Kassing Conference

(04/08/2008)

3:05

Kassing welcomes the reporters and asks what's going on.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:05

3:07

Kassing says a person on the appropriation comittee for the department of agriculture left him with the impression that the conversation between the FDA and the state legislature will continue regarding the blood donation policies.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:07

3:07

Kassing says he will not be around for the Olympic athlete registation at SJSU this summer.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:07

3:08

Kassing says SJSU is working closely with the U.S. Olympic Committee to make sure the registration is safe,

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:08

3:10

Kassing says he thinks the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing highlights China's human rights issues and that is good.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:10

3:13

Pat Lopes-Harris says the report concerning the aviation department is confidential.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:13

3:14

Kassing says there has been criticism by the aviation students of the professors and teachers of the aviation department. He says the department is currently recruiting.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:14

3:14

Kassing says he has just recently learned about the legal action against the aviation department.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:14

3:15

Pat Lopes-Harris says they will sit down with the CSU legal committee to discuss the action that was filed.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:15

3:16

Kassing says the was appointed SJSU president after the previous president quit because of health problems.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:16

3:18

He says he was appointed as "acting president," and then was appointed "interim president."

His appointment enabled the university to conduct a nation-wide search for another president.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:18

3:19

He says the current candidates for president should know what kind of place SJSU is, or figure it out quickly.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:19

3:20

Kassin doesn't know specifically what affected the increase in prices of student housing, but the maintenance needed to build a reserve of funds, which could have influenced the price increase.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:20

3:21

Kassing says the King Library was built with general obligation bonds by taxpayers, but campus housing and parking facilities is only supported by student fees.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:21

3:22

Kassing says Campus Village is very unique because it's multiple stories and is a complex housing system.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:22

3:22

Kassing says he will go to the International House pancake breakfast.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:22

3:23

Kassing says SJSU has more international students than most other state universities because of the location and the curriculum.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:23

3:24

Kassing says he think international students and the culture they bring to the universities is very important.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:24

3:24

Kassing says to students looking to travel abroad: "If you can pull it off, I would do it in a second."

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:24

3:25

Kassing says Campus Village was built through revenue bonds.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:25

3:27

Kassing says this means the CSU goes into the bond market and proposes projects to investors, providing insurance to the investors that the project will be maintained and that the CSU will pay them back with interest.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:27

3:28

Regarding the emergency response system in campus village, Kassing says the people who live in Campus Village will be paying for this system.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:28

3:30

Kassing says the five fountains on campus add to the look of the campus.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:30

3:34

Kassing says the money spent on fountatin maintenance is reasonable because there are numerous construction projects on campus which may interfere with the fountain lines or underground electrical and piping systems.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:34

3:36

Kassing says that fountains are in a class of features on the university campus that are older structures, and Tony Valenzuela, the vice president of facilities, would know what kind of maintenance they require.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:36

3:37

Kassing acknowledges that some of the fountains have been turned off during some graduation ceremonies.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:37

3:38

Regarding the governor's proposed budget cuts, Kassing says they will affect the campus, but doesn't know eactly what that affect will be.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:38

3:39

Kassing says there are about 10,000 students in the CSU system that the system does not fund. SJSU has about 1,400 to 1,500 students currently who are not funded for by the state.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:39

3:39

Kassing says each student is funded about $8,500 per student, but student housing and parking is not funded by the state.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:39

3:42

Kassing says parking fees will not go up if the governor's proposed budget cuts pass and the university has to turn away 10,000 students. Student housing fees went up independently of that.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:42

3:44

Regarding the Associate Student elections and the uncontested positions, Kassing says that's unfortunate. He says he values A.S. because it is an important part of the administration.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:44

3:45

Kassing says there are different notification processes to alert students if an emergency situation occurs on campus. He says Rose Lee knows more about this.

He says he thinks there is a lot of attention on this subject, but that it's complex because "it's a new area of concern."

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:45

3:48

Kassing says he is not in favor of the plan to tax people who make more than $1 million to fund the education system because he does not think it will work.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:48

3:48

Kassing has ended the conference.

Tuesday April 8, 2008 3:48

3:49

Thank you for reading today.

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