Thank you, Chair Clark, and good morning Trustees, Chancellor Garcia, University Presidents, and everyone here today. My name is Iese Esera and I serve as President of the Cal State Student Association.

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

Since my last report to this body, CSSA convened for two plenaries in August and September.

In August, CSSA hosted the 12th annual CSUnity conference at Cal State San Bernardino. This conference served as an opportunity for students to gather and learn about system-wide policies and issues and identify ways to be advocates on campus.

CSUnity was attended by over 160 CSU students representing all 23 CSU campuses. The students were able to deepen their understanding of systemwide policies and how their experiences, stories, and backgrounds can help influence how they advocate. This was truly a historic CSUnity, with sessions strategically designed to foster community, engagement, and solidarity amongst key stakeholders in the CSU. I offer my gratitude to Chancellor Garcia, Chair Clark, Academic Senate Chair Boyd, & Alumni Council Immediate Past President, Jeremy Addis-Mills for joining a panel discussion helping to provide clarity and perspective on key issues facing students today.

We carried those conversations into our virtual September plenary which was wrapped up this weekend. We discussed Alumni & Student Programs, updating our 2024-2025 Policy Agenda, and we held a robust conversation about Time, Place, and Manner following a presentation by  Assistant Vice Chancellor Murillo.

I also want to express gratitude to Deputy Vice Chancellor Perez, Assistant Vice Chancellor Murillo and Director Tran-Martin for providing the opportunity for CSSA to authentically express our concerns with portions of the policy as well as its rollout.

While CSSA does not yet have an official stance on the Interim Time, Place, and Manner policy, we are actively working with student leaders from across the system to gather feedback and closely monitor university response teams. Although TPM policies have existed on our campuses for decades, we believe the creation and implementation of a centralized systemwide TPM policy MUST safeguard students’ rights to protected free speech. Students must be able to feel that they can express themselves freely and not be unjustly met with punitive responses when doing so. That being said, we acknowledge it is a little too early in the process for us to see what the enforcement of this policy looks like, but student safety is of utmost importance to CSSA in tandem with their protected First Amendment rights.

Additionally, CSSA is appreciative of the wider conversation that will happen on financial aid. Especially since the topic of financial aid and Cal Grant Reform is incredibly important for CSU students. While we were not able to fund the policy framework for Cal-Grant Reform this past budget cycle, our Coalition is committed to continuing to advocate for the funding as written in the statute. CSSA recognizes that the CSU is affordable when compared to other institutions at a national level, however, students are still struggling to address the total cost of attending a CSU, with low-income and BIPOC students graduating with substantially more debt than their counterparts. As this showcases a deep need for equitable support of our most marginalized students, CSSA is eager to help lead the conversation on tackling the true cost of attending college. We urge the CSU to continue addressing the improvement of the State University Grant and invite you all to join us in our ongoing advocacy at the state level to enact true financial aid policy reform.

Lastly, I am proud to announce that our next plenary meeting will be held in person at Cal State Monterey Bay on October 19 & 20. CSSA is thrilled to once again host system-wide student leaders while also diving deeper into important matters, ensuring that our collective actions are guided by our organization’s mission and the spirit of shared governance – as shared governance is a shared commitment to excellence and equity. 

Chair Clark, that concludes my report.

Thank you.

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