What Is A White Elephant?

The typical textbook definition of a "White Elephant" is an item in possession that is too expensive to keep. In other words, it's a potential gift that you may give. Wednesday December 3, 2008 the De Anza Associated Student Body held a event in the lower level of the Hinson Campus Center called "The White Elephant". For asomeone active within the student government, there's very few occasions in which we celebrate of year. Extremely rare occasions such as this provide an opportunity for us to relax and be ourselves so that we can stay focused and professional the rest of the our time here in De Anza as representatives of the students. This will be the final formal gathering of the year for each of us in the senate along with the student trustee and Madam secretary and everyone gave their part in making this day memorable as it was. One week prior to this day, everyone was informed of the Secret Santa, and this week was the day when the celebrations began. With finals around the corner and the year nearing its end, this was our last chance to bond and create more unity as a senate. Two tables were lined up with pies, cakes, desserts, and spaghetti. Now that we ended the quarter on a lighter note, we'll return next year after the break well prepared with revitalized goals.

The De Anza Student Senate snags another one

The DASB Senate would like to congratulate Jose Pun, who was voted in as a full senator during our meeting Wednesday. We look forward to working with Jose as he takes on his new role in service to the De Anza community.

DASB Senate meeting announcement: Wednesday, Oct. 3, 4:30 p.m. in the Student Council Chambers

The De Anza College Associated Student Body Senate will have our first meeting of the fall quarter on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the Student Council Chambers (on the lower level of the newly opened Hinson Campus Center). Please note that this is a different location than where DASB Senate meeting were held during the summer quarter.

Do you have something you want to say to the senate? Have a concern about De Anza? Do you want to come and just say hi? Members of the public are welcomed to address the senate during the “Public Comments” portion near the beginning of the meeting. We want to hear from you!


Download the Oct. 3, 2007 DASB Meeting Agenda.

Get some money from your senators

The De Anza Associated Student Body Senate is just itching to give cash to some worthy students. Two scholarships that are available are:
- International Student Scholarship
Amount: $1,500
Number of recipients: 6
- Book Grant
Amount: $200
Number of recipients: 8

The purpose of these scholarships is to support students who have demonstrated excellence and/or community involvement while attending De Anza. Recipients
are selected by members of the DASB Senate.

The deadline to apply for these scholarships
is Oct. 26. The awards will be given out on Nov. 28.

To get an application, visit http://www.deanza.fhda.edu/financialaid/scholarship.html.



The article above appears in the August 7 issue of the De Anza Associated Student Body Newsletter.

Senate approves environmental committee

The De Anza Associated Student Body Senate approved the creation of a new DASB ad-hoc Environmental Committee during their August 1 meeting. The committee was proposed by DASB Senator Adwin Ho.

“When we look at the campus right now, our students do not have enough sense of environmental protection,” Ho said in his written proposal to the senate.
According to the proposal, the goals of the DASB Ad-Hoc Environmental
Committee will be:
1) To raise the sense of environmental
protection of students and staff.
2) To educate students of the importance
of environmental protection.
3) To improve De Anza’s living and studying environment.
4) To coordinate with the Sustainability
Management Plan proposed by the Campus Environmental
Advisory group.

The committee also plans to encourage campus recycling, and pursue bringing healthy and organic food to De Anza.



The article above appears in the August 7 issue of the De Anza Associated Student Body Newsletter.

DASB V.P.s give ‘holla’ to De Anza

“Hello fellow De Anza students! I would like to introduce myself as your new VP of Diversity and Events. My name is Cynthia Toscano, and I am entering my third year here at De Anza. This year I will be fortunate enough to represent YOU in the De Anza Student Senate. Not only will I be able to express your concerns during the Senate meetings, but I will also do my best, along with my committee, to make sure that next year we will have events that will represent every student on campus. I would also like to encourage you to take the time to meet your senators. I look forward to meeting you next year and hearing your concerns. Best of luck for the upcoming year!”
- Cynthia Toscano, Vice President of Diversity and Events
DASBDiversityEvents@deanza.edu


“Last year DASB helped me so much, especially in DASB scholarship and student discount. This year, I want to help back to the students by giving them scholarships and discounts. Services are available to all DASB members,
so take an advantage to enjoy the privilege.”
- Yujin Yoshimura, Vice President of Student Services
DASBSS@deanza.edu


“The marketing committee was created to create a link of communication between the students and DASB. We are here to make sure people are aware of the events we put on and keep them informed about what we do. If I had any advice to give to students regarding school activities, it would be to keep your eyes open for all of the great events that DASB and other De Anza organizations put on. Every year a lot of money is spent on making your time here more enjoyable, so it is in your best interest to participate and take advantage of it. Just a plug... Make sure you keep an eye out for Meet Your Senate Day coming in October. It is a chance to meet the people who make some of the important decisions about school policy and the distribution
of the $1 million dollar DASB budget.”
- Calvin Chu, Vice President of Marketing & Communications
DASBMarketing@deanza.edu


“The Administration Committee is known to be one of the most boring committees
in the DASB senate. Senators often steer away from joining this committee because we deal with fairly dry tasks such as bylaw revisions, xode revisions, etc. Although we may not deal with exciting projects like putting on events or deal with issues directly related to students, the Administration Committee is a very important aspect of senate. We work with the guidelines DASB senate must follow; thus. The rules we set mark the boundaries the senate as a whole works with. My goal as the newly appointed VP of Administration is to make this committee lively, fun and interactive. Every one of my committee members will have the opportunity to take on a lead role in any one project we will be working on this year.”
- Rishvika Kumar, Vice President of Administration
DASBAdministration@deanza.edu


Meet more of the DASB VPs in the next DASB Newsletter.



The article above appears in the August 7 issue of the De Anza Associated Student Body Newsletter.

Senate pays for ‘Insider’ info: Student magazine designed to be a ‘fun and informative’ guide to De Anza

Even though De Anza College’s La Voz newspaper is on vacation for the summer, the journalism department isn’t taking the summer off.

De Anza’s Insider Magazine, a student-run and produced guide to the campus, is scheduled to debut on campus newsstands on Sept. 24.

The magazine, which has been in production over the summer quarter, promises to be an interesting, fun and informative guide to all things De Anza.

Insider will be compiled by the Journalism 61 class, taught by journalism and mass communications instructor Beth Grobman.

During the July 18 De Anza Associated Student Body meeting, the senate voted unanimously to give Insider $9,500 to cover the costs of printing 3,000 copies of the magazine. Insider will be available free to students on news racks throughout the campus.

De Anza student Reza Kazempour, who is at the helm of Insider as its publisher, said the main goal of the magazine will be to entertain and inform students.
"I wish I had something like Insider when I started De Anza," Kazempour said.

Last year’s Insider included articles ranging from “20 reasons we heart De Anza” to a feature entitled, “Yup, you’re a stalker,” an article explaining the dos and don’ts of flirting with women at school.

The 72-page magazine also featured articles about subjects such as how to take advantage of financial aid, the benefits of getting a DASB card and local bar reviews.

Kazempour said he’s glad about getting financial support from the DASB Senate.

“As I said in the [senate] meeting, this years’ Insider is a perfect example of how two student groups [the DASB Senate and the Insider magazine staff] can achieve something monumental for the college as a whole.”

Berkeley Kopp, Insider’s Senior Content Editor, sees many potential
benefits of the magazine.

“It promotes the school. It promotes the teachers and it promotes surrounding businesses. It serves as a resource to students.”

Although the magazine staff strives to keep the tone of Insider positive and light, this year’s edition plans to feature a serious story about how to party safely and avoid sexual assault and other possible dangers of partying.

For more information about the Insider magazine, contact Reza Kazempour at lavoz_ads@yahoo.com or visit the staff at L-41.



The article above appears in the August 7 issue of the De Anza Associated Student Body Newsletter.