Thursday, 12 December 2024
Written by Jordan Johnson, Communications Student Assistant
Our ASI President, Nikki Majidi, gave her Fall 2024 State of the Associated Students address, which provides updates on the ASI organization. Keeping ASI’s mission of “Keeping Students First,” this end-of-semester tradition keeps students informed on initiatives, resources, and programs ASI has to offer.
Nikki reflected on the Future U project, voter registration, and legislative accomplishments, all aimed at bettering campus life for students. In a period of major change, ASI is here to continue guiding students through their college careers.
Take a moment to read through President Majidi’s address, which highlights some of these changes and accomplishments.
Good afternoon, everyone,
What a semester it has been! Before I begin, I want to thank every student, administrator, and staff member who contributed to such a successful semester. Whether it was ASI staff or on the university side, together, we have worked tirelessly, day and night, to create initiatives for students and support them. Today, I want to highlight not only what we have accomplished but also what ASI has planned for 2025.
Since I took office in June, our executive team has been in the office 4-5 days a week, working hard to lay the foundation for the year ahead. I wholeheartedly believe we’ve done a great job in selecting, training, and collaborating with our team.
This semester, we celebrated a historic win for our campus with the pride flag raising for OUTober. This was a monumental achievement for our school and a moment that was long overdue. Thank you to all the Student Government leaders—past and present—who tirelessly advocated to make this happen.
One of the biggest projects we’ve been working on is The Future U Project. This semester, administrators, staff, and students collaborated with Penta-Gensler to plan the layout and design of the new USU and discuss the logistics for the interim period when the USU is closed. Next semester, in 2025, we’ll focus on educating students about the changes, including where resources will be relocated and what options will be available.
Across all boards in Student Government, our leaders accomplished unprecedented achievements:
In the President’s cabinet, our commissioners represented 10 different communities on campus. Our commissioners were out there tabling, attending events, and collecting information regarding their community to see how ASI can help advocate for them. Across campus, I have received stellar remarks commemorating the work of our commissioners. In our cabinet, our leaders went out into their communities and brought back issues that weren’t just academic. They reported students’ concerns that were cultural, about accessibility, food insecurity, immigration, and so many more issues that affect college students not only here, but across the nation.
Our Lobby Corps team took on the voter registration campaign this semester to boost civic engagement on campus. We worked diligently to come up with creative ways to get students excited about the Ballot Bowl. We launched the Elbee Rapper Tee, which was a huge hit, hosted the District 4 Candidate Forum, collaborated with Beach Pride Events to organize Puppies and Propositions, held a Ballots and Boba event in housing, and hosted a Voter’s Rights event. Through cross-board collaboration across all of Student Government, we surpassed previous Ballot Bowl numbers, registering over 2,100 students to vote and securing 3rd place out of 240 schools in the state. Thank you all for helping us make that happen—I am truly and eternally grateful for your support. This semester, I have established a Legislative Policy Agenda, which Lobby Corps is working to finalize to take with them to legislative visits with public officials in the area and in Sacramento for the California Higher Education Student Summit in March.
Judiciary has taken a proactive and intentional approach to creating workshops that address not only timely and current issues, but also inform and prepare students for upcoming local, state, and federal issues and challenges. At these workshops, they have taken a collaborative approach with faculty, staff, and industry professionals. They also provide indispensable student representation on department, college, and university-level grade appeals, which can change the trajectory of a student’s educational journey.
In collaboration with our executive team and Senate vice chair, we allocated $9,000 to the Dream Success Center Book Grants, ensuring undocumented students received funding for essential course materials.
In Senate, you all passed seven resolutions this semester, with public gallery attendance near full capacity. Major legislative accomplishments include:
- Supporting the AB-2586 bill to give undocumented and international students increased job opportunities and opposing the Governor's veto against it.
- Partnering with local community organizations to advocate for Filipino human rights and oppose taxpayer funding for militarization, instead advocating for investments in higher education.
- Opposing discriminatory state and federal legislation targeting LGBTQIA+ individuals.
- Proposing policies to combat food insecurity, enhance campus accessibility, and increase organizational transparency.
- Modernizing outreach by replacing "100 Classes in 100 Days" with a contemporary video campaign.
Senate outreach efforts included engaging over 400 students in Meet the Senator events, collaborating with colleges and deans to bring out students, and working with Student Life and Development to strengthen College Councils. Post-fall legislative goals include:
- Gathering feedback and suggestions from student organizations to oppose and reform the CSU system-wide Time, Place, and Manner policy.
- Advocating for women’s health, reproductive freedom, and increased accessibility to medicated abortion and Plan B.
- Pushing for reforms in the U.S. Farm Bill to expand EBT and SNAP eligibility for food-insecure students and mixed-status families.
- Developing a campus-wide survey to collect feedback from each college.
In the Business and Finance Committee, we awarded more than 100 grants totaling over $640,000 to student organizations for graduations, cultural celebrations, and professional development. Additionally, we funded 54 student travel and research grants, totaling over $21,000. Our team spearheaded a major policy revision to support more organizations and individuals than ever before.
This semester, we also celebrated the 75th anniversary of Long Beach State with a major event at the Walter Pyramid. Alumni, public officials, staff, faculty, and students all joined us for this momentous occasion. It has been an honor to serve during such an incredible year for Long Beach State, and I am so grateful to have been part of it.
Thank you for such a memorable semester, let’s make the next one even better! Go Beach!
Nikki Majidi
