Editor’s Note: This article is part of a new series that will focus on the Auxiliary Services budget cuts and its effect on EC.
What is ASB? Who is ASB? And what is the difference between the ASB and the ASO? What do these acronyms even stand for? These are common questions around EC and they aren’t only asked by first semester students.
Sam Nan, a 21-year-old art major who is transferring at the end of the year, said he believed that ASB is a program students join to get discounts on whatever is going on.
“ASB is also for free sporting events,” he said. Nan, however does not know what ASB means or why it exists.
The Auxiliary Services Benefits sticker that is managed by the Auxiliary Services Board (ASB) is an optional sticker that can be purchased by students, faculty, staff and alumni to receive discounts on goods and services, such as theme parks and other entertainment venues.
Money raised by sales of the ASB sticker goes to benefit the arts, athletics, student government, the Union, and clubs, including the Forensics Team, said Justin Bagnall, Associated Student Organization (ASO) president.
“The greatest contributions students could make to student activities is to purchase an ASB sticker for ten dollars,” Bagnall said.
Because of low sales in past years, the ASB and the ASO are currently joining forces to sell more stickers and raise more money for Auxiliary Services in other ways.
“We are going to do a dance-type of event to raise money on the weekend of Dec.16, which is still in the planning phase,” Bagnall said. “ASO is really going to kick it up a notch as far as student activities is concerned.”
For this event, ASO will also partner with the Inter-Club Council (ICC).
“Traditionally, we (ASO) have been more on the policy side of student government and the ICC has been the activities wing, but this semester both houses are going to be making more of a concerted effort for student enrichment,” Bagnall said.
ASO had previously attempted to bring funding into the ASB by creating a $2.50 fee, which would be mandatory for all students.
“It passed the senate on opposition,” Bagnall said, “but it was against the state education code which says that the student association cannot levy a fee to support student activities.”
There are also new incentives to purchase ASB stickers, which includes new discounts and more places where the sticker may be purchased, like movie theaters.
Larry Moreno, ASB project supervisor in charge of marketing and advertisement, said that now students may purchase the ASB sticker at Marsee Auditorium and the Student Activities Center at the photo ID card booth.
“A lot of things that people forget about is that you get into all of the sports events for free at (EC) home games,” Moreno said.
Discounts for theme parks range from around 20-50 percent for many Southern California amusement parks including Disneyland and Magic Mountain.
“We just got Universal Studios on board,” Moreno said.
Nan said that the biggest problem with the current ASB system is that not many students realize very much visibility of how they can benefit from it; a problem that Moreno has been working to combat since he was hired a year and a half ago.
“Not many people are informed because the three semesters that I have been here, I had never heard of ASB,” Nan said.
“You have to go into the Activities Center to find out what it is,” Nan said.
