The Runner Staff
As CSU Bakersfield students, we are concerned with how little activity we see from our administration with student issues.
There are three issues we are choosing to focus on.
The decision to increase tuition seems to have gone unnoticed.
President Horace Mitchell emailed students about the decision by the CSU Board of Trustees to increase tuition on April 2.
After the email there has been no other type of information disseminated to students from administration. The editorial board has yet to see any kind of letter saying what administration is doing to fight against the tuition hike.
The California Faculty Association have been the only ones to show any kind of initiative to fight back.
We are glad to see that our student government is at least taking the first step in informing students.
“We have a campaign the first week of May called Day of Action. That is going to be to class presentation and explain to [students] this is what the tuition hike is and this is what it is going to do to you and how it affects you. On the actual day we will have an event. Other universities are having a rally some universities are doing a protest, so it depends on what we decide to do that day,” said Vice President of Programing Mariela Gomez.
This event has the potential to inform students who have not yet been informed why and how their tuition is being increased.
What is even more alarming is that our university failed to inform students of the incidents that have happened in Housing East in the recent months.
There were two incidents of rape in Housing East, one was rape of a drugged victim reported to UPD on March 19. The second was rape by force, fear, etc. reported on March 22.
There was no safety bulletin sent out by the university.
According to CSUB’s Clery Report, which is a federally required report where the university records crimes that occur on campus says,
“The University will issue a timely warning as soon as pertinent information is available when a Clery reportable crime is reported and poses an on-going/continuing threat to the community.
The UPD Chief or a designee is responsible for the decision to issue a timely warning.
UPD conducts a case by case analysis is done utilizing open communication and collaboration, to determine if an on-going, or continuing threat exists.”
We understand that the law will not allow the UPD to release details of the incident for the security of the investigation and for the protection of the survivor.
However, we are not asking the university to release the names of the aggressor or of the survivor.
All we ask is a news release that informs students of a crime of that magnitude especially when it happens on campus.
The editorial board worries because this happened where students live and we have yet to hear any kind of update or information as to what security measures housing or UPD will take to protect the students in Housing East.
The only reason The Runner was able to know about these incidents was because we asked for an incident report that dates back 60 days.
If we had not asked for this would anyone have known?
