Campus Update

Amy Inkrott / News Editor / The USD Vista

Associated Students

At the March 14 AS Senate meeting, senators, the executive board, and members of the public sought to inform the USD community. The student government announced that informational sessions for the upcoming AS elections are happening now through April 4 with elections planned for mid-April. Students interested in becoming involved with AS are encouraged to attend. The times and locations of these sessions are posted on the AS Instagram page.

 The MySanDiego Portal will be updated to make it easier for students to use. This update will allow students to add shortcuts for frequently visited pages. A search feature will also be added to provide students with quick access to information such as their grade point average (GPA). 

The AS Budget Committee (ASBC) requested $15,000 from the AS Senate Reserves in order to fund larger club events. The ASBC was given $90,640 at the start of the semester to fund student organizations. Currently, only $3,951 remains. The senate approved this request. 

Student activism

On Tuesday, students from the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition met in front of the Student Life Pavilion (SLP) for their “Hands off Venezuela” march. Students walked from the SLP to the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (KIPJ).  The group was joined by members of the off-campus groups Veterans for Peace and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). As they walked, students passed out copies of Liberation, the newspaper of the PSL. Their chants could be heard across campus as they called for an end to U.S. imperialism. They described U.S. intervention as a coup on the country.  

“Venezuela feeds the poor,” the group chanted. “America makes bombs for war.”

Meanwhile, a group of Venezuelan students stood in between Olin and Camino Hall, offering information while holding up the country’s flag. The students described the ways in which their families and friends are impacted by the current political situation. Sophomore Gabriella Escalona, a student originally from Venezuela, believed that the ANSWER Coalition was spreading misinformation about the country. She explained that President Nicolás Maduro, while elected by 93 percent of the popular vote, was only representing the will of a small portion of the population. 

Crime on campus

At 1 a.m. on March 14, the USD community was alerted to an on-campus crime. A robbery was reported at 11:23 p.m. on March 13 near the Valley Field. The Department of Public Safety explained that “the reporting party stated that an unknown suspect took property from his person.”  Anyone having information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Public Safety at (619) 260-7777.