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Private Universities Are Looking at a Low Enrollment

If you've been keeping up Cal State's and other state universities are seeing an increase in their enrollment to the point that they're turning away qualified students in the thousands. Of course this is all about money. So how are the UC's and other private colleges around the country fairing?

Some like Beloit College in Wisconsin plan on cutting 40 positions because they will have 36 fewer students, stated an article in the New York Times.

In that same article Gail Sweezey, director of admissions at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania said that "one-sided" media coverage gave the perception that private colleges are unaffordable in the face of our dwindling economy and that in fact "a lot of private colleges have more financial aid available this year, but there’s lots of misinformation out there."

Whether or not this is true the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities reported that two-thirds of the 371 private universities it surveyed reported an almost 30 percent drop in regular enrollment applications this year compared to this time in 2007. To read the full report click here.

Here are some more stats from the report:

• 82 percent indicated that demand for student aid had been affected or significantly affected.
• 70 percent indicated that student/parent loan availability had been affected or significantly affected.
• 53 percent reported that institutional debt/cost of debt had been affected or significantly affected.
• 52 percent indicated that student enrollment had been affected or significantly affected.

Undocumented Students at CSUN

Undocumented students rejoiced back in 2001 after Assembly Bill 540 was enacted. The bill allowed undocumented students who attended high school in California to be eligible for in-state tuition.

As of last year it was estimated that there were 114 undocumented students, or AB 540 students, at CSUN. But that number cannot be confirmed as the CSU's don't keep track of AB 540 students.

Now these students are advocating for the California DREAM Act which would extend financial aid to certain undocumented students.

Nationally, of the 65,000 undocumented students that graduate high school, 25,000 are from California. They don’t have driver’s licenses, social security numbers or passports, which means they can't get a legal job or go into the military to pay for their higher education.

Last fall the DREAM Act came up for a vote in the Senate and many students traveled to the Nation's capitol to advocate for themselves, however it was shot down.

Compared to the 60's and 70's undocumented students protests are very mellow, but that's okay said Jorge Garcia the advisor for DREAM's to be Heard, an organization at CSUN that provides support to AB 540 students.

"Back when we were protesting in college it was very different because we grew up in a very different environment and we can't expect our current students to do the same," said Garcia, who is a Chicano Studies professor. "They're protesting in a way that fits the times."

Garcia recalls different methods that they used back in the 60's to shut down the CSU's. One example was when they threw a molotov at the CSU's main computer system. The governor, Regan at the time, shut down all of the CSU's immediately.

President of DREAM's to be Heard, Pedro, agrees that it's very difficult be an aggressive protestor because it not only jeoperdizes them, but their families as well.

"I'm undocumented and so are my family members so if I'm on everybody's radar I can put my family in danger," Pedro said.

While they do participate in protests, they're not going to bomb the CSU's computers system anytime soon said Pedro.

Pedro recently participated in a hunger strike in Downtown Los Angeles to draw President elects attention to the plight of the undocumented community.

"Every little thing we do counts and we're going to keep fighting until we pass the DREAM Act," Pedro said.

There are many people who are opposed to the DREAM Act, but Lizbeth Mateo AB 540 student and CSUN alumni doesn't deal with them. (Listen to Lizbeth's response HERE)

Still they continue to fight for the right to become functioning members of soc

How CSUN Will be Affected by the Budget Cuts

On the eve of the the CSU's announcement that 10,000 qualified students would be shown the door this year CSUN expects to see a decrease of 1,100 in its full-time student enrollment.

CSUN isn't going to see the worst of it though, according to a Daily News article, because under the CSU's plan students living near or around each campus will have first priority. CSUN in fact will end the enrollment period on Nov. 30, when it used to go into winter and at times spring.

CSUN provost Harry Hellenbrand said that for the moment the campus is not considering any tuition hikes, however they may be enacted in the nearby future.

The most impacted campuses, like CSUN, are looking for ways to help students graduate faster even at the expense of their education, which include lack course requirements as well as expelling students with a poor academic standing.

As far as the numbers go this is what the Daily News reported on:

"California's 2008-09 budget grants the Cal State system $215 million less than what officials say it needs to cover current enrollment growth and expenses. Now the CSU system is looking at a midyear cut of $66.3million in addition to a $31.3million one-time cut that was approved by trustees last month."

We can expect more packed classes and a lower level of education due to the increase in students and the decrease in funding.

I Don't Care if Your Eligible We're Packed!

At least 10,000. That's how many applicants will be denied entry to California State Universities, even if they are eligible. CSU Chancellor Charles Reed got the go ahead from the governing Board of Trustees, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

This is the first time 48 years that they plan on refusing eligible students. The reasoning behind this that CSU's don't have the funds to meet the demands of so many students.

"State legislators enacted $215 million in CSU budget cuts in September, and the chancellor agreed to $31 million in additional concessions last month. The governor has now proposed $66 million in midyear budget cuts, with the prospect of deeper cuts next year."

The CSU community argued that by investing in the state's higher education they are investing in the state of California, but it fell on deaf ears as the budget cuts continued to come.

But since classes are becoming more crowded and students are taking longer to graduate in part because of it the current priority is the 319,000 currently enrolled students.

What Students Expect from President Elect Barack Obama

ESHA MOMENI HAS BEEN RELEASED ON BAIL!!!!!!

Esha Momeni has been released from Evin Prison in Iran!!

I heard the news this morning and have no other details but are happy that she's safe and back home with her parents.

I am ecstatic to meet her and extremely happy that she is with her family.

This wouldn't have been possible without everybody's efforts and prayers...

Bless her heart for being so brave!

Here's a Video on the State's Defecit by KCRA

Students Expect Tuition to be Higher and Financial Aid to be Lower Next Year

In order to address California's estimated $11.2 billion deficit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today called for a special legislative session where he proposed not only a tax increase but cuts in education, health care and welfare payments.

The governor's proposal includes $4.5 billion in cuts and a $4.7 billion raise in taxes.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle this is where students will be hit directly:

• $2.5 billion in education funding for K-12 schools and community colleges, the state's largest financial obligation that represents about half of its general fund spending.
• $132 million in funding for the University of California and California State University systems.

Democrats Will Probably Control the Senate

CNN projections indicate that Democrats will have a major say in the Senate. If they want a filibuster proof Senate, Democrats will need 60 seats. And so far they only have 51.

Having the three-fifths majority will allow them to invoke cloture, a device to end filibuster, according to CNN.

If this does happen then Democrats will no longer have any excuses for not getting anything done because of Republicans.

Obama the next President of the United States

Barack Obama's victory came faster than I expected it to, the moment in which CNN proclaimed him the winner almost passed me by. However it was expected as he had won key battleground states Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The message of change permeated from the president elect's campaign, but while he is the first African American president the change he promised is still yet to come.

"What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night," Obama said during his victory speech. "This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you."

Still, as WhalesOnline.co.uk reported, this certainly destroyed the myth that the United States wasn't ready for a black president.

Students from the Black Student Union were ecstatic and were calling loved ones when they heard the news.

“I expect Obama to make things better than what they how they are now, although I don’t expect miracles,” Ebony Conley, BSU member, told the Daily Sundial. “I expect things to be better for all minorities and I expect for everybody to see that we are all equals.”

FREE ESHA ~

CSUN is holding a candle light vigil for Esha Momeni on November 12.

There is a table  set up in front of the Manzanita Building on the south side of campus.  Visit the table above for candy and to speak with a graduate student who is also working on his thesis project for CSUN.  The person who is behind this table is working on his documentary on Lebanon.

See you all in front of the Oviatt Library on November 12th!

Weird......The CSUN Elections Didn't Go as Planned

Once again CSUN Associated Students' electronic voting system failed to produce the results expected and the elections were cancelled. After spending about $14,000 on elections the system still failed. It failed because the campus consultant who built it did a bad job at it and because he left the campus he isn't here to fix it.

Then Student Affairs was left to deal with the problem, which they obviously didn't.

One of the main reasons why the Elections Committee didn't want to go through with the elections was because some of the ballots already had candidates pre-selected. Because some students wouldn't notice that, only voting for their friend the committee felt the votes weren't credible.

This came after the Sundial notified them of the issue.

Now the students who voted must re-cast their vote on Nov. 12 and 13 for their Senators. As it was 1,590 students voted almost about as much as those who voted during both days of the last election. It's highly unlikely whether they will get the same results using paper ballots.

How Many Students Voted Last Semester? Not Enough but Who's Counting?

If Students Can't Take a Minute to Vote Online What Will Happen On Nov. 4

For the first time Associated Student Senate elections were completely electronic and according to officials resulted in no major issues. This election was expected to produce a higer informed voter turnout.

Students could vote from the comfort of their home or go to one of the four polling stations setup by AS for the senator that would be representing their college. Still this didn't keep students from completely disregarding it and probable not voting.

Last semester only 4.6 percent out of the almost 39,000 students enrolled at CSUN voted.

While some students walked without a glance past the polling stations or the calls from volunteers to participate, some decided to stop and vote. A testament to the apathy of students, who could careless about politics or anything that could affect them.

“I didn’t really know who I voted for I just picked one,” Betty Li, freshman business major said. “Next time I should know more and make the right decision.”

Still some students took advantage of the voter guides available at the booths before they voted for the senator that would be representing them, like Nareg Bostanian.

“I read the guide before I voted, but I would’ve like to have known about it before,” said the freshman undecided major.

Stephanie Vogler, a freshman health science major, while realizing the importance of voting said she would “probably vote” as she walked past the polling station.

As she was reading her voter guide Katherine Opitz, senior broadcast journalism major reflected on the apathy of not only students, but voters in general.

“There’s an imbalance between people not coming out to vote and people voting who are not informed,” Opitz said. “I think a lot of people don’t know the overall issues.”

AS Vice President, Nicole Umali agreed that to a certain extent students on campus are apathetic.

“Students are somewhat apathetic because we tend to live in our bubbles and not know what’s going on at times,” Umali said. “Voters in general will come out if there’s an issue that grabs their attention.”

Some More Projections "Done Right" by FiveThirtyEight

The creators of FiveThirtyEight tend to vote Democratic, something to keep in mind when looking at their stats. However they claim that their political preferences don't affect their projections. For more on their methodology click here.

Presidential Election Projections by FiveThirtyEight

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Here is their mission statement: Most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections.

CNN Poll Shows Obama's Slightly Ahead

CSUN graduate student arrested in Tehran!

Esha Momeni has been arrested in Tehran while working on her thesis project for Cal. State Northridge on October 15. According to Change For Equality, an Iranian women's movement, Ms. Momeni was arrested for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving. The subject of her Master's thesis was on the Iranian women's movement.

Ms. Momeni was part of the Change 4 Equality campaign in California. She went to Iran a couple months ago for the one-million signature petition which demanding change to discriminatory laws.

According to CNN.com, " Momeni is being held in a section of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison that is managed by the Intelligence Ministry, the group said. Evin Prison houses many Iranian dissidents and political prisoners, and it is where four Iranian-Americans were held for several months last year. All have been released."

World Organization Against Torture's Appeal for Immediate Release of Esha Momeni reports,
"This appeal also calls for the government of Iran to protect other women's activists and human rights defenders, including from judicial harassment. It notes that Iran has an obligation to do so according to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international human rights instruments, all of which Iran has ratified."

CNN.com also reported that "Iranian Officials had promised Ms. Momeni's family that she would be immediately released if news of her arrest were not published, the organization said."

I'm personally sending my prayers to Esha Momeni and her family. I commend her for being extremely brave and wish to meet heronce she returns safely to the United States.

Obama raises $150 million

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign announced on Sunday that it broke its own record raising more than $150 million in September.

He's previous record was of $67 million in one month. The Democrat's campaign released the figure Sunday, one day before it must file a detailed report of its monthly finances with the Federal Election Commission.

The previous record for the single biggest monthly fund-raising month was held by Senator John F. Kerry, when he collected $44 million in March 2004 after clinching the Democratic nomination.