Daily 49Er Jan 24, 2011 Makeshift Café Opens in Student Recreation and Wellness Center by Katrina Guevara Assistant News Editor
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Daily 49er Jan 24, 2011 Makeshift café opens in Student Recreation and Wellness Center By Katrina Guevara Assistant News Editor A temporary snack center opened Thursday and will be operating at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center for the spring semester until Associated Students Inc. finds a permanent vendor. The new snack shack will sell food staples such as water, energy drinks and healthy snacks for the next three to six months, according to ASI Communications Coordinator Christina Esparza. "We have not yet sent out a request for proposal to outside vendors, so there really are no potential vendors yet," Esparza said. After the Fresh Foods Café Express' sudden closure at Cal State Long Beach's recreation center last November, ASI has been running its own mini- convenience store. According to University Student Union Board of Trustees chair Asha Nettles, the entire board hopes to replace the space with healthy and affordable food products. "I did enjoy the organic option that was [at Fresh Foods] before and hope that it's continued with the next vendor," said Nettles, who is also a CSULB student and frequent visitor of the recreation center. However, some students have different opinions on the types of products the future shop should have in store. "I think the snack corner should just be a smoothie bar," said sophomore geography major Aaron Goddu. "If they sold fresh smoothies, juices and even protein shakes, then it would generate a lot of business." Other recreation center members are hoping for healthy and tasty alternatives. "Fresh fruit would be great, but I understand it has a short shelf life, so it would be pricey," said graphic design alumni Bryan Villa. "But I don't mind having indulgent stuff like sandwiches and shakes." The SRWC, a 126,500-square-foot facility that opened in fall 2010, is available to Cal State Long Beach's 35,000 students as well as membership- paying alumni. Esparza said about 2,500 to 4,000 students use the SRWC facilities daily during the academic semesters. Student association responds to budget cuts, fee hikes By Kasia Hall Assistant City Editor Long Beach State is facing the possibility of furloughs, faculty layoffs and higher tuition as a result of Jerry Brown's proposed $1.4 billion budget cut to California's universities. The proposed budget cuts would affect University of California schools, California State universities and community colleges. Of the $1.4 billion cut, $500 million would be taken from the 23 CSU campuses, similar to what was cut in 2009, according to Christopher Chavez, President of California Student State Association. Although the state legislature has not yet approved the state funding, action has already begun. Chavez went to the state capital to testify to the assembly of higher education committee Jan. 18. However, he admitted that the fight to end budget cuts for education would not be easy. "Well, to be perfectly blunt, this is going to be a major uphill battle," Chavez said. "It's going to take a lot of effort." Chavez plans to visit Sacramento at least once a month this semester. According to the Los Angeles Times, UC schools have already decided to raise tuition for undergraduates for 2011-2012 by 8 percent, or $822. In addition to the threat of raised tuition, canceled classes, furloughs and increased class sizes, student life on campus is also in danger. In an e-mail to the Daily 49er, Associated Students Inc. Treasurer Jameson Nyeholt said that, if the proposed budget cuts affect enrollment, students can also expect changes in ASI. The majority of the ASI budget, 71 percent, is made up of student fees. Therefore, decrees in enrollment would have a direct effect on ASI's budget and operations. "The changes that students will see in their ASI if our revenue is decreased are smaller programmatic events, lesser funding to students' organizations, reductions in hiring and reductions in funding to other services provided by the entity," Nyeholt said. With such possible threats for students in California, Chavez urged students to become engaged and unite against the cuts. The March for Higher Education on March 14 last year attracted 13,000 students to the state's capital. "We need to remember 2009," Chavez said. "Things got really hard, and we are about to revisit that time." Seventh Street bridge to be closed for up to a year By Alexandra Baird Editor in chief Students driving to Cal State Long Beach from Orange County will face a detour as the 22 westbound-Seventh Street connector will be closed for up to a year, according to an Orange County Transportation Authority. The bridge will be demolished sometime in late February or early March, Christina Byrne of OCTA said. Byrne said Seventh Street west of the 405 bridge will not be affected, but students trying to get to campus from the 405 northbound will need to change their route. "The contractor is incentivized to get it done sooner than a year if possible," Byrne said. "But while that connector is closed, the best route for students is to exit Seal Beach Boulevard to Westminster/Second Street and reconnect with Seventh Street at Studebaker." The West County Connector project was designed to add carpool lanes, reconstruct on- and off-ramps and add elements like soundwalls and landscaping, according to octa.net. The project also means intermittent closures on the 22 eastbound. The ramp headed from campus to the 405 southbound will be closed only for two weeks sometime in 2012, Byrne said. Byrne said students should be mindful that speeding and other fines are doubled in construction zones and make extra time for the commute to ensure they get to class on time. OCTA posts construction updates at facebook.com/WCCProjectInfo or on Twitter @wccprojectinfo. California marijuana law will not change CSULB dorm life By Matthew Gomez With the new year, California's marijuana possession law has changed, but the policy in the Cal State Long Beach dorms remains the same. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate bill 1440 in October before it went into effect on Jan. 1. The new law changed possession of up to an ounce of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil infraction, meaning no criminal record as before. The fines remained the same, with up to $100 for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, but the new classification will cut out the trial process. The governor said he hopes the reduction in court processing will save state money. However, the change in California's marijuana possession law won't affect marijuana regulations in the dorms, said Carol Roberts-Corb, the director of housing at CSULB. "If a student is caught using, possessing or growing marijuana in the dorms, our judicial process remains the same," Roberts-Corb said. If a student is caught with marijuana in the dorms, the campus police are contacted to take care of the legal issue. The student then must enter into the school's Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Program, which has three steps. After the first citation for drug violations, the student must attend a three-hour mandatory class. Although the policy for marijuana possession in the dorms remains the same, campus police will follow the new California law, said University Police Capt. Fernando Solorzano. "That is a California law that everyone has to follow and, as a law enforcement agency in the state of California, we have to abide by that as well," Solorzano said. Roberts-Corb said she is unsure how the new law will affect student conduct on campus, or if it will have any impact at all. Abortion should not be funded through taxpayer subsidies By Staff Along with the recent proposal by the House to repeal the health care bill came the proposition to strip abortion from health care insurance coverage and U.S. government funding. To some this is an understandable and favorable measure. To pro-choice advocates, however, it is an abominable motion. The "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," sponsored by House Rep. Chris Smith, would implement restrictions on taxpayer subsidies and all other U.S. government funding for abortion. The legislation has been classified as top priority for GOP, raising concerns among pro-choice supporters. "Our new bill is designed to permanently end any U.S. government financial support for abortion, whether it be direct funding or by tax credits or any other subsidy," Smith explained. The bill would need to be renewed each year by Congress. Rep. Joe Pitts has launched a corresponding bill, the "Protect Life Act," which would eliminate any leeway in the health law that permits abortion funding. Some pro-choice advocates have deemed that the matter is being "overplayed" by Republicans, according to NPR. However, we beg to differ. Maybe the new Republican majority in the House is taking the matter too seriously; however, what they are suggesting and why they are suggesting it is understandable. Abortion should undoubtedly remain an option for all women, but should not be funded by taxpayers nationwide. This isn't to say that funding abortion through taxpayer subsidies is wrong, but it is unnecessary. When investing in health care insurance, women should be given the option between a health insurance plan that may or may not include abortion coverage. This way, the abortion patients themselves fund their own abortion procedures. This may encourage more women to look into health insurance as well as review their money spending priorities. In regards to women taking desperate and dangerous measures to abort a baby, this is unavoidable. It will happen whether the US government funds abortion or not.