November 24, 2009 The Jibsheet >\> NEWS 3
Clothes Drive:
>\> from page 1
non-profit organizations or private
communities.
A significant number of colleges all
over the country are also doing their part
by organizing charitable events through
their schools.
BC has been responsible for
organizing a lot of different charity events,
with the help of Student Programs and
other sponsors.
"I wanted the Black Student Union
program to get their hands gritty, get in the
trenches in terms of helping people in the
community," said Barnes.
One of the most important parts of
organizing a charity event is involving as
many people as possible in order to achieve
the goal.
The BSU recognized this and teamed
up with two other clubs in order to enhance
the success of the clothing drive.
"We felt like it was important for
the Black Student Union program to
be inclusive with everybody in Student
Programs, because there has been a lack of
collaboration in the past years.
"We felt as though the Black Student
Union should be head of being inclusive
and collaborating with other programs and
Student Programs," Barnes said.
The BSU, along with the Middle
Eastern Club and the Single Parents Club,
have done their parts by organizing this
charitable event that will certainly create
a positive impact on the people in our
community.
The drive has been going on since
Nov. 1 and will continue until Nov. 24.
To find out more about the clothes
drive, theB SU desk in the student programs
office.
NEWS@THEIIBSHEET.COM
OSLA callS on studenl00s for solutions in open forum
Maida Suljevic
NEWS EDITOR
Erik Brazil and |oav Gomez of the OSLA speak to students during the forum.
at
The Office of Student Legislative
Affairs (OSLA) came out in full force last
Wednesday in an effort to reach out to the
Bellevue College community.
The OSLA held two separate open
forums where students were encouraged to
discuss the issues the organization hopes to
tackle in Olympia during this school year;
open textbooks, student trustees, worker
retraining, student tuition and financial
aid.
The OSLA decided to address these
five preceding issues after surveying
the student body and finding that an
overwhelming majority of students care
about these matters.
With pizza, brownies, cookies and
the fresh faces of the new OSLA "staff
tempting them, students began filing into
room C 130.
After a short presentation from the
OSLA Covering why its role in Olympia
is important and why the issues being
presented need support from the students,
the committee asked the students to break
into groups and discuss the five issues at
hand.
"We need your input and your voice
to take action because without your voice
we cannot do anything about these issues,"
said Jessica Darmawan, Assistant Director
of Legislative Affairs.
Two specific issues many students
were interested in and fired up about were
open textbooks and student trustees.
"Each year, a student spends an
estimated 800 to 1000 dollars on textbooks,"
said Darmawan.
If students wanted the OSLA to fight
for open textbooks in the state capitol, they
could potentially find their textbooks and
related materials online; free for use and
reuse.
Students such as Sergey Skripek and
Ian Lumba, expressed potential benefits of
open textbooks.
"I think textbooks are too expensive.
Money is a big issue here [at BC], so it's
hard to pay for stuff," said Skripek.
Lumba continued with the opinion
that open textbooks would "make a lot
more people interested in college because
it would be cheaper."
However, some students at the forum
had concerns regarding open textbooks.
"[The OSLA] needs funding before
this is even an option," said BC student,
Adam Sidialicherif.
The issue of a student on the board of
trustees also stirred discussion during the
forum.
According to BC's website, "The
Bellevue College Board of Trustees is
composed of five members, appointed
by the governor. Each member serves
a five-year term and must reside within
the college's district boundaries. The
Board's duties include setting the college's
strategic direction, establishing policy for
the college, and approving budgets."
The OSLA "supports student
representation on policy making boards,"
said Darmawan.
Many students were interested in
the issue and what it would take to have a
studeht sit on the board.
"A student trustee is a great idea,"
said Taylor Cordell Smithson, who also felt
that two students should sit on the board
rather than just one:
While many of the students who came
to the forum were interested in discussing
the matters at hand and potential solutions,
there were also quite a few students who
had questions about the issues and the
OSLA.
Fortunately, the OSLA plans to work
and communicate with BC's student body
throughout the year in an effort to represent
the collective voice of the students.
NEWS@THEIIBSHEET.COM
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