Vaccine Update

Vaccine Requirement and Facial Covering Reminders

We recently shared the California State University system and SDSU’s announcement that the COVID-19 vaccine will be required for students, faculty and staff, including auxiliary employees in order to access campus this fall. As outlined by the CSU, this requirement is not contingent on the full U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

All A.S. employees must submit their completed vaccination documentation to HealtheConnect no later than August 16. The upload process takes no more than 10 minutes and is a separate process than filling out the self-attestation vaccination form. If you have a medical or religious exemption, you will need to participate in regular testing.

In addition, earlier this week, SDSU updated its facial covering policies effective now through Sept. 30 based on updated guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health and County of San Diego.

The university’s facial covering policy is as follows:

Facial covering policy for those who are fully vaccinated:

Facial coverings are required in the following settings:

• When in public-facing indoor settings.
• When in non-public-facing indoor settings, to include research spaces, when visitors or students are present.
• When in instructional settings, whether indoors or outdoors.
  • This includes classrooms, instructional labs, spaces being actively used in an instructional capacity, and the University Library.
  • As shared earlier, vaccinated instructional faculty, teaching assistants and interpreters can remove their facial coverings when teaching as long as students are masked in the classroom.

Facial coverings are recommended in the following settings:

• Indoors in non-public settings when gathering for meetings and other functions with others, if no members of the public or students are present.

Facial covering policy for those who are not vaccinated:

• Facial coverings must be worn at all times while indoors.
• Unvaccinated individuals must wear facial coverings outdoors when unable to maintain six feet of distance from others.
• Certain limited exceptions to wearing a facial covering will be granted to unvaccinated individuals, which are outlined in the full policy online.

All A.S. employees should follow this guidance, with the exception of the following A.S. departments:

• Children’s Center - In accordance with current guidance from the California Department of Education (CDE) and Community Care Licensing, the Children’s Center will continue to require facial coverings both indoors and outdoors for staff and for all persons ages 2 years and above while at the Center regardless of vaccination status.
• Viejas Arena - In coordination with Live Nation guidance, Viejas Arena staff will be required to wear facial coverings during Live Nation events at the Viejas Arena and the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre regardless of vaccination status.

For more information on how this updated facial covering policy may affect your specific facility and/or program, please see your Area Director.

Little Free Libraries

You may have seen one. It might be in your neighborhood, just down the street. A fanciful little box, no more than two or three square feet, painted brightly, with a glass door, kind of like a birdhouse — something straight out of Disneyland. But peek inside the glass door and you will find that it is filled with a wonderful variety of books. Fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, a classic, an autobiography, something serious, something fun — all free for the taking.

This is a Little Free Library. The idea is simple. They function on a “take a book, leave a book” honor system — anyone is free to borrow a book, and there’s no requirement to return that exact book at any point. Neighbors are encouraged to share their favorite books with the neighborhood by placing them in the library. Because of this system, the collection changes every day.

Most of these little libraries are part of the Little Free Library program, a non-profit started by two bibliophiles in Wisconsin. It maps registered libraries worldwide and has become wildly popular, including here in San Diego. Visit littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap to locate over 100,000+ Little Free Libraries in 108 countries, including more than 175 in San Diego. The website also provides information on how to build a little free library and register it. For a small fee, you can receive an engraved plaque with the library’s official charter number, making your library a member of a worldwide movement.

25 Questions

Meet the A.S. Executive Officers

1. What is your name, title and major?

2. Ashley Tejada, A.S. President, Graduate Program: Postsecondary Educational Leadership 
   
   

3. “Most people don’t know that I like to…

4. ...wakeboard and rap on rare occasions.” 

5. What is your favorite place or thing to do on SDSU’s campus?

6. Enjoy the second and third floor of the Union because of the great view and abundance of student life. 

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

8. Dino nuggets, blackberries and Peruvian hot sauce. 

9. If you won $5 million what would you do with it?

10. I would immediately put $3 million in a savings account and spend $2 million on traveling with my family and friends.

_________

1. What is your name, title and major?

2. Karina Esteban, Executive Vice President, Marketing with a Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications
   
   

3. “Most people don’t know that I...

4. ...enjoy graphic design and creating content for brands on social media.” 

5. What is your favorite place or thing to do on the SDSU campus?

6. My favorite place on campus is the Student Union. 

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

8. Bacon, avocado and tortillas. You can eat these with almost anything.

9. If you won $5 million what would you do with it?

10. I would pay off my parents’ mortgage and school loans for my sister and I. 

_________

1. What is your name, title, and major?

2. Shawki Moore, Vice President of External Relations, Communications
   
   

3. “Most people don’t know that I like to…

4. ...go on hikes and be in nature as much as possible. My logic is, why not? I live in sunny San Diego.”

5. What is your favorite place or thing to do on the SDSU campus?

6. My favorite thing to do is go by the terrace at Storm Hall with friends and sit and talk or do homework. 

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

8. I always have eggs because it is such a universal breakfast that can go with anything. I also always have juice because some good lemonade is needed with every meal. Lastly, cheese is a must because it goes on almost all of my favorite foods.

9. If you won $5 million, what would you do with it?

10. I would spend $2 million on a home and then invest a lot of money, travel around the world,  give back to my community and save for the future.  

_________

1. What is your name, title and major?

2. Austin Barber, Vice President of Financial Affairs, Business Administration Finance and Political Science and double minoring in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies and Leadership
   
   

3. “Most people don’t know that I like to…

4. ...read. I have a lot of other interests and hobbies that I am more outspoken about, like watching TV and movies, golfing, hiking, surfing, etc., but one that I often don't talk about is reading. Specifically, I enjoy reading genres like business/economics, history, nonfiction and self-help the most. I also love asking people for book suggestions as I feel like you can learn a lot about someone from the books they suggest.”   

5. What is your favorite place or thing to do on the SDSU campus?

6. My favorite place on campus has to be the Aztec Student Union. Although probably a popular answer, it has rightfully earned that popularity. From the start of my freshman orientation to different RSO meetings to my meal plan dinners, the Union has proved to be the host of many of my fondest memories so far at SDSU. One of my favorite things to do on the SDSU campus is watching the basketball team at Viejas. I'm a big sports fan and love college basketball, so to have an arena and talented team on campus means that I try and visit as many games as possible. 

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

8. The three things that I always have in my refrigerator are Que Bueno nacho cheese sauce, carrots and Trader Joe's orange chicken. To start, I love cheese and nachos, so Que Bueno is my absolute go-to when it comes to needing nacho cheese on any meal. It pairs very nicely with tacos, chips, baked potatoes and even burgers on occasion. Additionally, I am not a particularly big fan of fruits and prefer vegetables. As a result, carrots are essential whenever I need a healthy snack or complement to my Trader Joe's frozen meals for dinner. Thirdly, as I already alluded to, I am a big fan of the convenience of Trader Joe's frozen meals. The orange chicken is particularly impressive and a must-have in anyone's freezer for when you might need a quick meal.

9. If you won $5 million what would you do with it?

10. I apologize in advance. This question is quite entertaining being a finance major, so I might have overdone it. To start, I would first reach out to a tax advisor/accountant and make sure that this substantial increase in income is reported correctly and the income taxes for it will be paid. To give better dollar estimates, I will act as if $5 million is the after-tax amount. First, I would split the $5 million into a pool of $2 million for real estate, $2 million for community works and charity and $1 million for personal livelihood and investments. First, I enjoy the housing market and the idea of investing in property, so I would try to maximize purchasing property in areas where the market is rapidly growing. Therefore, I would have a substantial investment in real estate that should be lucrative for years to come and a fallback if I ever need housing. Second, I am a very community-focused individual. I love to serve others in any way I can, so giving back to the community and charities would be a high priority for me. With this large sum of money, I would probably break it up into donations of $100,000. That way, I can disperse the funds to an extensive range of causes and locations. It would allow me to support local as well as national organizations. Third, I would split the final sum in half. The first sum of $500,000 would be for living. My goal would be to take out $50,000 a year to ease financial burdens so this supply could last around 10 years. I would probably keep it in a yearly certificate at my bank for ease of access with still some incentivization not to touch it. The second sum of $500,000 would be professionally invested as I feel it is best to leave it up to the professionals when investing that large of a sum. 

_________

1. What is your name, title and major? 

2. Jennifer Schenkenfelder, Vice President of University Affairs, Cellular and Molecular Biology with a minor in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience as well as Chemistry 
   
   

3. “Most people don’t know that I like to… 

4. ...paint. Although it has been a passion of mine that I have neglected over the past year, I am hoping to explore my creative side more in the near future.”

5. What is your favorite place or thing to do on the SDSU campus?

6. My favorite place on campus is the terrace by Storm Hall. I often find myself there during the academic year doing homework and eating a panini from Olive Oil Cafe.

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

8. Three things that are always in my fridge are ketchup, chicken nuggets and the squeezy pouch apple sauces from Target. Although it may seem like a very juvenile meal, it really brings me back to my childhood memories. 

9. If you won $5 million what would you do with it?

10. If I had $5 million dollars, I would buy my mom a car, pay off all my family and I’s debt and go travel the world. There are so many beautiful cultures that I hope to experience one day.