Thank you and good morning Chair Kimbell,Chancellor Castro, and Trustees.

My name is Isaac Alferos and I have the unique honor and privilege of serving as the 2021-2022 President of the Cal State Student Association. As this virtual environment is the first time many of us are meeting, I thought I would start off by taking a moment to introduce myself.

I am a rising senior at Cal State Fullerton studying business administration with a concentration in finance. I am a proud descendant of sharecroppers and immigrants, raised in Buena Park, CA, and have a passion for community development through social and educational policy. Though I am new to this role, I have been a dedicated and passionate advocate for educational accessibility and equity since before I came to know the CSU as my home. Coming into our system, I brought with me the experience of organizing in my community, working with local leaders for increased investment into education and mentoring other young leaders to embody the change we know our community needs. At CSUF, I joined ASI where I worked to expand our understanding of civic engagement and share the stories of my community in the work that I do. I have spent my last year serving as Executive Director of my own co-op, the Black + Brown Healing Project and as a Commissioner on the California Student Aid Commission.

It is truly an honor to serve in this capacity, but I would be remiss if I did not also recognize the incredible leaders I will be serving alongside this year.

This year, I have the honor of serving alongside the continuing leadership of our former Vice President of Legislative Affairs and new Chair of our Board of Directors, Guan Liu. Guan is a 3rd year student at SDSU studying political science and history and I am confident that he will be a dedicated leader in serving our board this year.

Additionally, I am joined by Fabiola Moreno, a fellow SDSU student studying political science with a minor in public administration as our Vice President of Systemwide Affairs. Fabi brings with her an unwavering commitment to student success and I am excited to see her ongoing engagement to ensure that students are a proactive voice in decision making in the CSU.

Our Vice President of Legislative Affairs is Krishan Maholtra, a rising 3rd year at Stanislaus State studying Business with a concentration in marketing, who brings with him the commitment and experience of engaging in legislative action on behalf of our students.

Last but certainly not least is our new Vice President of Finance, Anthony Ruiz, who is rising as a second year MBA student at Chico State. Anthony’s experience in financial literacy married with his passion for supporting students makes him a huge asset for our organization, and one that I am proud to work with. All of these execs are incredible advocates for students whose passion and commitment make me even prouder to lead them.

Additionally, I must acknowledge and thank my predecessor Zahraa Khuraibet for her ongoing dedication to serving students. As many of you came to know Zahraa as a steadfast advocate for higher education equity, I have had the privilege of knowing her as a friend and mentor, one who has truly elevated this position through her knowledge, commitment, and empathy. I could not be here today without her and there is truly no other leader I would rather take up the mantle from.

I want to also acknowledge and thank Dr. Lande Ajose for presenting and continuing to inform us all on the work being done by the Governor’s Office and the Recovery with Equity Report. CSSA has appreciated getting to work closely with you, Dr. Ajose and we look forward to continuing to partner with you and the Governor on efforts like that of basic needs, college affordability, internet access for students, and other equity efforts.

And on the topic of college affordability, I would be remiss not to mention and applaud the Governor and legislature’s historic investment in the Cal Grant system. For so many of our students, receiving a Cal Grant is life changing and means they will be able to pursue a degree at the CSU. Students have fought tirelessly to highlight the need for increased investment and reform in the system for years, and we are thrilled to see our hard work pay off in this year’s budget. With that said, CSSA remains committed to advocating for comprehensive reform that ensures that the state of California equitably serves the largest number of students possible.

I would also like to recognize the incredibly successful year in our budget advocacy efforts. This year all of the CSU stakeholders worked more collaboratively than ever, which is a testament to the leadership of Chancellor Castro, Vice Chancellor Larry Salinas, Assistant Vice Chancellor Nichole Muñoz-Murrillo, Assistant Vice Chancellor Ryan Storm, and Senior Advisor Jai Sookprasert. On behalf of all CSU students, thank you for your advocacy this past year to ensure that our students and our system received the level of investment that we needed and we look forward to another great year of collaborative advocacy.

Stepping into this role, I am excited to continue the efforts of my predecessors and strategically advance the student voice in such a critical time. As President, I see the data outlining the high needs areas of our most vulnerable students, but as a student I know the stories beyond the numbers. These stories are not only the narratives of our most resilient students, but are also a crucial reminder of the students our decisions impact. With this, I would like to introduce you to the stories of a few of our students.

Our first student hails from Santa Ana, coming to our system in 2018. He was raised by a single mother, spending free time helping raise his siblings and support his family. He graduated high school and was admitted into the CSU with the special distinction of first generation student. It was in our system that he was granted home through a scholarship program specifically designed for Men of Color like himself. He found funding, but beyond that he found comradery. But because our system is not perfect and the road to equity cannot be paved by funding alone, our student grappled with the hardest piece of his college career: feeding himself. His campus lacked the resources he needed to feed and house himself and he couldn’t take on more hours without falling behind in his academic career. Struggling and worn out, our student dropped out his third semester of college to focus on working enough to feed himself.

Another student finds themself in our system with a different title of distinction. He is one of the 4% of Black students who make it into our CSU. With this comes specific opportunities like the enriching experience of our campuses’ NAACPs and BSUs who help build home for those of us who are few and far between. This student lives on campus, but cannot find a home here in the same way other students do. This is because he must call his RA for weekly escorts to do his laundry, as his previous attempts to do this alone left him stopped and questioned by UPD who couldn’t conceive that this Black man was simply trying to do his laundry on a campus he pays to attend.

I share this with you all because it highlights a critical issue our system faces. One where students who have miraculously scaled the mountains of inequities to get to our campuses find that what lies before them feel all too familiar. Their stories are reflective of the hidden inequities of our system, hidden to those who never experience it. As an organization founded in equity, CSSA is committed to meeting our students where they are and building broader investment into these critical areas.

As a result, I am proud to lead our organization in our ongoing advocacy to support students’ Basic Needs. This effort is inclusive of the ever expansive definition, going beyond addressing purely housing and food insecurity, to addressing the digital divide, access to mental health resources, and all barriers to student success. Within this, I am excited to work alongside Chancellor Castro, a long-time advocate for expanding Basic Needs support, on developing these critical infrastructures needed systemwide.

Additionally, I seek to build upon the conversations started by my predecessors on our ongoing effort to reimagine campus safety. As a man of color in America, I know too intimately the realities of racism in our country, and am ashamed that we would give home to institutions who’s shared history is rooted in racism and oppression. Within this, it is critical that we seek out a dialogue that allows us to reimagine broader campus safety and ensure that our ongoing focus is the equitable quality education of our students, as no system can truly tout its diversity if it cannot ensure its diverse students an equally supportive and affirmative environment.

In this, I must applaud the existing efforts around these critical areas, as well as the leadership spearheading broader change needed to support our students. I appreciate the Chancellor’s encouragement of student input on UPD oversight committees and want to reaffirm the need for holistic evaluation and shift in our broader campus safety systems. Ultimately, CSSA stands firm in our founding value and ongoing commitment to educational equity and sustainability, and will continue to work alongside systemwide leaders to ensure that our campuses are reflective of these critical needs.

Representing the official voice of CSU students, I must convey that our basic needs and campus safety infrastructure need renewed leadership that seeks to build new systems, oriented towards student success, health, and safety, worthy of investing into. As President of an organization founded in equity, I must highlight the need for equity based solutions that center our minoritized and marginalized students. As a student, I wish to reiterate the urgency within which we must move by recognizing that today it is my friends and my peers who are starving, who are homeless, who are over-policed and under-supported, all while remaining steadfast in their educational achievement.

With that being said, I intend to continue advocacy on these critical issues this year and look forward to working alongside our CSU leadership as a partner in thought, execution, and evaluation to ensure that our system is an accessible, equitable, and affordable one.

And with that, Chair Kimbell, that concludes my report.

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