Campus Parking: a Pads and Tampons Continuous Nightmare Now Available in BSC by JOANNE GUINTU Staff Writer Associated Student Inc
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STUDENT PRESS OF CAL POLY POMONA UNIVERSITY www.thepolypost.com TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 VOL LXXV NO. 3 WWW.THEPOLYPOST.COM Free Campus parking: A pads and tampons continuous nightmare now available in BSC By JOANNE GUINTU Staff Writer Associated Student Inc. (ASI) has started its pilot project, which offers free menstrual products including pads and tampons to female students in the Bronco Student Center (BSC) women’s restrooms. With the collective efforts from Cal Poly Pomona Student Health and Wellbeing, ASI student government leaders and professional staff, this pilot project first showcased at the start of the fall semester. The goal for this project is to support student life, well-being and health. KELCIE HARTLEY | THE POLY POST “To make this possible, our ASI Poly Pantry, Lead Public Safety Officer Warren Owusu directing traffic on a Friday morning to help relieve back-up from the I-10 off-ramp to Kellogg Drive. which is part of the By KELCIE HARTLEY faculty and staff, meaning 1,700 faculty/staff parking attending CPP. Many students CPP Integrated Care Staff Writer there is not enough parking to and the remainder are all are often late to class because Network, has partnered accommodate even half of the dedicated to such things as ADA of these issues. with Sowing Seeds for Students of Cal Poly population on campus. [Americans with Disabilities Rand Uniack, a third-year Life to supply us with the Pomona: Start your engines “There are over 14,000 Act], state vehicles, visitor, business student, was late to menstrual products at no because parking on campus parking spaces at CPP,” electric cars, etc.” class recently due to parking. cost to students,” said Liz is a continuing nightmare. Police Chief Dario Robinson Despite these numbers, there “So far [I’ve been late] every Roosa Millar, associate According to the CPP official said. “Approximately 9,000 are not enough parking spaces day,” Uniack said. “It’s pretty vice president for Student website, there are over 26,000 general student parking, 1,400 to meet the growing demands of bad. I have to leave way earlier Health and Wellbeing. students and over 2,000 residential student parking, the more than 26,000 students See PARKING/ Page 2 Sowing Seeds for Life is a nonprofit organization that works to educate the community in nutrition and health. The Sowing Seeds for AI text bot now chatting Life menstrual dispensers are placed in the women’s restroom in a bright red box. Women’s restrooms are located on the first and second floor of the BSC. The quote on the red box dispenser states, “Changing the world one cycle at a time.” The pads and tampons offered in the free BSC dispensers are stated to be 100 percent natural cotton, biodegradable, Food and Drug Administration approved with no synthetic chemicals and dyes added in. Last academic year, the closest location to purchase feminine products was at the Bronco Express. The price for the products ranged COURTESY OF MELISSA YANG from $3.39 to $5.69 Billy Chat not only answers student questions through a text message, it also sends important dates and deadlines for students to be aware of. based on the choice of the product, the quantity By MICHELLE QUINTERO Billy reaches out to students eight months just to get the robot doesn’t know how to answer. and size. Staff Writer in the form of a text message, set up, all of the information in “The challenge is just making The BSC also previously designed to inform them of his brain, working on the initial sure that we always stay in provided a pad and A new text-messaging robot important dates and deadlines campaigns of what we are going tune with what students need,” tampon dispenser for the has been created to answer and answer questions 24/7. If to use this for and training.” Santiago-Gonzalez said. “As we price of 25 cents. questions and reach first-years Billy doesn’t know the answer to Eighty percent of the time look to expand into [the] second The Student Health and and incoming transfers where a question, the chatbot will have Billy is able to give an answer, year just managing to different Wellness Services and they spend most of their free a CPP Billy Chat representative Lance said. Although Billy is cohorts, [we’re] thinking about the Women’s Resource time — on their phones. to help answer. still learning, the more students what second-year transfer Center have always Billy Chat, an artificial Zoe Lance, communications ask questions and interact students are going to need provided free pads and intelligence (AI) chatbot, specialist for the Office of with the chatbot, the more the versus our first-year students.” tampons and continue launched in mid-May. It was Student Success, monitors the technology is able to refine Lance, Gomez, some staff to do so. available to first-year and chatbot daily and helps answer itself, Lance stated. students and a Bronco advising The BSC location transfer students a few weeks questions that Billy is not Cecilia Santiago-Gonzalez, counselor are able to monitor is easier for students after students submitted their capable of answering. director of strategic initiatives questions students send and to access because the enrollment confirmation “It didn’t happen overnight,” for student success, also helps respond directly to those that building stands near the deposit by May 1 and committed Lance said. “It took about six to answer questions that Billy center of campus. to attending Cal Poly Pomona. See BILLY CHAT / Page 3 See BSC / Page 2 NEWS Page 3 A&E Page 5 OPINION Page 9 SPORTS Page 10 WWW.THEPOLYPOST.COM CSU ditches single- College Day at the L.A. Ways to save money Men’s soccer team @THEPOLYPOST use plastics County Fair in college competes in Canada NEWS 2 THE POLY POST Tuesday, September 10, 2019 PARKING: New student lot opened off BSC: Pads campus to help relieve parking congestion Continued from Page 1 Campus PD blocks off located on Corporate noticed how parking has and tampons than I used to. Parking the filled lot entrances Center Drive and is affected the students in has always been bad, but to help save time for operational Monday his classes. now it seems a lot worse.” students looking for a through Thursday “Sometimes students Students usually see parking spot. Parking lots with approximately show up 30-40 minutes 100% cotton, campus police around the will only be blocked off if 360 parking spaces for [late] during class because parking lots and streets they are completely full. students. it took them an hour to of CPP, but may not be Chief Robinson advises The long distance from find parking,” Baez said. 100% free aware of how they handle students to “save time and the new parking lot to “It can be somewhat parking problems. gas by going directly to campus is too far of a walk disruptive to class. There “We focus on vehicular available parking rather for students, so there is a can be a few students who and pedestrian safety,” than circling busy lots. dedicated shuttle service, come in late, but they are Chief Robinson said. “UPD Parking and the E Shuttle, available very respectful about it.” Campus PD often have Transportation staff will from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 Nicole Garabedian, officers out between the direct you to available p.m. that connects to the first-year nutrition busy hours of 7:30 a.m. to parking,” he said. Student Services Building. student, believes parking 10 a.m., directing traffic If the parking lots are According to cpp. can add stress to students and counting parking full, parking structures edu/~parking/index. because of the possible spaces from each lot and 1 and 2 are the best shtml, the worst times repercussions of tardiness structure. options for parking to travel on campus in their classes. These spaces are because parking structure are Monday through “I feel some professors counted to inform campus 1 contains over 2,200 Thursday between 7:30 aren’t lenient about being police how many spaces parking spaces and a.m. to 10 a.m. late to class, [and] that are still available, which parking structure 2 has These traffic hours will affect studies and allows them to direct the over 1,600 parking spaces. aren’t just for students; grades going down just traffic flow toward open Due to the parking faculty and staff are because students couldn’t parking. congestion and higher affected by parking find parking,” Garabedian A common student than average number of troubles as well. said. complaint is about how newly admitted students Mariano Baez, adjunct officers are blocking off at CPP, there is a new faculty member in the Reach Kelcie Hartley at entrances to parking lots. temporary parking lot economics department, [email protected] ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ | THE POLY POST With the considerable number of students on campus, it’s encouraged to only take what is needed. KELCIE HARTLEY | THE POLY POST JOANNE GUINTU | THE POLY POST Parking structure 1 is the first go-to parking for students, which leaves it more than halfway full in the morning. Based on the success of the dispenser in the BSC, more may be popping up on campus in the future. Continued from Page 1 regarding free menstrual “I am honestly really products on campus. happy because this is Facilities Planning much more convenient and Management has for me,” said Alexandrea future plans for this Principe, a third-year pilot project to extend liberal arts student.