On February 4, 2025 Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) held their first board meeting of the spring semester inside the Stanislaus State University Student Center. A wide range of topics were discussed, but for the first time in a while the open forum was used by a student.
The open forum is a chance for any student at the beginning of each ASI board meeting to come and voice their concerns to the board.
Will Appleby (Senior, Communications) took the opportunity on Tuesday to voice his concerns about the space for clubs and organizations on campus in the quad. He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity as well as the United Sorority and Fraternity Council.
Appleby described the problem as, “It’s no small secret that we have a lottery system in place. There’s a limited number of spots on campus, and there’s a growing, ever growing number of organizations that want to represent themselves on Wednesday or drop the lead with some kind of tabling. Unfortunately, this means that we have an increased number of organizations coming on with no increase of spaces.”
Appleby expressed that he came to the board meeting to work his way up the chain of command and to find out who he could talk to about the changes that would provide more representation in the quad.
Appleby’s concern was not on the board meeting agenda but one of the board members brought it up during their individual report, so it was opened up for discussion by the board.
Board member Sierrah Stepps, ASI Director for College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences brought it up because clubs in her college didn’t get into the lottery and they want more information on how it worked and how decisions were made.
Cesar Rumayor, the ASI & SC Executive Director, helped to provide some context on the issue by explaining that it was a Student Leadership, Engagement & Belonging (SLEB) policy that is also somewhat overseen by the University Student Center.
Rumayor brought up concerns that he felt would be asked of them if they tried to increase the number of spots. Such as how many student orgs use the space they have, how many can you reasonably fit in the quad while leaving space for others, and what do other campuses look like compared to Stanluais State in the number of spaces.
Currently, there are 17 spots with 76 recognized student organizations according to Warrior Life.
Michael Angel, ASI Director for Student Organizations, was vocal about his support of having more spots for student organizations while respecting the other use of the quad.
Angel commented on the current number of spots, “It’s just not accessible anymore. There are more organizations that want to be more involved on campus.”
Rumayor continued to push back, with more questions about the current use of the space already available. He suggested coming prepared with numbers such as, who is using their space, when it is being used, how many orgs want a space, to strengthen a proposal.
Rumayor looked at a photo of the quad and stated he could possibly see 5 to 6 more spaces for booths in the quad.
Angel stated, “Give me a list of what specifically you need and I’ll get it.”
When referring to numbers needed for a proposal, Angel signaled a desire and drive to follow through on getting more space in the quad for student organizations.
The discussion ended with Angel, Rumayor, and Appleby planning a meeting to discuss options and the next steps in creating a proposal to get more spots.
