The Beach Legacy Referendum, a proposal by Cal State Long Beach’s Athletic Department to increase student fees by $95 per semester starting fall 2010, did not pass in the two-day online student vote.
Approximately 18 percent of the student body voted overall.
Of those students, more than 3,898 — approximately 60 percent — voted against the fee.
Although the majority of students opposed the fee, the Beach Legacy’s future is unclear.
Under the provisions of Executive Order 1034 — issued by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed in 2008 — CSULB President F. King Alexander can still request that the chancellor implement the Beach Legacy fee.
Before doing this, Alexander would have to consult the fee advisory committee that oversaw the referendum.
Christina Esparza, Associated Students Inc. communications coordinator, said the fee increase would have kept ASI from cutting 8 percent of its budget.
“If the BLR passed … [ASI] budget cuts would not be necessary. The money that student organizations receive from ASI will be affected greatly,” Esparza said.
Vic Cegles, the director of the athletics department, said he wanted to acknowledge those who helped with the BLR campaign.
“First, I’m really proud of the effort from the coaches, student-athletes and staff, they were awesome,” he said before Long Beach State’s semifinal game at the Big West Tournament in Anaheim.
“It is unfortunate that a majority of the students who voted were opposed to something that would have benefited our campus as a whole,” Cegles said. “Recreation sports, Greeks, club sports, kinesiology students and other clubs and organizations on campus would have benefited greatly from the BLR if it had passed.”
Wayne Stickney, the development coordinator for the athletics department, said the result of the vote reveals students’ mindsets.
“It shows a lot of people are focused on the here-and-now instead of the future,” he said. Stickney also said that those students who voted “no” most likely saw the $95 fee increase and immediately decided to vote against it.
“It’s sad because we gambled and we lost,” he said.
Stickney said he is hopeful that more students will get involved with athletics after campaigning for the BLR.
“We met with a ton of students and have a finger on the pulse of many,” Stickney said.
Stickney was not present at the announcement of the results in the Senate Chambers on Friday afternoon. “We already knew,” he said, because “someone called someone.”
Cegles said the athletic teams will need to have more fundraising efforts in order maximize their revenue.
If it had passed, the BLR would have added a women’s rowing team to satisfy Title IX.
“We’re going to have to find a way to get more women to participate and I’m not sure what that all means,” he said. “There’s no intent on our part to drop any sports and we just hope we can build on what we have and get better.”
Paul Nguyen, president of the Associated Engineering Student Body (AESB), said he was not surprised at the outcome of the vote.
“I figured that people who were uninformed but chose to vote upon receiving the e-mail would vote it down based on the amount of the fee increase alone, and that those informed would vote according to their best judgment — some for, and some against,” Nguyen said.
Before the fee went to a vote, the AESB posted a statement on their website indicating that the majority of its representatives opposed the BLR.
Nguyen said the results show a clear outcome and noted that “the voter participation was remarkably high, at 18 percent of the student body, whereas general elections typically draw about 10 percent of the campus.”
Voting was conducted online through a web-based platform, BigPulse — the same platform used in last spring’s ASI elections. Students received e-mails from Doug Robinson, the vice president of student services, with links to the voting site.
Kati Pessner and Tracy McDannald contributed to this article.
Related story: Online referendum lacked regulation
And here’s to the hopes that he does, you 3,912 unbelievers…
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Unbelievers? really? LOL…
I’m happy to know that it didn’t pass. True, we need to look the future. But raising fees won’t help anything. The root of the problem is state cuts in education funding, which can be traced back to out-of-control government spending by irresponsible politicians.
test
Call this fee increase a “tax” and this left-wing campus would have voted yes overwhelmingly. $5 a day on starbucks, but $95 a semester is too much? step in and do the right thing, fka.
Dr. Alexander, let this be a lesson for you: never put this things to the ovte of the students. If you can implement this on your own power, Nike is your godsend: JUST DO IT.
And here’s to the hopes that he does, you 3,912 unbelievers…
CSUN alum to “student” We don’t really give a squat who your ASI advisor is over here at Northridge. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the loser’s certificate. You guys almost got played by your administration and your weak student government. What matters most is that your student body eventually woke up and realized they were getting robbed. As if you can actually buy sports trophies that others will respect!!!!
CSUN Alum
Same signature and same boss? pretty sure they are paid by the state, but good try.
Caveness is the advisor for ASI? wrong, but again good try.
” ‘If the BLR passed … budget cuts would not be necessary. The money that student organizations receive from ASI will be affected greatly,’ Esparza said.”
Then have a referendum to increase funding for student organizations instead of funding for a soccer stadium. You’d get a lot more students supporting the former
Yes! Yes!
I’m totally shocked Doug Robinson simply waved away ANY student complaints as “frivolous”, whether they were from the 49er or from math majors. As the VP of Student Services, aren’t ANY student concerns important? He really tipped his hand on insider trading on the BLR, didn’t he? Outrageous, if it didn’t exemplify the true nature of this iron fisted rulership–easily attributable to HIS boss, F. King Alexander. An ethics investigation should START here, not end here.
Wyxp4, I think the reason this got voted down was because students are tired of being treated as cash cows and the athletics department got way too greedy during a recession. Most of us would like to have sports programs to be proud of, just as we want our academic degrees to be top notch. The other consideration is that this was not well advised from a PR or administration angle. They forgot all about ethics and damage control. Most CSULB students are not here because they are ignorant sheep. The administration had too many fingerprints on this referendum. They bullied the ASI and the SFAC into complete and total submission. The average student already has an ingrained sense of skepticism toward government, especially when it comes to student politics. When our current ASI Senate and executive board remained silent, they sent a loud message; we are more worried about protecting ourselves than standing up for right or wrong. It’s my hope that in the upcoming ASI elections, every student who voted to reject the BLR will also vote AGAINST every incumbent and currently serving elected senator seeking higher office. That is the only way we can make representative improvements in our system. Otherwise, we will only get more of the same; politics and administrative ass kissing as usual.
It’s safe to say that no matter how much unethical muscle was applied, nothing that involves money and public relations is a slam dunk. The only steps left is for Doug Robinson to start his retaliation campaign against the 49er, eh? Watch your backs.
RPKC, you have to actually follow NCAA athletics to fully understand what a quality sports program can do for a university. granted this was not the right time to jack up fees on students because of the economic crisis, but whether you want to admit it or not, a quality athletic program can put a school on the map. imagine if our men’s basketball team were to make a deep run in the ncaa tournament. that means extra exposure for the school and essentially free advertising on tv without a single penny coming out of the school’s wallet. when a commuter school (sound familiar?) by the name of george mason made the final 4 a couple of years back, alumni donations skyrocketed and so did the school’s name outside the state of virginia. a lot of people buy into the myth that college sports are just a distraction, but a well-run athletic program can go a long way toward earning the school a great deal of recognition.
I am so glad that this did not pass. Those athletic students who knew absolutely nothing about the impact of the BLR came knocking on MY door in MY suite at the dorms late that night and tried to argue with ME on why I should have voted yes!? Here are some arguments distinctly I remember:
“You know we are the least funded athletics program in California?”, “This will give you back money because the athletics department generates money for the entire campus”, “It will raise our schools prestigiousness”, and my all time favorite “More people will come to this school because most students like schools with football teams.”
Seriously, CSULB the 3rd top Masters School in the western U.S, CSULB sends more students to get their PhD’s then any other masters institution, CSULB is the only cal state to offer a PhD program, and CSULB already has the 2nd highest amount of enrolled students in California (right behind UCLA). Credibility, I believe, is not an issue; our Legacy is not built by our basketball team or football team, but rather it is built on delivering excellent education to all students.
Also, how many college football players ever made an difference in the general society? If people are not coming to CSULB simply because we don’t have good sports teams, then there is definitely a bigger problem that needs to be addressed. So much of CSULB is presently concerned about sports that education is second. For instance, my friend tutors athletes at the athletic tutoring center on campus and they have the best computers and resources available to them in order for them to keep their poor GPA’s at the minimum to participate in sports, yet they are hardly utilized. Daily49er, if you want a good story investigate the Athletics tutoring center in comparison to any and every other resource available to the average CSULB student and you will be dumbfounded.
I came to CSULB to get a good education that would prepare me for my graduate studies, and I believe it has served me right. How do sports benefit the average student at an institution designed for education? Why should students concerned with education, the primary reason for even having a university, have to pay for the success of athletes if CSULB cant even get the new science building finished and many classes are being canceled for a lack of funding? If a referendum based on student funds is to be designed, then it should be done in order to allocate funds to under funded departments who can’t provide professors or courses to their students. In regards to the Athletics Department, all I can say is “Keep your balls to your self.”
I was against the BLR because of the automatic increases built into it. Hopefully the next time they put a referendum on the ballot, it’ll be a straight forward increase without the aggressive escalators.
Great article, by the way. The 49er did a great job of keeping us informed on what was happening at every step along the way.
Success! THANKS to everyone who voted NO against this bull.
BLR voted down by students hahahahahahaha. Justice prevails!
I agree totally with pissed in RH, their behavior was off the hook and they should be kicked out. I too had a test early the next morning and it took me almost two hours to get back to sleep. I hope our other athletes aren’t this selfish.
I want to thank all of the drunken women’s water polo team for knocking on everybody’s door in the dorms the other night to remind us to vote on the BLR. Because I had a midterm early the next morning, I didn’t need to sleep anyway. Besides these inconsiderate athletes reminded me to vote no. They should be suspended or disciplined by the university. I hope this didn’t pass only because they tried to steal my educational opportunity with their selfish behavior. If this is what represents our college, we should reconsider the entire department. They sure aren’t encouraging students to behave with any sense of decorum.
ROFLMAO @ “I endorse the BLR” We’re going to piss orange paint on your homo statue again. Better to have a “one trick pony” at Fuller town than to be a “none trick pussy” at The Blech, bitches. At least we bring home national championships in something other than “Cheer and Dance” you little sissies. Your Dustbags are a bunch of little girls; their bats swing them. Your Forty-Noners basketball team (if that’s what you really want to call them, LOL) is going to get Be-ach slapped by Pacific toooniiight. At least they’ll have the amazing experience of sitting in the bleachers watching F-Town bring it down!!!!
How does it feel to be the absolute laughing stock of the CSU system, Long Blechh? Too bad your new soccer stadium isn’t built for basketball. Your men/boys would perform better on astroturf. Took your student money and your title aspirations in the same day. I would love to see the faces on next year’s starving freshmen when the mailman arrives with their CSULB tax bill, ROFLMAO. You can promise them a title in frisbee or la crosse in a few decades.
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LOL @ this Foolerton troll. Get ready to get Beach slapped in the years to come because Monson’s teams will only get better. Good thing your one-trick pony athletic program has baseball to fall back on.
How does it feel to be the absolute laughing stock of the CSU system, Long Blechh? Too bad your new soccer stadium isn’t built for basketball. Your men/boys would perform better on astroturf. Took your student money and your title aspirations in the same day. I would love to see the faces on next year’s starving freshmen when the mailman arrives with their CSULB tax bill, ROFLMAO. You can promise them a title in frisbee or la crosse in a few decades.
Are they going to release the results immediately since it’s Internet voting, or will they need to collaborate on what they think the results should be and release that just before the celebration in Anaheim? The fix is in. Start counting your pennies fools. You will need them. AAAAND your basketball team will get crushed. Lose-lose situation surfless sluts.
Mike: for your comment about Stickney contacting Robinson and Caveness, it’s vice versa. They steered him to what he could get away with. All three, and many more, stand to profit from the BLR passing. Same signature on the paycheck and same boss at CSULB. Are you remotely aware of the concept of CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Why is Robinson the advisor for the SFAC and Caveness the advisor for the ASI, while injecting themselves in a student referendum? Wayne is merely enjoying the benefit of living in Wayne’s World. Glad I’m not going to be a 2010 freshman getting sand kicked in my face at The Beach. Don’t they even teach critical thinking skills at CSULB? They certainly don’t practice ethics. Must suck to be you. I like the idea of contacting an attorney. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if a state taxpayer from Cal State Northridge won a multi-million dollar civil rights lawsuit from cal state low brow, er, cal state left behind, er, oh well, you would get the picture if they educated you over there where you can’t even see the waves.
And Mike, you never answered my question
Where have you heard that the President of a Cal State University can increase campus-wide student fees with the wave of his hand?
Remember that King could increase fees with a wave of his hand. University went ahead with the vote and will let the student body decide.
So it doesn’t bother you or strike you as odd that our campus allowed a vote on increasing student fees by $95 a semester without first putting in place rules that would regulate how that vote was carried out?
As far as this being fair campaign practice, Stickney contacted Robinson and Jeanne Cavenas, the assistant dean of students, about the event. Both said that it was appropriate and legal.
To your name-if there are as you say no rules, then again there is nothing wrong with what they did. Athletics talked with King and the administration within CSULB and I feel good that if anything is incorrect with what they did, then they will look into it. Again I have not seen the setup within the pyramid but again if there are no rules for online voting, then maybe there needs to be some rules put together for votes in the future.
Mike — Read the “referendum lacks regulation” story and consider your comment: “As for this student online voting at the pyramid, the athletic department checked with administration and followed the rules.” How could they have followed the rules if there were no actual rules in place?
“Also nothing says to vote yes in the pyramid next to the computers”
No, not true. I saw the pictures: next to the laptops says “Vote YES on BLR.” Maybe those were removed later, but it was there when the other Daily 49er photographer took those pictures early Wednesday morning.
The link to where the money will go from BLR has been on the athletics website for many weeks:
beachlegacyreferendum.com/documents/pp-BLRSFAC28Jan09-Master.ppt
As for voting location, I do not know how many times I have voted for something or somebody that right across the street is a sign either pro or against the proposition. I know that something like this must be so many feet away from a polling place (and I am one person who will speak up if this is breaking the rules). As for this student online voting at the pyramid, the athletic department checked with administration and followed the rules-if somebody with King or others found something incorrect I am sure they would work to correct it. The Horn Center is used by students which I am sure would rather use the computers for school work and not for voting. Remember that you can always vote no in the pyramid. Also nothing says to vote yes in the pyramid next to the computers-just that there is a party for the hope that BLR passes.
49er: even YOU indicated the keyword “neutral” There is nothing neutral about what is going on at the Pyramid. That’s what’s most shameful.
What’s unethical about setting up a place where supporters can vote? Its an online election. There are half a dozen or more “neutral polling places” aka computer labs all across campus. And in reality, there is no such thing as a polling place in an online election. The only thing disturbing about this election process is how those opposing it have resorted to name calling, playing the race card, and whining.
The SFAC turned their heads on everything ethical on this one. No wonder that the committee is also the executive officers of the ASI. Nothing like double dipping. ASI leaders jumped on the committee to protect themselves from public scrutiny by the only rule involved in this comedy of errors: you may not comment to the media about the BLR. Of course they should have been able to speak out as a responsibility to their oath of office. Remember, Swetland, Chavez and Troutner were elected to ASI BEFORE they were placed on the SFAC. Great campus representation ASI. Robinson “advises” them as ASI and SFAC. Did you really expect ethics was going to be involved anywhere in this campaign? Take the money and run before you end up in Madoff’s shoes. There should be a legal investigation from top to bottom.
The student fee advisory committee considered a proposal to use paper ballots–and rejected that proposal. Either you have the limited polling places–with the restrictions that go along with that– or you allow any student to vote anywhere there is a computer.
Yeah, Mike, I can’t find the money spent to promo the BLR anywhere either. Enlighten us all, please. How has my money been spent?
Mike: where has all the money that’s been spent to promote the BLR been posted? I can’t find it anywhere.
If anyone wants to comment for the record on the BLR voting process, call the newsroom at (562) 985-8000 and ask to talk to a reporter, or email us at [email protected]
The Union Weakly covers sports stories? News to me.
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if you were able to read, you would know that they do.
Mike, the Horn Center is only a few strides from the Pyramid and has all the computers necessary to accommodate voting, even express computers. What about all of the refreshments and the looped sports videos, as well as the PR hacks cheerily telling voters to Vote Yes? That is an ethical firestorm waiting to be investigated. What other arena of American politics allows campaigning directly in the poll places? None, zilch, nada. It’s illegal everywhere else in the U.S.
Vote for the Beach Legacy Referendum, rich alumni like myself cannot afford to donate to our athletics department, BUT YOU CAN! Greed is good.
First of all, everything that will be spent by voting Yes on BLR has been posted so you will know where the money is going. Second, there is nothing wrong with having a voting place in the pyramid. This spot is for those who may not have access to a computer during these two days-different set of rules since this is a online vote and not a paper vote. And remember you can go to the pyramid and vote no if you want. Instead vote YES ON BLR and have a impact on the future of YOUR UNIVERSITY.
As a former student body leader I sat on all those committee meetings: Student Fee Advisory, IRA (Instructionally related activity), and Beach Pride Referendum allocation committee. Let me say this. The more you learn the more you realize the amount of special interests that go into passing student fees. Students will have their fees increased this year due to state budget cuts and it won’t be pretty. And all the chanting and protesting won’t do any good when the Board of Trustees (BOT) see that students imposed a self tax for a recreation center and now potentially to fund athletic scholarships and pay for nicer facilities (state facilities are the obligation of the state to repair not students), The BOT won’t hesitate to raise your fees if you pass this (honestly they won’t hesitate regardless – YOUR FEES WILL GO UP THIS YEAR) This is the worse referendum I’ve seen and I would not have let it out of the Student Fee Advisory Committee. Yes ASI has a special interest in this because their funding is down and they have a budget deficit that this will help to fix by returning to them the Beach Pride fee. Yes campus departments and programs (like the Daily 49er) have an interest because currently 50% of IRA fees go to athletics and part of this BLR is athletics promising to not apply for IRA fees thus leaving more money for everyone else (including the Daily 49er). The absurdity of it all is that athletics is giving up what amounts to about $60 a semester back in IRA fees and Beach Pride fees but then asking for $90 back (plus $70 for summer) in new fees. They’ve even included an auto increase every few years (they learned after the beach pride that inflation affected the value of their fees). This is a bad deal for students. A national depression and bad economy is not the time to increase your fees to pay for athletic scholarships and improved athletics. Now is the time to keep fees down so you can afford to go to school and don’t graduate with too much debt. Best of luck, but I fear the lack of real reporters doing their job and a campus that is full of departments and programs that are only looking to help meet their budget shortfalls will leave CSULB with a shiny new fee called BLR. So sorry.
read union weekly
Wed Mar 11 2009 05:34
The 49er won’t investigate the illegitimacy of this process, at least not with any vigor, because they’re in on it. Who do you think pays for the BLR advertising? Why would they investigate and actually report when they’re profiting from the BLR? A whole bunch of them were groveling for IRA funds earlier this semester because they’re broke. If the BLR passes, they will get their IRA money. Why do you think they didn’t even start covering it until recently, even though it was presented in November. Campus politics and the “definitive source for ignoring campus news” make strange bedfellows, but in bed they are. Figure it out, sheesh.
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The Union Weakly covers sports stories? News to me.
your name, a large number of people who supoort the blr are racists. it is insulting that they think they can reach out to latinos by using a sport like soccer to prop up their fee increase. people like me do not benefit from the racist implications of the blr. more money for white sports that only white people play is what this racist referendum is all about. VOTE NO!
quintin jackson, you’re the one who’s ignorant. Lopez didn’t mention one thing about race in the article. It was only reported that he is a Chicano studies major. As I’ve noticed, every student quoted in every story has their major listed. You’re the one “bringing race into it.” What does having a black president have to do with CSULB athletics politics anyway.
Lopez, quit bringing race into it… it doesn’t work anymore. Thank God there is a black president now that has forever squashed idiots underlying tones such as yourself. Typical democrat loser!
VOTE YES ON BLR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 49er won’t investigate the illegitimacy of this process, at least not with any vigor, because they’re in on it. Who do you think pays for the BLR advertising? Why would they investigate and actually report when they’re profiting from the BLR? A whole bunch of them were groveling for IRA funds earlier this semester because they’re broke. If the BLR passes, they will get their IRA money. Why do you think they didn’t even start covering it until recently, even though it was presented in November. Campus politics and the “definitive source for ignoring campus news” make strange bedfellows, but in bed they are. Figure it out, sheesh.
The Daily 49er could perform a great campus service by investigating how students opposed to this type of election process and promotion using their money can challenge the results. Perhaps a class action lawsuit might be needed by interested student groups. This seems more like theft than a fair process. I smell George W. Bush and Karl Rove tactics all over the place.
I hear racist thrown around pretty loosely in thse posts. I am disappointed that individuals find the need to act out by using a word that has such deep implications. Calling people racist, who you do not know or spent any significant time with, is ignorant and shows a great deal of cowardice.
Ethics are not even remotely involved. Swetland is on the SFAC precisely to keep her quiet. Offering refreshments and promoting the BLR should be against every voting policy imaginable. This proves how far administrators will go to manipulate money out of students’ pockets. Why not just have Stickney, Robinson, Alexander and Caveness vote for everybody and be done with it? I am utterly disillusioned with our campus politics. This is certainly a blackeye to our entire community and I hope the Daily 49er follows up by investigating the BLR, SFAC, ASI and administrators who allowed this one-way election. Whose money are they using to throw all of these elaborate celebration parties and promotional costs? Some will tell you it comes out of athletics funding. If that’s the case, why do they need more? What a load. CSULB=Conspiracy, Shame, Ugly Low Brow. I’m disgusted and these people should be fired.