Urban Myth: CSULB is Looking to Become a UC

For many years, the same rumor has been circling around the CSULB student body -- CSULB will soon turn into a UC. But Dr. Elena Macias, assistant vice president of the CSULB Office of Governmental and Community Relations assures that the rumor is far from the truth and simply an urban myth. CSULB may be one of the largest universities in the CSU system, but it will not become a UC anytime soon.

"People have been talking about the need for more campuses," said Dr. Macias. "What some proponents are saying is, 'Turn some of the CSU campuses into UCs, turn some of the community colleges into four-year institutions and that way, you don't have to spend as much money on capital expenditures.' But that is all an urban legend."

Students Weigh In On Tuition Fee Increase

News of a 10 percent tuition increase approved by the CSU Board of Trustees last month has circulated around campus and some students are not amused.

Student activists at CSULB urged their fellow students Tuesday to sign petitions asking legislators to stop the $252 hike in next fall's undergraduate student fees. Graduate students will pay an extra $312 per year.

The fee increase may hurt students of an essentially commuter school who work in order to get a college education.

"I think the increase is unfair and the government is probably not going to listen to our petitions," said Misty, a senior with a double major in political science and philosophy. "It's really just going to do whatever it wants to do."

Other students look at the potential benefits of a tuition fee increase.

"It's a fair price if it means it will bring improvement," said Alex, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. "If more money for the faculty means better professors, then it's OK."

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Rep. Juanita Millender-McDoland Dies

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, a seven-term congresswoman from southern California, died at her home in Carson early Sunday of cancer. She was 68.

Details on what form of cancer were not immediately available.

She represented a heavily Democratic southern California district that includes Compton, Long Beach and part of Los Angeles.

Colleagues regard her as a "champion for the consumer" who "always valued public service."

Millender-McDonald is survived by her husband, James McDonald, Jr. and five adult children.

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Image credit: AOL News

Gunman's Writings Released

Current AOL employee Ian McFarlane is a former classmate of the gunman, now identified as Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior who had been majoring in English. McFarlane and Seung Cho took a playwriting class together. The class would conduct peer reviews of each other's plays, as many classes do in several other subjects as well. It was McFarlane who described Seung Cho's writings as "twisted" and "macabre" as reported on CNN and other news networks.

McFarlane has released two of Seung Cho's plays for an AOL Exclusive and can be found at AOL News. Please be aware that the content of the writings is graphic and disturbing.

As McFarlane asked: Should teachers and students have access to a system where authorities can be notified of suspicious or unusual behavior such as that of Seung Cho?

What would you do if you read something similar in an assignment written by one of your peers?

MTV's Virtual Memorial

In a modern age of news driven by virtual technology, the web has provided a new vehicle for Virginia Tech victims trying to cope and come to terms with the shooting incident that claimed the lives of 33 people. MTV News has collected and posted several links to websites of Virginia Tech students offering their personal accounts of the situation and student bloggers elsewhere offering their condolences for the victims and their families.

How Safe Is Our Campus?

As the story of the deadliest incident of school shootings in modern U.S. history develops, campuses around the country are examining their own safety precautions and plans of action should an episode like this repeat itself. Although there is no predicting such a devastating act by a mass killer, policies and procedures help universities better respond to similar situations.

President F. King Alexander issued a written statement to students in an e-mail sent Monday night reassuring them that CSULB has adopted the aforementioned policies and procedures and trains its University Police Department for possible emergencies. Other groups such as the Student Crisis Management Committee, administrators and employees across the campus consistently address an entire spectrum of contingencies.

"Even with this advanced planning, however, there is no guarantee that events such as the Virginia Tech shooting can be prevented," President Alexander said. "All we can do it prepare and lessen the likelihood of such an occurrence through our own personal awareness and mutual sense of responsibility."

Report any unusual circumstances that may pose a threat to the campus community by contacting the University Police Department at 562/985-4101.

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Image credit: CNN

Potential New Supermarket Strike

A potential new strike may be developing, this one involving supermarkets and their union employees. Long Beach, as well as most of Southern California, may experience another supermarket lock-out/strike reminiscent of the one held in 2003.

Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons have entered into an agreement that protects their companies in the event of a union strike. The agreement says that in the event of a strike, all three companies will lockout their employees within 48 hours in order to prevent competitive contract provisions and encourage balanced negotiation.

Union spokespeople call the agreement a "shocking contempt for both customers and employees."

The continuing agreements and contract negotiations come in light of expected strikes against all three grocery chains.

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Image credit: Wikipedia

CSU and CFA Reach Tentative Agreement

CSULB President F. King Alexander sent an e-mail yesterday announcing a tentative agreement between the CSU and the CFA.

A press release sent Tuesday by the CSULB Office of the Chancellor summarized the agreement, saying the CFA will provide all CSU faculty with base pay increases ("general salary increases") of 20.7 percent over a four-year period.

The total pay package will cost the CSU more than $400 million over four years, according to the press release.

To accomodate these expenses, faculty parking fees will be increased.

There was no mention of pending increases in student tuition fees.

If ratified, the agreement will then be submitted to the CSU Board of Trustees for approval.