Student Advocacy Makes Voting Impact

By: Dora Mountain on Jan 23, 2017 in ASI Student Government

Article Revised: Jan 26, 2017 13:35 PM

Student advocacy was in full-force Tuesday, January 17, 2017, at the San Luis Obispo City Council meeting where voting took place for the proposed extension of the Safety Enhancement Zone ordinance in effect during St. Patrick’s Day. The proposal to extend the Safety Enhancement Zone to the first three weeks of March was rejected by the council by a 4–1 vote.

This proposal was a very important issue to students, whose views on additional revisions to the Safety Enhancement Zone were presented to the San Luis Obispo City Council the same evening by ASI Student Government. Members of ASI Student Government presented the student opinion to eliminate noise control from the proposed Safety Enhancement Zone Amendment to the City of San Luis Obispo municipal code, Resolution #17-02.

ASI Board Member, Kevin Scott, was in attendance to represent students at the SLO City Council meeting. Scott states, "I am very proud to see the degree of student participation in municipal affairs in recent times. Tuesday night was a victory for both the students of Cal Poly and the entire community of San Luis Obispo. Multiple perspectives were taken into account, ideas were bounced around, and I believe that City Council was able to absorb a lot of information regarding the approach it should take to achieve a healthy balance of neighborhood wellness between varying resident demographics and opinions."

Chair of the ASI Board of Directors, Riley Nilsen, is proud of the impact student representation made in the SLO City Council’s decision. “Building relationships with the city and connecting students to community is a huge focus for [ASI Board of Directors],” Nilsen explains, “this success is an excellent example of ASI representatives advocating on behalf of the student body!”

ASI Board of Directors, ASI Student Government, and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life feel student voice and involvement in this political process made a significant impact to the SLO City Council’s vote.

Cal Poly Interfraternity Council President, Danny Halprin states, “This accomplishment signifies a turning point in the student-community relationship and shows tremendous promise that the new city leadership will prioritize building relationships over creating ordinances.”

"It was great to see that this new council really cares and listens to the student perspective,” shares ASI President, Jana Colombini, “I believe this council reflects that the students had a huge impact on the election and I am excited to restore the relationship between students and the city!"

Student representatives are positive and looking forward to an increasingly collaborative working relationship with the San Luis Obispo community. ASI Executive Cabinet Representative, Brett Raffish states, "The student community is no longer seen as a passive body in the City of San Luis Obispo. We have displayed just how powerful the student perspective and the student voice are. We are one more step in the right direction in working toward a more cooperative and cohesive San Luis Obispo community." 

Information on the Safety Enhancement Zone and SLO City Council can be found at www.slocity.org. ASI Student Government and ASI Board of Directors encourages students to share their comments and concerns with representatives at studgov@calpoly.edu or by calling 805-756-1291.

ASI Board of Directors

Trending

View all trending articles

Recent

View all recent articles

Categories

View all categories

ASI Student Government

Tags

CalPolyASI Student Government ASI Student Government SLO City Council San Luis Obispo City Council Safety Enhancement Zone BOD ASI Board of Directors Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life student voice advocate vote student advocacy impact

Archive

View all archived articles
ASI Cal Poly

Associated Students, Inc.

Contact

(805) 756-1281
Email ASI

ASI—Business Office
1 Grand Ave.
San Luis Obispo, CA
93407-0440

Location

Julian A. McPhee
University Union
Building 65, Room 212

Office Hours

© 2024 Associated Students, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Terms & Conditions | Adobe Reader | Microsoft Viewers