not... students may see their interests being mishandled by ineptitude and complacency.

Quarters versus Semesters: The Pros to Each Arguement

I realize that everyone is a bit confused to the different arguments coming from each side. Therefore, I have decided to compile a list of pros to each proposal. All of this information can be found on the CSULA Home Page or you can simply click on the following link:

https://nss-nemo.calstatela.edu/semester/

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Semesters

Pros

• The conversion would provide the University with the opportunity to comprehensively re-examine, redefine, and remodel its curriculum as necessary to deliver breadth of information and depth of insight, as well as utility, in order to best meet the requirements of modern life and market demands.
• Conversion will ease the transfer of students into and out of Cal State L.A. programs from other institutions, most of which already follow the semester system.
• Because most CSU and community colleges already follow the semester system, conversion would improve program articulation, as well as enable cross-institution courses and materials and comprehensive student interfaces.
• A semester calendar will allow underprepared students greater time to adjust to the rigors of university academic life. Since over 70% of our first-time freshmen require remediation, this will provide adequate time for adjustment.
• The semester system provides greater opportunities for collaborative research and for in-depth teaching and classroom projects.
• Conversion will help Cal State L.A. “capture” more summer school students returning home for the summer months from other institutions, who might want to enroll in courses (and in a time frame) compatible with their academic careers.
• Conversion will provide graduating students with a “first-mover” advantage when entering the job market. Most large employers schedule recruitment of new hires according to the semester calendar. Currently, Cal State L.A. graduates enter the post-graduation job market much later than regional peers because of their late graduation date.
• A semester calendar will facilitate study-abroad options, student teaching, and other forms of experiential learning.
• A semester calendar allows students greater flexibility in regard to dropping/adding or otherwise switching classes because of the extended length of semesters versus quarters.
• The semester system improves administrative efficiency, resulting in cost savings in certain functional areas, e.g., admissions, registration, and financial aid. For instance, financial-aid fund disbursements would occur on a biannual basis in the semester system versus four times per year in the quarter system.
• Sabbaticals for a full semester would be fully funded, thus enabling a leave, including summer, of approximately 8 months with full pay. (Under quarters, still including summer, faculty members can receive 9 months off by choosing two quarters off at 75 percent pay, but can receive full pay for 6 months maximum.)
• The pace of a semester is less stressful for faculty as well as students. This reason may well be the most frequently cited in favor of semesters. In terms of student learning, this translates into more time for the material to “sink in” and to complete assignments; more opportunity to catch up if students get behind due to illness, work, or family emergencies (or even procrastination); and so on. For the student balancing work, family, and academic work, it increases by 50 percent the number of weekends to complete assignments (though, admittedly, with more assignments).
• Class periods can be somewhat shorter, accommodating the attention span of students. A shortened teaching year would free more time for research or creative activities. The exact increase in available time would depend upon the calendar chosen. The shortest academic calendars would likely be a 13-week trimester calendar or a 15-week semester with a shortened summer term (e.g., 10 weeks). On these calendars, faculty would teach for 25-26 weeks and have two exam weeks. Under the quarter system, faculty teach 30 weeks and have three exam weeks–one more week total than teaching two standard semesters (30 weeks plus exam weeks).
• The ease of creating courses of varying units enables faculty to tailor the curriculum in appropriate sizes for the content to be covered. Although flexibility is present under quarters as well, there is pressure in many departments to conform to a 4-unit course standard.
• The greater number of weeks provides more opportunity for research, rewritten papers, field work, service learning, more multi-stage assignments or lab experiments, and so on.
• Semester calendars can allow for “dead time,” enabling students to finish papers, research, or projects, and prepare for final exams, without missing classes near the end of the term.
• Planning, ordering books, and other “gearing up;” evaluating; grading; paperwork; and getting to know new groups of students all take place two rather than three times per year (or three rather than four times for those who teach all year, e.g., lecturers).
• Advisement, including applications for graduation and counseling new students, takes place one fewer time per year.
• There is a greater likelihood of teaching-load reduction from the current load for tenure-track faculty on semesters rather than quarters. This results, for example, from our ability to increase class size by teaching two sections per year of a course rather than three, the ability to create courses with varying numbers of units, and other methods.

Quarters

Pros

• The quarter system allows for more flexibility and creativity in curriculum design. Since courses are shorter by several weeks, students and programs are able to benefit from a greater variety of courses.
• Some have argued that it is easier for students and faculty to stay focused and motivated throughout the quarter term (as opposed to a semester), given the shorter period of time.
• Many faculty have claimed that the pace of teaching and learning can be more easily maintained without a lag in energy in a quarter term.
• The quarter terms are shorter, so for each term there is the potential for fewer exams and quizzes to be taken by students and graded by instructors.
• Some have argued that the quicker pace that develops on a quarter calendar creates the need for students to develop more quickly the time management skills they need.
• Again, given the faster pace, students can be said to be less likely to procrastinate on the quarter system than on the semester system.
• Students are keenly aware that a missed class in a quarter term will be very detrimental for them, so one can assume that attendance is likely to be more consistent on the quarter system.
• Student cohorts do not last as long on quarters than on semesters because students are mixed more often in the scheduling of classes. One beneficial result can be that a class with a negative flavor will end sooner, and with less likelihood that it will impact student learning and/or a faculty member’s frustration level.
• Since most textbooks cannot really be taught in their entirety in a 10-week quarter (textbooks usually are written for a semester-based system), instructors can focus on the most important sections in the book. Pedagogically, this provides a built-in advantage to students by highlighting what is meant to be retained.
• In the quarter system, tests can cover three or more chapters at a time rather than just one, thereby promoting a greater breadth of knowledge of the subject matter.
• The shorter quarter breaks in December and the spring promote a better learning mindset because students must remain focused on academics.
• Most observers will agree that students are more willing to try out an elective class on a quarter schedule, knowing that it will last only 10 weeks.
• The quarter calendar affords faculty much greater flexibility when they are considering taking a sabbatical or other kind of funded leave.
• Because of the greater variety of courses possible on a quarter calendar, this schedule is likely to facilitate better the option of double majors and/or double minors
• Students who find themselves out of sequence (due to stopping out for a term) will likely find it easier to pick up the trail of required courses because programs will find it easier to offer “trailer courses” more often when they have four terms available instead of the two semesters plus short summer on the semester calendar.
• The quarter system has worked pretty well on this campus, so if we keep things as they are we would not be the worse for it.
• In fact, it should be highlighted that there is no additional cost involved in staying with the quarter calendar.
• By staying on quarters, students can enroll in fewer courses per term (and, of course, faculty can teach fewer courses as well).

ASI Debate - Quarter vs. Semester System

Yesterday, I had the privilege of representing the CSULA Forensics Debate team in a debate hosted by A.S.I. regarding the proposal by CSULA President James Rosser to transition from a quarter system to a semester system. However, after seeing the confusion that many members of the audience displayed, I would like to clarify a few things.

In the ASI sponsored debate, the CSULA Forensics Debate team was asked by Jennifer Chemel (A.S.I. President) to perform in a debate so that the witnessing audience would have the opportunity to become informed of the pros and cons of each argument. In short, this was a debate assignment. Both the affirmative 'team' and negative 'team' were assigned a position to take -- either for or against -- and argue the issue. Neither were given the opportunity to choose which side to take. The CSULA Forensics Debate team agreed to take part in this debate for obvious reasons as well as our sense of campus pride motivated us to do this service to our University.

However, as far as our performance goes, the CSULA Forensics Debate team was never notified by Ms. Chemel that we would be asked questions from the audience. Despite the fact that I am an appointed member of ASI, during this debate, I was first and foremost a member of my debate team. We were under the false impression that a Q&A session would take place after the debate (in which, I of course would 'switch hats', so to speak and perform my duties as an Academic Senator). Furthermore, the CSULA Forensics Debate team is seeking an apology from Ms. Chemel for not having made this lack of clarification to both the team and to the students in the audience.

To sum this up, the opinions expressed at this debate are not necessarily the actual opinions of the debators themselves. As debators, we were merely either supporting or attacking the resolution we were given.

Now that this is cleared up, I also wish to address the issue of the student sentiment towards A.S.I...

A.S.I. was established on the principle of having students working on the behalf of students in both representation and outreach. As elected and appointed members of student government, we have an obligation to the constituency that we have been elected to represent and should be held accountable for our actions.

The main reason why I first became a part of A.S.I., even as early as my freshman year, was because I personally believe in the principles of true representation and accountability. In brief, what I mean by true representation is that as a representative for a constituency, one must advocate the views, needs, and concerns of those that one represents instead of the individual. Student representatives are voted in by their peers... as a result, students are the sole constituency that I have and will continue to represent.

Throughout my service in student government, I have been of the opinion that A.S.I. has a responsibility to the students we have been elected and appointed to represent. In my freshman year, I found myself advocating for the concerns and demands of the College of Business and Economics students as the College of Business and Economics Representative. This year, however, I have found myself placed in a unique situation as an Academic Senator in where I will be voting on University Policy that is presented to the Academic Senate. One of these issues will in fact be the quarter to semseter conversion proposal by CSULA President James Rosser. Im this matter, I have been asked to voice the official opinion of A.S.I. (which currently has no opinion). I, however, am disgusted by the possibility of going against the desires of my constituency. My pledge to the student body of CSULA is that, despite protests and the possibility of recieving criticism from my partners in student government, is that I will continue to do as I have always done: to voice YOUR concerns. To consider YOUR needs beyond my own.

Despite what you may be told, remember that you do have a voice. Use it! Lobby A.S.I. and demand true representation and accountability. Ask your college representatives about what they are doing to voice your concerns to the rest of A.S.I. Ask your A.S.I. President as to how you are being represented under her leadership and how A.S.I. is making an effort to reach out to the student population.

As students, we have a right to be heard and to be taken seriously. If all else fails, we do have voices of our own. Please remember that.

Carlos Lopez-Jimenez
A.S.I., Undergraduate Academic Senator
Student Action Coalition, Chair
Earth LA, President
Student Alumni Association, Public Relations

Earth LA, A Presidential Platform

When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves

-- David Orr

Last year, Earth LA was launched with the purpose of pushing our campus and community to take better care of the environment we live in. Earth LA has also advocated on improving University policies in order to become more environmentally friendly. However this year, as the new Earth LA President, has pushed for the University to move ahead of the pack and be a truly environmental university through several measures.

First, I will exert pressure on our student government and University administration to sign the ACUPCC (a commitment and plan for making our University climate neutral). Also, I am currently in the process of instituting a monthly Campus Beautification Day, in which I hope to gain the cooperation and support from other campus clubs organizations. We have already started a recycling program on the campus; now I am assigning a full-time executive board member, previously the Sustainability Advisor to actively lobby in ASI and University-wide committees about the importance of improving on our recycling program by with more access to recycle bins for all types of recyclables and a greater widespread education on what can and cannot be recycled. It is obvious that a more aggressive CSULA partnership with Metro Transit would improve services to students and benefit the environment and, in recognition of this, I am having Earth LA take a leadership role in the institution of such a partnership. Finally, this year Earth LA will be taking sides in political issues that pertain to the environment and we will take an active role in educating our campus community in these issues.

We will still continue our traditional events such as the Eleventh Hour, Earth Day, and other festivals, but I assure you that this will only be a part of what Earth LA will be taking part in.

CSULA can set the bar for the rest of the community on becoming more environmentally friendly and push other CSU campuses to follow suit. The fight against global warming and environmental deterioration will shape the 21st century. It will be up to us to determine the eventual outcome. We must realize that understanding the laws of nature does not necessarily make us immune to their fury. In order to coexist, we must learn that every day is earth day.

I look forward to an amazing year with all of you... in peace and in harmony.

Carlos Lopez-Jimenez

Earth LA, President

ASI Office Hours for Fall 2008

As per ASI Bylaws mandating Academic Senators to serve a set number of office hours per week, I am pleased to announce my office hours for the 2008 Fall Quarter.

• Wednesday 3:20PM - 4:00PM
• Thursday 1:30PM - 3:00 PM

Hours are subject to change due to cabinet meetings and/or University-Wide Committees.

For times other than as listed, please send a request for an appointment via email. Unfortunately, I will not be holding office hours during finals week but will be checking my email regularly.

Ashes and Rebuilding

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation

-- Henry David Thoreau

How true this is. I know a person in particular that, even though her soul and heart is in one place, she has chosen to remain in the status quo. We each look for a safe vessel to place our hopes and dreams in but we come to realize, within time, that what makes the difference between happiness and despair is what our intuition and inner eye tells us. 

Then again, I could be wrong. However, I doubt that I am.