During the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors’ July 2 meeting, board members heard presentations from CPP’s Career Center and Undocumented Student Services (USS) as part of a series of summer presentations delivered to the board under the name ASI-X.
ASI Vice President Manshaan Singh, a fourth-year environmental biology student, explained that the purpose of the ASI-X presentations is to “try to educate our elected student leaders on the campus as much as possible.”
As the campus prepares for an almost entirely remote fall semester, much of the summer’s presentations have addressed how CPP’s services are operating under unprecedented circumstances.
Tom Munnerlyn, director of the Career Center, opened his presentation by affirming that the center is still operating and “doing everything we can to get students connected to employers.”
Munnerlyn highlighted a series of virtual career fairs that will be taking place during the summer and throughout the fall semester.
The first of these is called the Final Hiring Virtual Fair taking place on Tuesday, July 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students can register for the fair on the career center’s website and can also find information to download an accompanying mobile app for the fair called Career Fair Plus.
The center is also hosting a Prep for Career Virtual Fair on Tuesday, July 14 at 2 p.m. to explain the logistics and expectations prior to the fair itself.
To register for these events and for more information on upcoming career center activities visit https://www.cpp.edu/career/index.shtml
The second ASI-X presentation of the meeting featured Mercir Ureta Rivera, coordinator of USS, informing the board of the services’ normal operations and how it has adapted to remote learning.
(Courtesy of ASI)
Rivera shared some of the statistics from USS’ prior work to highlight the organization’s achievements. This included its legal team completing 116 renewals for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Supporters of DACA recently achieved a high-profile victory on the nation’s most prominent legal stage when a 5-4 Supreme Court decision protected the program from termination. The Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration had violated federal law by failing to differentiate between federal benefits received by DACA recipients and protection from deportation when attempting to rescind the program.
Rivera acknowledged that the decision was welcome news but that it was “not the end fight.” He noted that DACA is still not a permanent solution, that it does not address the struggles of undocumented immigrants who would not be eligible for the program, including many undocumented parents, and that the Trump administration may attempt to end the program once again.
Finding a permanent solution that considers the various facets of the issue is a difficult process according to Rivera when addressing possible proposals.
“When we think about advocating, we need to make sure that it’s an inclusive solution, not only to the students, but talking about the parents and what the community wants.” Rivera added, “People propose, propose, propose but sometimes we don’t see what the backlash (could be); it could affect their parents and it might affect our family members…”
For more information on Undocumented Student Services including resources visit https://www.cpp.edu/broncodreamers/index.shtml
In addition to ASI-X presentations, the board also discussed the recommended subsidization of virtual programs by ASI’s scuba program.
Scuba Dive Center Coordinator Doug Hayes presented the board with the logistics of the program’s proposed summer offerings and the current recommended subsidization on ASI’s part.
(Courtesy of ASI)
Hayes explained that the “knowledge development” component of diving courses can be conducted online during the summer before students interested in diving certification can get back into the water. However, for non-diving courses, participants will be able to receive certification. Many of these non-diving courses specialize in conservation and nature education.
In the recommended subsidization structure, ASI would pay for a little less than half of the total cost for most courses. For example, scuba’s most expensive program, the open water course, has a total cost of $155.25 per student. Under the recommended structure, ASI would pay $70.25 or 45.5% of the total cost, leaving an $85 price for a CPP student.
The board is expected to vote on this subsidization structure during their next meeting on July 9.
As of Monday, June 7, both Singh and ASI President Lucy Yu did not share how they personally would vote but complimented the scuba program and Hayes’ presentation.
Discussing the recommended subsidization, Singh stated, “The scuba virtual program…will give students the chance to gain new experiences to the best extent possible under the current conditions. However, I am personally undecided on the merit of the rate of subsidization for these activities as proposed last week.”
Yu expressed appreciation for the presentation and forthcoming vote which allows the board to opine on the use of the program’s already allocated funds and said that “until (the vote), it will be interesting to see what board says and what everybody decides on.”
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 9 at 3 p.m. The agenda, minutes and Zoom link for previous and upcoming board of directors’ meetings can be found at https://asi.cpp.edu/student-government/meetings/board-of-directors/
