Beach Weekly S12E5: New FAFSA form, finalized CFA agreement & more

Blossom and Bloom will be hosted by Beach Pride Events on Monday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Ballroom C of the University Student Union. Students can celebrate spring by making floral crafts such as affirmation cards, candle jars and more. Free snacks and refreshments will be provided while supplies last. An event called Career Insights for Black Students will be presented by the Career Development Center where guest panelists will speak about their career journeys. It will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from noon to 1 p.m. Register for the online event on the Events and Orgs app. On Wednesday, Feb. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. is Zen Yoga at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. Participants are welcome to bring their own yoga mat or use a mat provided by the class. The class is free for students, $10 for garden members or CSULB staff and $15 for non-members. Attendees are required to make a reservation before each class. Linsey Towles, a news assistant with the Daily Forty-Niner, joined Beach Weekly to discuss the new FAFSA form, its delays and resources to help users better understand this year’s changes. A group called Students Against Tuition Hikes will protest the California State University system’s tuition increase outside of Brotman Hall on Feb. 28 at 12:15 p.m. CSU tuition is set to increase by 6% each year for five years, starting in the 2024-25 school year as an effort to close a $1.5 billion budget gap in CSU funding. Executive Vice Chancellor & Chief Financial Officer Steve Relyea says that students whose tuition is paid for by non-loan financial aid will not be affected by the tuition hike and that the increase will boost available financial aid by $49 million. Last Monday, 76% of California Faculty Association members voted to approve the tentative agreement reached by the CFA and CSU system. Once the CSU Board of Trustees approves the agreement, its terms and conditions will take effect. The next trustee meeting will be held from March 24 through March 27 but CFA members have urged trustees to arrange a meeting sooner to implement the agreement’s conditions as soon as possible. Last Wednesday, about 153,000 American student loan borrowers received an email saying their debt was canceled. Debts were erased by the U.S. Department of Education if the borrower has borrowed $12,000 or less, has been paying off loans for at least 10 years and is enrolled in the Biden-Harris administration's repayment plan called SAVE. For every additional $1,000 initially borrowed, the borrower will receive relief after an additional year of payments. The United Nations Security Council voted last Tuesday for or against an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Of the 15 Security Council members, 13 voted in favor of a ceasefire while the United States voted against and the United Kingdom abstained. The United States claimed that a ceasefire would interfere with the release of hostages taken from Israel. Host: Lei MadrigalGuest: Linsey TowlesEditor: Julia GoldmanProducers: El Nicklin, Aidan SwanepoelLike, comment, and follow us on your favorite platform for more content! Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-49er-podcasts/id1488484518?uo=4 Google Podcastshttps://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kMzEwMjEwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/4HJaqJep02kHeIQy8op1n1 ⁠Overcasthttps://overcast.fm/itunes1488484518/daily-49er-podcasts