Shooting at VA Tech is Worst in U.S. History

On Monday, April 16, Cho Seung-Hui, a senior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, arrived on that school's campus and fired shots into various classrooms and dormitories killing a total of 32 students and faculty before taking his own life in what has now come to be known as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.


The massacre at Virginia Tech has left many college students around the country questioning the safety and security of their own campuses. CSULB President F. King Alexander issued a statement via e-mail to all Long Beach State students addressing some of these concerns in the wake of the tragedy.

"I want to assure you that the university has policies and procedures in place should we need to respond to a situation on our own campus which involve various university groups and committees who meet regularly to discuss and train in order to prepare for possible emergencies.

In addition to the University Police Department and its regular training and planning, our university has a standing Student Crisis Management Committee which regularly meets to discuss emergency policies and protocols. Also, administrators and employees across the campus are part of the university’s Emergency Operations Plan that addresses an entire spectrum of contingencies, ranging from relatively minor incidents to large-scale disasters. Finally, the university has an emergency Website page that can be activated and updated on a moment’s notice in an effort to alert both the campus community and those outside the campus of any emergency situation as it arises."

The events that unfolded in Blacksburg, Virginia proved to be a sobering reminder of how vulnerable college students really are. Even at Virginia Tech itself, the geographic layout of the campus (much like that of the geographic layout of Long Beach State) was designed to feel open and as much a part of the neighboring community as possible. Some say that this is what afforded Cho the ability to attack the campus so swiftly and with a two hour gap between shootings.

Among those who died in Monday's massacre was a professor named Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor. Flags across the country have been ordered to fly at half-mast in memoriam of those killed.

Photos courtesy of the New York Times and CSULB

Long Beach State Hires New Men's Basketball Coach

At a press conference held Saturday morning, President F. King Alexander and Athletic Director Vic Cegles announced that Dan Monson would be the new head coach of the Long Beach State men's basketball team.

Monson, 45, was the former head coach for Gonzaga University before moving to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1999. He ended his coaching job in Minneapolis in November 2006. Monson is expected to sign a six year contract with CSULB and receive $250,000 annual salary.

The selection of Monson as the new men's basketball coach came after what some say was the controversial by the University to not extend the contract of former head coach Larry Reynolds

Photo courtesy of Press-Telegram

CFA and CSU Reach Agreement, Strike Averted

On Wednesday, April 4, the California Faculty Association reached an agreement in the labor dispute with the office of CSU Chancellor Charles Reed that provided for raises for faculty of 24.87 percent over the next four years.

The base salary increases will raise the average salary for a tenure track faculty member from $74,000 to $90,749 and the average salary for a full time, full professor with tenure from $86,000 to $105,465 by the end of the contract period.

In addition to these increases, $28 million will be provided in the form of merit and equity increases that will provide raises for senior faculty who have reached the top of the pay scale, as well as boost junior faculty compensation. The CSU will seek an additional one percent increase for all employees’ compensation in state budget funds in each of the next three years.

The total package will cost the CSU $400 million over the next four years. The terms of the agreement were based largely on the information ascertained by the independent fact-finding panel that was brought in to assess the claims made by both sides. CSULB students were notified of the agreement through a mass email sent by President Alexander on the same day the deal was reached.

Photos courtesy of CFA and CSU.

Fact-finding Panel Releases Findings in CFA Labor Dispute

The data collected by the third-party fact-finding mediator between the California Faculty Association and the California State University was released earlier today.

According to a press release from the CFA, neutral fact-finder Sylvia Skratek's findings were consistent with the CFA's claims that the CSU system's pay scale of its faculty is indeed lagging behind other systems of higher education. Skratek recommends that faculty should receive a 24.87 percent salary increase over a maximum of four years.

The union has already taken measures to organize rolling strikes at all 23 campuses. Chancellor Reed is expected to respond to the fact-finder's report next week.

The report may be viewed by logging on to the CFA's website. CSULB's representative to the CFA is English professor Elizabeth Hoffman. President F. King Alexander declined to comment on the situation.

Photo courtesy of the California Faculty Association.

CSULB Student Body Approves New Rec. Center

This week, nearly 75 percent of the voting student body voted in favor of a new recreation center to be built on campus. This initiative is one of President Alexander's pet projects that his office has worked tirelessly to see passed by the student body.

The rec center will include eight basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, an indoor jogging track, rock climbing wall, juice bar and lounge, multiple racquetball courts, an outdoor recreational swimming pool and seven multi-purpose dance/group fitness rooms.

It will cost students $110 per semester and $83 during the summer. The total cost of the construction is $65 million, and the center will be constructed in Lot 11. The parking in Lot 11 will be impacted temporarily, but another parking structure will be built to provide more parking spaces, according to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center Web site. The center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

CFA to Vote on Strike

Members of the California Faculty Association will be voting in the coming weeks on whether or not to go on strike.

The CFA will be voting by campus over Mar. 5 through Mar. 8 and Mar. 12 through Mar. 15. Sixteen of the 23 CSUs will vote during the first session and the remaining 7 will vote in the second session. Long Beach State faculty will be voting in the second session.

According to the CFA's website, bargaining over salaries, parking costs, lecturer rights and class size are all items over which negotiations with the Chancellor's Office have reached a stalemate. CSU Long Beach President F. King Alexander's office could not be reached for comment on the upcoming vote.

If the organization does vote in favor of a strike for faculty members, teachers and other faculty will be implementing two-day rolling strikes across the state. Such action would be the first in the history of the CFA.

Ideas for future stories

President's response to student approval of new rec center

President's response to the outcome of CFA strike vote

Introduction - Blog Description

As a Journalism student here at California State University, Long Beach, I will be writing this weekly blog in my efforts to cover news from the President's office. The university president, F. King Alexander, is the school's primary figurehead and his actions and decisions directly affect the lives of all CSULB students.