DAILY 49ER California State University, Long Beach
Vol. LIX, Issue 854
www.daily49er.com
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Eight — nights in jail, one for every time they caught him at the border.
Six — students sitting at “the table for outcasts” back when he couldn’t speak much English.
Three — younger siblings watching him become the first in his family to finish college.
One —undocumented immigrant named Jose Salazar. See PRESIDENT, page 3
49er in focus
Michael A res |
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49er
The Daily 49er is excited to introduce a new photo-feature series. 49er In Focus will zoom in on the lives of students, community members, faculty, maybe even YOU! On the primary image, you will find 49 words that highlight the subject of the feature. His or her full story will sometimes be inside the printed newspaper, and will always be available online at www.daily49er.com. If you have comments or questions, tweet us @Daily49er.
ASI discusses name preference for transgender students The ASI Senate wants to track the academic success of the LGBTIQ+ community at CSULB. By Mindy Lockhart Contributing Writer
The Associated Students, Inc. senate introduced a resolution to allow transgender students to use a preferred first name in California State University, Long Beach records. According to the resolution, the Office of Equity and Diversity is developing a model that ensures transgender students preferred name appear on class rosters, Beach Board and student ID cards to eliminate the fear of being “outed.” “We wanted to make a resolution supporting [the Office of Equity and Diversity] because it wasn’t like we came up with it,” ASI Sen. Joanna Salgado said. There are numerous universities that
have implemented preferred name policies for transgender students including San Diego State University, San Jose State University and California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. The resolution would implement a policy similar to SDSU’s, which ensures that transgender students can use their preferred name on their online portal, class roster and student ID cards. “The focus and the purpose for this [resolution] is for transgender students, but I think there are other students this may be useful for and we definitely need to discuss that,” ASI Sen. James Allen said. A sociology senior, Kevin Clinton, introduced the idea of the resolution to the Committee on LGBTQ Campus Climate in fall 2014. “I [introduced the idea] because my friends are affected by this issue,” Clin-
ton said. “I originally wrote a six page report in summer 2014 to both educate myself on this issue and educate others on the issue.” Clinton said that in classes his transgender friends attended, some professors would purposely use the transgender student’s legal name instead of their preferred name even after they talked to the professor. Clinton said that this would make his transgender friends uncomfortable. After hearing about the issue and reading Clinton’s report, the Director of Equity and Diversity Larisa Hamada began developing a solution to the problem. “[Hamada] has been working really hard on this so we want to support her and commend her,” Salgado said. “We are totally for this.” Another resolution introduced to the ASI senate would support additional fields for gender identity and sexual orientation to the CSU Student intent to enroll form. According to the resolution, tracking of the LGBTIQ+ community at CSULB will “provide insight into graduation rates, academic success and the services they utilize.” CSULB’s Enrollment Services and the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment do not include sexual orientation and gender identity as a demographic variable, the resolution states.
$130,000 becomes available to students CSULB receives an award from the Beckman Program for the fifth time. By Elexis deLeon-Bryant Contributing Writer
Students from the College of Natural Science and Mathematics are able to apply for a fifth of the $130,000 Beckman Scholarship for 3-year research projects. CSULB is one of the dozen universities nation-wide that received a grant from the grant program this year. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics received the grant to support five Beckman Scholars starting in summer 2015, according to a CSULB
press release. “[The grant] can be transformative for recipients because it allows them to engage in a very intense and continuous amount of research,” said Maryanne Horton, the senior director of development for the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics. Under the guidance of a mentor, the scholars will pursue a research project and perform research activities parttime during one academic year and full-time over two summers, Horton said. In the nation, California receives the most Mathematical and Physical Sciences awards from the National Science Foundation, with 1,224 active awards totaling over $1 billion according to NSF reports. Based on the NSF report on the California State University system, CSULB receives the second most awards annually. At five total, CSULB ties with CSU Los Angeles. CSU Fullerton ties with San Diego State for the most awards at ten total. A faculty committee will select the scholars, which will be announced by mid May, through interviews, where the finalists will discuss their research plans, the values of the research experience and leadership development in their educational and career plans, Horton said. Each Beckman Scholar will receive $26,000, with $21,000 specifically for
See GRANT, page 3
News 2
Diversions 4
Opinions 6
Sports 8