Daily 49er: Mixer showcases students’ eco-friendly ideas

The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden hosted a mixer Wednesday evening in order to encourage Cal State Long Beach to go green.

Approximately 60 people attended the first-time sustainability-focused event titled "Past, Present and Future." Students showcased their environmentally friendly projects and faculty, alumni and community members attended.

Event host and campus sustainability task force coordinator Donnie Bessom said the event was the first of many, and he was amazed by the turnout.

"I never expected this amount of feedback from students and faculty," he said. "We have scientists dreaming big, designers drawing those dreams, engineers building them, and the community comes together while the film department is making a documentary about it ... I hope the numbers keep growing."

Daily 49er: Student association responds to budget cuts, fee hikes

CSSA President & former Liberal Arts Senator Chris Chavez

Long Beach State is facing the possibility of furloughs, faculty layoffs and higher tuition as a result of Jerry Brown's proposed $1.4 billion budget cut to California's universities.

The proposed budget cuts would affect University of California schools, California State universities and community colleges. Of the $1.4 billion cut, $500 million would be taken from the 23 CSU campuses, similar to what was cut in 2009, according to Christopher Chavez, President of California Student State Association.

Although the state legislature has not yet approved the state funding, action has already begun.

Chavez went to the state capital to testify to the assembly of higher education committee Jan. 18. However, he admitted that the fight to end budget cuts for education would not be easy.

Gavin Newsom suggests challenging Jerry Brown's UC cuts

Will Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom be the advocate he is for the CSU system as well? CSU funding will certainly be a hot topic this year. From the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert:

In his first remarks at a University of California Board of Regents meeting this morning, Lt. Gov. and Regent Gavin Newsom proposed challenging half a billion dollars in cuts to the UC system proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Newsom said the regents shouldn't automatically accept the cuts and said, "I'm not convinced we're going to lose that half a billion dollars."

The remark suggested Newsom won't hew tightly to the Brown administration line as lieutenant governor, despite coming from the same party and sharing longtime family ties. Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, had expressed some concern about Brown's proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies on Jan. 10, just minutes after taking the oath of office.

Wednesday's remarks at the Board of Regents meeting, however, reflected a stronger tone from Newsom. The lieutenant governor's office comes with a Board of Regents seat.