The Associated Students board of directors approved plans to create a more accessible community garden and reviewed the A.S. 2020-21 budget and variance report during Tuesday’s Zoom meeting.
Diana Victa, the César E. Chávez Community Action Center department manager, proposed the installation of a new deck area accessible for individuals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This proposal includes a ramp, wheelchair-accessible garden beds, a welcome center, new accessible sinks, installation of vertical gardens to make up for loss of gardening areas and a new fence and door with a push bar to allow for ADA emergency access.
Victa said the current entrance is inaccessible and a potential safety hazard for those with disabilities.
She and Kaitlyn Meyer, the campus community garden coordinator, emphasized the importance of upgrading the community garden’s fence for added security; it's very easy to climb over or cut through the current chain-link fence.
“For me, I visually saw students struggle to come in and out of this space,” Victa said. “That was enough for me to say, ‘No we need to advocate to make sure this space was better for them.’ ”
Victa said Dynasel, a contracting company, was one of the three vendors for the project and was the cheapest option, costing around $243,800 for the entire project.
She said she plans to host environmental justice events at the location after upgrades to the community garden are finished.
“It's more than ADA accessibility. It’s accessibility for all,” she said.
All 11 directors voted to pass the proposal. Victa said once it’s finished, the garden will be the first fully ADA-accessible community garden in the California State University system.
Sexual harassment procedures
Wendy Liss and Jenny Harper, representatives from the Office of Diversity, presented the board with information about the office’s support services and the process of sexual misconduct allegation investigations on campus.
As of August 2020, students are required to complete new Title IX training modules through the SJSU student portal, according to the Title IX training overview website.
Title IX is a federal law that states males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all areas of public schooling, according to the U.S. Department of Education website.
The addition of Addendum B redefines sexual harassment to meet a higher level of criteria and to include live hearings between both parties. That addendum outlines the policy and procedures for Title IX.
Sexual misconduct allegations that take place off-campus or at an international location would still be investigated, but under Addendum A with a different set of rules and procedures. According to its policy language, Addendum A makes it so that if someone sustains sexual misconduct or dating violence by a student, that student is subject to expulsion or suspension. Moreover, that students’ credibility can be used.
A.S. variance report and budget
The board of directors also approved revisions to the A.S. budget to better reflect SJSU’s current enrollment.
Executive Director Carole Dowell and Controller and Chief Financial Officer Flor Sario said the budget was constructed last year with a projected 10% drop in enrollment. However, university enrollment stayed similar to last year’s enrollment numbers.
Moreover, they explained that because enrollment stayed the same, the revenue produced from students enrollment needed to be reevaluated, which the board unanimously approved.
Sario also presented the variance report during the meeting, which shows the use of student fees to determine whether the university accrued profits from student fees.
As of Oct. 31, the university made more than $532,000 in revenue from student fees. A.S. made less money than usual from A.S. print shop since courses have been online and that area was $14,000 below budget since the start of Fall 2020.
Sario said according to the variance report, A.S. saved $228,000 in the negotiation with Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in only giving students living in Santa Clara County transportation support. A.S. was also granted $70,000 in scholarships to hand out free textbook vouchers to students in need.
“[The vouchers] flew off the shelf by the first day of school,” Sario said. “We expect that to be the case going into Spring [semester] as well, so I think that’s something that's really good.”
