Renovation starts with a t-shirt in the University Student Union. Since the roll out of the “It Starts with You” campaign, endorsed by the Associated Students, Inc., some ASI employees wear bright blue campaign t-shirts on Wednesdays.
The t-shirts are not a required uniform for ASI or USU employees, though several students and faculty who wore the shirts on Wednesday said it is encouraged that official ASI and USU employees wear the shirts.
“It Starts with You” is the campaign that ASI launched in order to inform students of the upcoming USU referendum.
“The shirts are pretty much to raise awareness and for students to see if they have any questions,” Chair of the USU Board of Trustees Vanessa Mendoza said on Wednesday. “It does bring a lot of attention because students are like, ‘Oh, what are these blue shirts about?’”
Mendoza said the referendum is important; she said that, as a student, she has experienced the struggle of trying to find a seat in the often-crowded USU around lunch time. Overcrowding is one of the issues that the USU aims to address. “I’ve seen students sleeping on the stairs in the USU, and I just feel so bad.”
The goal is to inform students about the referendum and that students “aren’t voting out of the blue,” Mendoza said, pointing at the blue t-shirt and laughing.
Erica Quiroz, the student assistant for College Beat Productions, did not wear her USU referendum t-shirt on Wednesday; she said she forgot. She also said that if the referendum passes, it would be a benefit to students.
In the Beach Pride Center on Wednesday, Program Council Activities Coordinator Taylor Buhler-Scott also opted to not wear her USU referendum t-shirt. Buhler-Scott said that the USU is in favor of the referendum, but that she could not speak on behalf of ASI. She indicated that questions regarding the USU referendum typically run through ASI Communications Manager Lindsay San Miguel.
Quiroz said that College Beat has been participating in a lot of discussions with San Miguel in regards to the USU referendum. Quiroz said that she sees a lot more of San Miguel now that former College Beat graduate supervisor Geno Mehalik is no longer at CSULB.
College Beat Executive Producer Patrick Ho said that the t-shirts are a part of the campaign to promote the USU referendum. “We’re supposed to wear them on Wednesdays, but not everyone does it,” Ho said. He said that because College Beat is employed by ASI, he wears the shirts because he is “indirectly an employee of ASI.”
Ho said that ASI is not only conveying the positive ends of the referendum; he said part of the goal is to also “create a conversation” about the referendum with students. Ho produced one of at least three USU Referendum videos called “Whose Space is it Anyway?”
In Ho’s video, two students spot the last vacant chair in the eating area in the USU; they look at each other, and back to the chair. The race is on. The video ends with a message that encourages students to vote yes.
Senior civil engineering major Jaime Grabinski said the impression he has gotten from the posters he has seen regarding the referendum is that ASI is encouraging students to vote in favor of it.
“I have just seen mostly the three laptops, two outlets poster and stuff like that,” Grabinski said in reference to a poster that makes reference to a lack of outlets in the USU. He said he hasn’t seen the referendum t-shirts yet.
Jerry Armendariz, fitness technician in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, said he thinks the referendum will be good for students because it promoting an upgrade for “their kickback area.”
“We’re supposed to be wearing [the shirts] and promoting I guess the referendum,” said Jerry Armendariz, the fitness technician at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. “I really don’t know if it’s a requirement, but they told us to wear them on Wednesdays.”
Executive Director of ASI Richard Haller said he is not much of a t-shirt guy himself, but they are optional for ASI employees to wear.
“For me, it’s about comfort,” Haller added to his comment about why he doesn’t wear a USU referendum t-shirt.
Armendariz said he thinks the referendum is good for students because it is upgrading “their kickback area.”
Walking out of the USU, senior civil engineer major Jaime Grabinski said he doesn’t know much about the referendum other than what he has seen on the posters around campus.
“I have just seen mostly the three laptops, two outlets poster and stuff like that,” Grabinski said in reference to a poster that makes reference to a lack of outlets in the USU. He said he hasn’t seen the USU referendum t-shirts yet; Grabinski also said that the message he feels ASI is attempting to spread is that students should vote for the referendum.
Darshen patel junior majoring in business economics, facility service with ASI. “promotion of passing the [referendum] to increase the student union fee…”
It is good because we see people sitting on the floor and we don’t have table and we don’t have outlets
It’s for you from you basically….
I feel like I should wear it…
Not the t-shirts….
“I have just seen mostly the three laptops, two outlets poster and stuff like that.”
Jaime Grabinski senior civil engineering