By Samantha Campion and Raveena Rahman, March 24, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona’s Associated Students Incorporated Government presented a rights and policy resolution letter to inform students of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and made a statement that CPP stands for human rights.
The Students for Justice in Palestine presented a resolution plan to ASI during its March 14 meeting, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as a response to the ongoing genocide.
Along with high death rates, surpassing 30,000, according to Time, the resolution letter showed Gaza is currently facing a malnutrition crisis due to a lack of food, water, medicine, and adequate health care. The resolution proposed by SJP calls for humanitarian aid to be let into Gaza immediately to address the crisis. They proposed ASI calls on CPP’s administration to release a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire.
SJP president Mya Ammari believes calling for a ceasefire should be CPP’s top priority.
“Calling for a ceasefire is extremely important,” Ammari said. “I think ASI showing support for its pro-Palestinian voices and Palestinian students on campus shows other people within the CPP foundation, such as our president, to also acknowledge what’s happening.”
The resolution emphasizes the importance of CPP standing in solidarity with Palestinian students, faculty, staff and allies across the United States.
Students from the SJP expressed the need to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide in Gaza at CPP and suggested CPP acknowledge its Palestinian students’ mental health and well-being, especially for those who have been affected or traumatized by the crisis.
“Cal Poly Pomona is home to a large number of Palestinian students who have family, friends and various other direct relations still currently living in Gaza and occupy Palestine,” said Marcial Morga, a student who helped create the Gaza resolution. “Many of these students are bearing the unimaginable agony of losing loved ones and anxiety that they will lose more as a result of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Students from the SJP also proposed that CPP accommodate students affected by the genocide. They believe it is crucial for the community to understand Palestinian students, take accountability, and allow extra time and resources for these students.
ASI president Ilke Suzer stated the resolution must first be reviewed and altered by the Board of Directors before taking any further actions. Once it is finalized, the CPP administration can release a statement calling for a ceasefire.
After discussing the resolution, the ASI meeting proceeded to discuss the upcoming elections at CPP.
Student Interest Council Senator and Business Management and Human Resources student Megan Shadrick used this opportunity to announce her candidacy for vice president in the ASI election for the 2024-2025 school year.
According to Shadrick, over her last two years as a senator, she received a lot of feedback from students in clubs who felt they were not prioritized by ASI and saw a lack of involvement with athletics.
“What we are trying to do is ensure that the future of ASI is successful with our administration and the relationships we are building,” Shadrick said. “Giving students a voice and educating them more on what ASI is really about, that’s what Cade and I are doing next year.”
Shadrick’s campaign advocates for three foundational pillars of ASI. The first two include accountability and financial support and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The last pillar pertains to awareness and education regarding students’ role on campus and involvement in ASI decisions.
Attorney General Amary Corona also presented several changes to the ASI Election Candidates and Committee Codes on behalf of the Board of Directors to ensure the additions and removals of information in the codes are approved before the election.
The ASI Election Candidate Code manages the election procedure and determines candidate eligibility for all ASI office positions.
The Committee Code conducts all elections and determines the rules established in the ASI Election Code, once approved by the attorney general and Board of Directors when presumed consistent with the ASI bylaws.
The Election Candidate Code defined the committee’s power to formulate new rules to the Conduct of a Fair Election Code when deemed appropriate; however, the ASI board moved this section to the Committee Code for further organization.
The removal of this section from the Candidate code separates the variations of information repeated in the two codes while maintaining the original intent behind the Election Code.
In addition, an ASI Election assistant staff position was added to perform the duties of preparing the packet for the election and making sure all elections are properly publicized.
The ASI election will be held March 25 through March 28, where CPP students will receive a ballot in their school email to vote for a candidate running in this election cycle.
Feature image courtesy of Alexander Novoa