Members of the Associated Students, Inc. had their weekly meeting Feb. 28 in which they shared relevant announcements that happened throughout the week and the changes that are coming to CSUB’s campus and curriculum. 

  The sports and athletics departments shared that it is currently a busy time, since 12 out of 16 teams are in competition. This is due to the crossover season, which is when winter and spring sports happen at the same time. They announced that they are working on a wheelchair basketball game against a team from Fresno. The details will be released by next week. 

  Library Dean Curt Asher shared interesting information at that correlated student success with usage of library. 

  “Studies have shown that students who use the library succeed in school. In 2013, our annual visits to the library were 393 thousand people; last year almost 600 thousand. It has almost doubled,” Asher said. 

  In previous years, the opinions and suggestions of students were considered when it came to ideas that would make the library experience more enjoyable for students. The responses to the requests are having library hours until 1 a.m., a 24-hour room, opening of a snack bar, an historical resource center, and recently, the addition of four new study rooms. 

  This time around, the main suggestion from ASI members was having a designated space for graduate students, where they have access to software programs they utilize for their courses, such as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, or SPSS. A representative from the library took notes. 

  There is a chance that in the future, a three-unit ethnic studies course will become a part of general education and a requirement for students to graduate in the California State University system. It was said that ethnic studies have a positive academic and social outcome for students. Ethnic studies examine race, class, gender, religion, sexuality, among other things of that nature. ASI members thought it should be implemented as a lower division course to allow students the opportunity to focus on their concentration as they move up their classes. As for right now, the curriculum has been amended for future CSUB students. 

  Changes were made in the codes and bylaws of ASI, and the position of director of legislative affairs was moved to an executive position. Next year, there will be five executive vice presidents instead of four, and one president. The executive positions will be executive vice president, vice president of university affairs, vice president of finance, vice president of campus life, and vice president of legislative affairs. Students who applied for the position of director of legislative affairs will be notified of these changes. 

  A career fair is taking place March 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Student Recreational Center, (SRC). About 100 employers will be attending. Students are highly encouraged to have their resumes ready and attend to strengthen connections.