By Scotty Ninh, March 5, 2024
The Associated Students, Incorporated government approved additional budget requests during a meeting held Thursday, Feb. 22, which will allow two student engineering organizations to compete in competitions.
The American Society of Civil Engineers of Cal Poly Pomona requested an additional $6,000 to their budget to help them attend and compete in the Pacific Southwest Student Symposium, according to ASI treasurer, Armando Rivas-Gomez.
The engineering organization had its budget request approved with a unanimous vote of 32 points in favor of providing ASCE with additional funding.
Between transportation, hotel costs, food, t-shirts and registration fees, the total amount of funds the organization needs to cover their attendance came out to $38,066, covered by the provided ASI budgets as well as the organization’s own fundraising.
CPP ASCE previously competed in PSWS, making several respectable placements in each of their attendances.
“Last year they placed fifth, 2022: third, 2021: second and so forth,” said Rivas-Gomez.
The Structural Engineers Association of CPP will also be attending PSWS as ASI approved an additional $6,000 in budget with a vote of 31.11 out of 32 points. They will be one of the newer teams competing and will be doing so under the name Cal Poly Timber Strong Design Build team, Rivas-Gomez explained.
The Structural Engineers Association aims to provide a welcoming environment to students from diverse academic background and inspire future structural engineers. The organization hopes to contribute to CPP’s legacy through participation in this competition with the goal of securing first place.
According to ASCE, their participation in this competition would provide students with industry exposure, networking, scholarships and social experiences through technical and athletic competitions.
The 2024 ASCE Pacific Southwest Student Symposium is one of the largest regional conferences in the nation and is to be held at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.
The two CPP engineering organizations are gearing up to compete against 13 other universities with the collective aim to elevate CPP’s standing in the symposium, aspiring for top-tier placements.
ASI also talked about the current state of the Children’s Center’s Kids University program. This program provided employment for CPP students, as they helped children develop their skills in art, language, math, science and computers in an eight-week summer school. This program also provided said students with hands-on learning experiences.
The Kids University program is being paused due to budgetary constraints, according to Michele Crowder, an associate director at CPP’s Children Center. During this pause, the Children’s Center will be taking time to reevaluate the program and explore outside funding.
“We recognize that this is potentially not a program that we can continue to sustain in its current form despite having a positive impact,” said Crowder.
While the Kids University program has been paused, Crowder emphasized the Children’s Center will continue to operate.
Engineering College Senator Cade Wheeler talked about possible restaurant revamps across campus, but the revamps have yet to be confirmed.
“Foundation Dining Services said they are considering all the on-campus restaurant revamps so that was pretty cool,” said Wheeler.
The Collins College of Hospitality Management Senator Nicholas Lau also mentioned a hospitality event to be held March 8 at the Ritz Carlton Los Angeles Hotel. This will have several industry leaders in attendance and be a helpful way for the Collin’s College to raise money.
“It’s great because they raise a lot of money for the Collin’s College,” said Lau. “I believe last year we raised over $700,000 plus just from the donors, so it’s a super big event in hospitality.”
Feature image courtesy of Alexander Novoa