Thank you, Chair Fong, and good afternoon Trustees, university Presidents, Chancellor Koester, and guests. My name is Krishan Malhotra and I serve as President of the Cal State Student Association.

CSSA represents the nearly half a million students in the CSU and serves as the official voice of CSU students to the California State Legislature and CSU Board of Trustees. It is an honor to provide this report on their behalf.

Since my last report to you, CSSA has hosted two plenaries where our members discussed issues that will guide our work for the coming year and how we can best support students.

Our October plenary was virtual, but we were excited to be back in person in November at Fresno State. I’d like to thank ASI President Caroline Alvarez and President Saul Jimenez Sandoval for hosting us. While we were there for business, a highlight for many was being able to watch the Fresno State football team’s decisive victory against Hawaii. I also want to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Larissa Mercado Lopez, a professor at Fresno State who presented to our governing members about the experiences of students with dependents and how we can best support them in their educational journey. I’d also like to thank Trustee Arambula for spending time with our governing members to share his priorities as a Trustee, getting to know our students, and breaking bread with us at lunch. We look forward to our January plenary at San Jose State.

At our October and November plenaries, we had robust discussions with Dr. Nathan Evans and Dr. Shireen Pavri on academic preparation, an information item before this board today. Some themes of our discussion included the importance of peer-to-peer mentorship and expanding access to programs that allow students to experience campus life early such as First Year Experience. Students also shared the role that alumni can play in sharing how their majors translated into careers. As it relates to STEM and increasing opportunities for students to enter into those fields, there was specific discussion on the need for students to understand the day to day realities and career pipelines available to those majors. This would allow students, especially first generation students, to have an increased foundational knowledge of opportunities that exist should they enter into those fields. As this body continues to discuss academic preparation and how the CSU will market itself to attract and retain students, it was best said by one of our governing members “if I cannot see it, I cannot be it.” CSSA looks forward to continuing to engage with the Chancellor’s Office on this issue moving forward.

CSSA continues to also monitor and support student leaders with the Cozen O’Connor Title IX Assessment visits. As this important work continues, we remain committed to working with our governing members to ensure that they are aware of when the Cozen team will be on their campus and hope that campus presidents will engage students as part of these visits. It is concerning to know that there have been a number of campuses where the student voice has been left out.

CSSA is currently in the process of accepting applications for the 2023/2025 Student Trustee. Applications are due at the end of January 2023. Students  may apply online at our website cal state students.org. Members of the CSU community may also encourage students to apply through a simple form that can also be found on our website.  Thank you to Krystal Alvarez from Chico State who was elected to serve as Chair of our Student Trustee Committee. She will be working with our staff to lead this important search.

At our October plenary, the CSSA Board of Directors passed the 2023 policy agenda. This policy agenda was crafted over the course of three months with input from governing members and students across the CSU. Our policy agenda contains four priorities that students have deemed as most important for our organization to work on:

• First, addressing the total cost of attendance for students attending the CSU.
• Second, ensuring students have access to high quality wellness and mental health support services,
• Third, ensuring the academic success and holistic educational experience of all CSU students,
• Fourth, fostering inclusive engagement for students to find agency in their campus

This policy agenda will guide our work for the next year. As we continue to engage with partners in and outside of the CSU, we look forward to identifying innovative and enhanced ways to best support our students.

Today, I’d like to highlight one area that we will be engaging more on and that is the issue of mental health. Much can be said and has been said about the financial resources needed to provide this service to students or the utilization of telehealth vendors to increase access to these resources but I want to share the perspective of my fellow peers on this.

There are four areas that students have expressed to us with regards to access to counseling and psychological services. I should preface that these concerns are not just specific to this year but are concerns CSSA has heard from students for many years, those concerns are: long wait times for an appointment, limited number of sessions, not being able to receive after hours care, and counselor diversity. And while I’m only sharing four, there are undoubtedly others that can be found across our system.

We know that there are some campuses who are making significant strides to meet these needs and appreciate their efforts. We also are aware that there are some campuses who want to provide more care by utilizing telehealth but are left in a standstill.

A telehealth contracted service does not replace the important role that existing counselors provide but instead expands access to after hours care, increased sessions, flexibility in where students can take appointments, and diversity of counselors. This should not be seen as a threat but instead as an added service to get our students the care they need, and when they need it the most.

I feel it is an obligation to my peers to state unequivocally that students NOT be used as a bargaining tactic. It is disheartening to us students, many who are taking on roles to advocate for this very issue while also grappling with our own mental health struggles, that we have leaders in our system who want to support us and are met with resistance. If we are here to truly serve our students and support them in their educational journey, let us honor that commitment and place student well-being above all else.

In my first report to you all, I indicated that I hoped to share some of the unique stories of CSU students. Today and in the spirit of Veterans Day last  week, I would like to share the story of a CSU student veteran.

Sergeant Joe Flores is a graduate student pursuing a Masters in Criminal Justice at Stanislaus State. Joe served six years in the U.S. Army from 1996 to 2002 as a Medic mostly for the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Ft. Bliss in Texas and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2001.

He transferred from Delta College to Stanislaus State because of the accelerated Criminal Justice program, proximity to his home town of Stockton, and the CSU’s affordability.

Sgt. Flores first entered Stan State and felt alone and intimidated. He joined a fraternity that became the community and brotherhood that he was looking for. He is also a proud participant in the Stanislaus State Project Rebound program and credits the program for looking out for his educational well-being and providing him with financial assistance. As a veteran, he looks forward to engaging more with the Veterans Club on the campus and advocating for student veterans and their dependents.

Sgt Flores, thank you for your service and for choosing to call the CSU home.

Sgt. Flores is one of many student veterans that we had the honor to celebrate last week. And his story, like so many other of our student veterans, is a reminder to us all here in the room on who we are here to serve, and that is our students.

As we prepare for the holiday season, I wish everyone a joyous holiday. And to our students, I wish us all the very best as we prepare for our finals before taking a very well deserved break.

Thank you Chair Fong, that concludes my report.

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