The CSU Board of Governors were presented with several updates in regards ongoing initiatives at their meeting last week, including the game day plan for the on-campus stadium, a collaborative study of U+2 and resources for veteran students.

Daniela Pineda Soracá, the Associated Students of Colorado State University president, spoke to the board about several initiatives that the organization has been working towards this semester.

The student body president said that many of these initiatives are still in phase of change and that ASCSU is seeking more feedback and input to better advocate for students.

“(This) is a time to be heard,” Pineda Soracá said. “It is a call to action if you have a strong opinion.”

Collaborative study in the works for U+2

An impact study of the housing occupancy ordinance, commonly known as U+2, is slated for consideration by city council this week.

City council, the Fort Collins Board of Realtors, ASCSU and CSU administration will co-fund the study, if city council approves it.

(We are) hoping that this will really give us the answers that we need,” Pineda Soracá said. “(We want) everyone coming to the table. … (We want to) get that information to hopefully drive city council to make a decision that is more favorable than the current ordinance for all the parties involved.

Exemption from re-park program made for north campus

The re-park program, which will require students on campus to move their cars on game day in order to allow enough parking for those attending the game, has recently been changed to exempt the north side of campus.

While ASCSU initially tried to block the program entirely, they came to a compromise with the game day committee to exempt residence halls on the north side of campus from the program. Residents in Parmelee, Corbett, Allison, Durrell and Westfall will not be required to move their vehicles on game day.

“We hope that (exempting the north side from re-park) eliminates the needs for students to have to go to the south lot, which is the furthest lot from campus,” Pineda Soracá said. “We’re working to ensure that the shuttles runs during the appropriate hours … And, we are also working with Safewalk to expand resources to meet the needs of students.”

Now, ASCSU is pushing to allow tailgating on the north side of campus, since tailgating will be allowed in the lots that are part of the re-park program.

While we understand that there are policies in the residence halls, if they are allowing donors and season pass holders to tailgate in lots on the other side of campus, there’s no reason why a student (of age should not be allowed to tailgate),” Pineda Soracá said. “They should be equally as able to (tailgate on the north side of campus), since they’re not in the residence hall, they’re in the parking lot.”

However, Pineda Soracá said she believes this initiative may be difficult to incorporate into the game day plan.

“At the end of the day, that’s really a decision that housing and dinging is heavily going to weigh in on,” Pineda Soracá said. “(The enforcement) is not hard to do. I think it is just a change. People are scared of it and it might cause a liability.”

The organization also attempted to persuade the game day committee to give some benefit to students who would have to move their vehicles off of campus, such as a discounted parking pass, but this suggestion has not been included in the plan at this time.

The plan for the on campus stadium game day experience is almost complete, according to Pineda Soracá, and she told the board that the final details will most likely be ironed out by the February board meeting.

Hughes stadium future uncertain

The board briefly spoke about the future for Hughes stadium, but Pineda Soracá said there are not many details at this time.

Currently, the University is conducting environmental impact studies, zoning the space and considering how the shared governance will work with the city, Pineda Soracá said.

The space is currently under county jurisdiction, so the city, county and University are working to see if that jurisdiction will change in the future.

“(They are trying) to see what options there are, and first of all, what condition it is in in the first place,” Pineda Soracá said.

An appraisal of the property is underway, but Pineda Soracá said more information will be released at the next board meeting in February.

Board emphasizes resources for veteran students

Pineda Soracá said the board talked about veteran students and the resources they may need to be successful at CSU.

“The board really just emphasized the need to continue to support these students outside of the classroom,” Pineda Soracá said. “What I really got out of that is that the next step is to work with the members in our legislative body that represent those students to look at their needs and reevaluate from the student end.”

CSU has several recognitions as one of the best universities for veterans to attend, including the 2017 best for vets award from the Military Times and the 2016 Engineering Excellence for Veterans Award from the American Society for Engineering Education.

There are about 1,550 student-veterans and military education benefit users at CSU, according to a veterans resources page on CSU’s website. 

Presidents of three campuses aim to collaborate 

The three student body presidents for the CSU system will aim to work more closely together to collaborate in the upcoming semester, Pineda Soracá said.

CSU Pueblo, Global and Fort Collins share the same resources in state funding, but Pineda Soracá said she wants to integrate more communication between the student bodies of all three campuses.

Pineda Soracá said that her goal is to increase accessibility and mobility of students to be able to take full advantage of the system’s resources. For example, if a student has to withdraw from the CSU Fort Collins campus, she wants ensure that credits will transfer fully to the online school so that they can finish their degree.

“It opens up a lot of avenues to share those system resources,” Pineda Soracá said. “Sometimes we have to prioritize one campus’ needs, but to have more unity and cohesiveness would benefit the CSU system.”

Collegian News Editor Erin Douglas can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @erinmdouglas23.