The Associated Students Campus Life Council met on Jan. 31 for its first biweekly council meeting of the spring semester. The council discussed Student Affairs’ decision to invite border patrol to the upcoming Diversity Career Forum, the new San Diego State president, the Aztec mascot task force and upcoming events.
Border Patrol at Diversity Career Forum
Career Services will be hosting a Diversity Career Forum on Feb. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Montezuma Hall. Lead Career Peer Educator Jermaine Rocacorba said the event will feature several recruiters from the San Diego community, including recruiters from the United States Customs and Border Patrol.
Student Diversity Commission Representative Nubia Milpas said commission members have expressed discontent with having recruiters from the U.S. Border Patrol at the event.
“There was a huge amount of student discontent (for having border patrol at the event),” she said. “Student Affairs privileged (border patrol) over an event that was supposed to be for students.”
Student Diversity Commissioner Chloe Sabio said that the career forum is intended for students who would not otherwise have an opportunity like this and having border patrol there raised concerns not only with SDC, but with the committee that planned the event.
“Everyone that sat on the committee to plan this, including faculty and students, voted no to having the U.S. Border Patrol there, but that decision was overturned by Student Affairs,” she said.
A.S. Vice President of External Relations Carmel Alon said A.S. was not involved in the decision to invite U.S. Border Patrol to the event and they were only made aware of the decision on Wednesday.
“As far as what our next steps are, we can decide as a board how we feel about this,” she said. “We can go talk to Randy Timm and Student Affairs and personally voice our opinion on this.”
New SDSU President
The California State University Board of Trustees appointed Adela de la Torre to serve as the new permanent SDSU president. De la Torre will be the first permanent female president of SDSU.
Chimezie Ebiriekwe, A.S. president, served on the selection committee for the new president. He said de la Torre will be going back and forth between SDSU and her current position as vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of California Davis this semester, until she begins her official term in June.
“I was honored to be a part of the selection committee and I’m very satisfied with the selection this year,” he said.
Mascot Task Force
Ebiriekwe said he will be electing seven students for the mascot task force, which will discuss the human representation of the Aztec mascot. Of the seven students Ebiriekwe elects, SDSU interim president Sally Roush will choose four students to be on the task force. He said the task force will be composed of around 12-16 members of the SDSU community.
“The task force will be composed of alumni, faculty, staff and students that will tackle the issue of the human representation of the mascot,” he said.
Upcoming Events
Sustainability Commissioner Charlotte Roberts said The College Area Community Garden, located next to the SDSU Children’s Center, will be hosting a volunteer work party on Feb. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Aztec Student Union Board Representative Kyla Blaylock said tickets for the Green Fest Concert will go on sale on Feb. 5 at 8 a.m., but she said students have lined up as early as 4 a.m. in past years.
The Green Fest Concert will be held on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre. Tickets for SDSU students are $15 and guest tickets are $25.
Blaylock said the Green Fest Concert performer will be announced this weekend.
