Members of the Associated Student Organization (ASO) discussed the Hands Across California project and a new charge for the I-TAP card in their weekly meeting held Monday in the Great Hall.
The Foundation for California Community Colleges will bring together an expected 1 million people including students, celebrities, and selected officials April 17 at 2 p.m. to join hands in a line up and down California to help raise money that will directly benefit the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment (CCCSE), a fund that provides annual scholarships to thousands of students every year, according to foundationccc.org.
“Hands Across California its a big one-time event which gives us community colleges a chance to really fundraise and get money for scholarships,” said ASO Senator Jonathan Fackler. “The Bernard Osher Foundation will match whatever money we raise, so let’s say we raise as a school $10,000, he will match it and give another $10,000 so that for years to come we would be getting $20,000 just for scholarships.”
Members of the ASO will split into three teams who will compete against each other. Each of these teams will be responsible for putting together a fundraising event with all the profits going to the afford mentioned scholarship fund to be matched and used solely to give Pierce College students more scholarship opportunities.
Some of the celebrities and public figures who will be participating are comedian George Lopez, NCIS actor Mark Harmon, record producer Quincy Jones, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, L.A. City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa among others.
They also addressed an issue regarding the I-TAP Metro cards; where starting next semester, even the students who do not use the Metro might have to pay a possible $25-$50 charge in addition to the already debated unit increases if the referendum is passed.
According to ASO President Daniel Axelrod, the bond that funded and gave Pierce the opportunity to give these I-TAP cards to students who use the Metro for only $15 it’s done.
“So for next year the two options are to get rid of the I-TAP card completely or have a referendum to make all students pay anywhere between $25 and $50, and whether you take the Metro or not you’re forced to buy the card, so it’s a bad situation,” said Axelrod.
