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The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

ASG funds new scholarships, discusses bus transit schedule

ASG+funds+new+scholarships%2C+discusses+bus+transit+schedule

The approval of an Associated Student Government scholarship committee on Friday, March 3 introduced the opportunity for students to earn additional financial support at City College.

Nate Kajani, the commissioner of academics, presented the scholarship to the government as a means of awarding students who are involved in multiple extracurriculars.

The committee for the scholarship will create the criteria for the award, along with overseeing candidate screenings, establishing how many awards will be given out, and making final decisions on who gets the scholarship.

The scholarship is strictly sponsored by the ASG, and would be separate from other City College scholarships offered to students.

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President Chernor Diallo led the discussion, clarifying some concerns brought up about the qualifications to be an applicant.

“This is a scholarship created by the ASG, so I don’t think anybody in ASG should apply for that,” Diallo said. “It would just be us rewarding ourselves.”

Funding will come directly from the group’s budget. However, the government’s current financial status may impede on further planning for the scholarship.

“I would like [the scholarship] to be somewhat meaningful, at least like maybe $1,000 or something to some students,” Vice President of Operations and Finance Robert Roysner said. “But in our main budget, with our ASG student body trust fund, I don’t think we have the ability to do that.”

The newly ratified scholarship committee will continue to seek out alternatives for funding in order to award students for their commitments.

Amy Collins, the advisor for the ASG, raised awareness for Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) bus commuters at City College, specifically those who attend evening classes.

“The last bus is on campus maybe right at 9, or before 9, and these students have class past that, and so there’s no way for them to get from our campus to the transit center to get on the buses to take them home,” Collins said.

The student government brainstormed ideas such as reaching out directly to MTD in a response to these concerns for City College students. According to the group, the MTD have been low-staffed in the recent years of the pandemic, leading to many issues regarding scheduling.

“The more people that reach out to them, the more they will see how urgent the issue is,” Diallo said.

Aside from this approach, the ASG plans to also coordinate with the students through an online survey with questions targeted towards those who take the bus and attend evening classes.

The government’s recently appointed Isla Vista community representative Cole Gerstle proposed his plans for a movie night in Isla Vista.

“The purpose of a movie night event like this would really be to bring an element of campus to [City College students],” Gerstle said.

Gerstle also stated that he would prefer to hold the event at Sea Lookout Park, and give opportunities for both City College and UCSB students to attend.

Although there are no confirmed details for the event, the ASG approved Gerstle’s proposal for the movie night.

The government will continue further discussions on March 10.

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