Cerritos College President Jose Fierro updated Senate during executive report on a safety security matter and a senator introduced a 12-hour dance marathon at the Wednesday, April 8 senate meeting.
Fierro stated that the blue light system will be implemented at Cerritos College and should have 4-6 installed during the summer, and security cameras will also be installed.
Senate also discussed new business regarding the Defeat Destitution Campaign, presented by Senator Matthew Botello.
Botello stated that, “Students who are at or below the poverty line will sometimes take less classes or take breaks altogether from school just so they can work more to feed themselves and feed their families.”
The Campaign received funding from ASCC Senate to host a 12-hour house party-themed dance marathon at Cerritos College on Friday, May 6 at the school gym.
According to Botello, it will help students that are living at or below the poverty line and don’t have enough money for food or clothes.
There will be an “outreach event where people from the community can come pick up clothes from us on campus for themselves and their families the Saturday, May 7 immediately following [the] dance marathon.”
The dance marathon will be held from 6 pm to 6am.
Botello said, “We encourage students to bring food, drinks and clothes to the event. Anything that we can get will greatly help our cause.”
The Student Health and Wellness Center provides a pantry for those who do not have enough to eat, and the center will give the students food for a week.
There are a few concerns regarding the health of the food that is donated; the food goes bad quickly, or the food is not consumed in the proper time so it is thrown away and there is not enough awareness that the pantry exists.
There is also a State Assembly Bill AB 1450/HR 2962 named America’s College Promise Act of 2015.
According to www.congress.gov , “The purpose of this act is to help all individuals of the United States earn the education and skills the individuals need… by making 2 years of community college free, through a new partnership with States and Indian tribes to help the States and Indian tribes… waive resident community college tuition and fees for eligible students.”
There was a major concern for the STEM majors, who need to take more classes than the average 2 year schedule.
Adrian Gomez, party whip, states, “I do know that the bill would not mandate the student to pay back tuition if their second year is over and they have not obtained an AA. This bill would allow for students (meeting requirements) to start working towards a plan with respected college.”
The bill has not been implemented.
