Dressed in an off-white guayabera shirt and black slacks, Associated Students Inc. President Angel Barajas walked the grounds of the Sacramento State campus with his parents May 2, pointing out the buildings and halls that lie in between the green grass and tall trees.

“Muy bonito,” mother Elvira Barajas said while walking past the grassy walkway near the Library Quad.

He goes on to tell how chickens and hens used to roam around campus and introduces his parents to friends along the way.

For the past six years, the 24-year-old government major has attended Sac State. This is the first time his parents have taken a tour of the whole campus to see where their son has been working hard to make a difference.

“I’m a product of them, and I want them to know what they have helped me accomplish here at Sac State,” Barajas said. “I want them to get to know the people I care about.”

Marcos Sanchez, the director for the College Assistance Migrant Program, also known as CAMP, became friends with his parents while working with Barajas and spoke with them while they took a tour of the CAMP offices.

“Looking at their body language, they were very happy to walk around the campus,” Sanchez said. “Angel was the tour guide and not only was he talking to them as their son, but also as the student body president. He was very proud of having done that.”

Barajas’ parents once worked in the fields of Sutter and Yolo counties, picking tomatoes and prunes to earn around 75 cents per hour. Barajas’ father, Joe, left the fields in the ’70s while his mother worked there from time to time.

“I’m proud of my son,” said Joe Barajas, who is now retired. “I’m thankful for the professors and teachers who helped him.”

Barajas’ mother feels the same way.

“She’s proud of the opportunities I’ve been able to receive,” said Barajas, the youngest of three kids, translating for his mother. “She thanks the professors and counselors who have helped me move forward in the university because everyone here has contributed to my success.”

Both CAMP and the Early Outreach Program reached out to Barajas during his senior year of high school and encouraged him to apply to Sac State.

Barajas points to a framed collage of him and his friends hanging in his office. From the group of 10, he was one of two who went to college after high school.

“I just decided to give Sac State a shot and I decided to give myself a shot to go to a four-year institution,” Barajas said. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Thinking back to his freshman year, Barajas recalled when he told himself he was going to be student body president. Now five years later, that plan of his has come true.

During his 2005-06 presidency, Barajas’ main concern was working on alleviating the parking problem.

“My main priority, and the students’ main priority, is that I want to make sure I get to class on time and that I don’t drive around for 40 minutes looking for a parking spot,” Barajas said. “When our team ran, we promised we’d take care of the parking situation, and we have.”

Barajas wrote legislation to renegotiate a contract between Regional Transit and the university that is slated to expire in June. The 10-year contract, currently being finalized, would continue to provide students with light rail and bus rides as long as they have a valid semester sticker and ID. Students pay a $7 fee for this service.

He has also worked to make Parking Structure III student only. Barajas said students have paid $108 for parking permits, an increase from the $63 it used to be, to help build new parking structures. He wrote legislation requesting for Parking Structure III to be exclusively for students and Gonzalez wrote back in support.

Curtis Grima, who currently serves as the secretary of state affairs, said that the parking issue should have been approached sooner than it was, but still credited Barajas for his leadership.

“He had a board that stayed very united,” Grima said. “He did a great job in keeping them organized. You’re able to complete your goals more successfully by having 14 united voices.”Newly elected ASI President Angela Arriola agreed.

“He really utilized the board’s unity to pass a lot of helpful legislations,” Arriola said. “Although he passed good legislation, he should have highlighted the board a little more.”

Arriola said the rest of ASI didn’t receive much recognition as far as serving the students, but Barajas feels that was out of his control.

“There are some things we can be in control of and some we can’t,” Barajas said. “Our mentality is to serve the students whether we are recognized or not.”

Another one of Barajas’ concerns was to provide more money for outreach and retention programs that are suffering due to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $7 million budget cut.

“(The outreach and retention programs) are going to be severely cut at the state level,” Barajas said. “ASI set aside $65,000 toward external grants that these programs can apply for.”

Barajas worked on increasing student involvement for Destination 2010. Barajas serves as the only student representative on the strategic planning counsel but motioned to approve another student representative on the committee.

The formerly-titled Recreation, Wellness and Events Center has also been a dominant issue toward the end of the spring semester for Barajas.

“I’m just pretty much trying to keep the integrity of the student vote because the students voted for a recreation wellness and events center,” Barajas said.

He also emphasized gender equity and academic accountability. “Our money goes to the enhancement of their ability to make grades.”

During the time of Hurricane Katrina, ASI made a $10,000 donation to different relief organizations in September. Barajas came up with the idea to do a matching grant of $5,500 as a way to get the rest of the university involved. Together, they raised more than $30,000 for the Red Cross.

“Angel had a vision for this term as ASI president from the beginning and his success in office was from that drive/determination to see that vision fulfilled,” Barajas’ Chief of Staff Noemi Beas wrote in an e-mail. “Through that determination, I feel he really left a positive impact and raised the bar for ASI.”

Now that his term as president is nearly over, Barajas plans to take his leadership role to the next level. He has applied for the prestigious Capitol fellowships program and plans on going to law school to be an advocate for social justice. He also wants to be involved in his hometown of Woodland’s city council.

“I’ve always wanted to go back to my community and do something for it because it gave me a chance to open my eyes,” Barajas said. “I just want to give back.”

In regards to all of his aspirations, Barajas says it goes back to the teachings of his parents.

“They gave me the morals and values to be who I am and to work hard,” Barajas said. “Now that I’ve shown them around, I feel like I’ve done as much as I can – like everything I’ve done is complete. Now I’m ready to move on to the next step.”

Aleesa Camagong can be reached at [email protected]

Angel Barajas Year in Quotes

“This is crucial because housing issues are about student access for a diverse campus,” Barajas on student housing fee bike of $478.

“There are also more than 1,700 illegal immigrants fighting for the United States in Iraq. As soon as they die in war, they become U.S. citizens,” Barajas on HR4437.

“The student’s were not informed of the change, which is why the research should be done before it’s put on the ballot,” Barajas on changes to RWEC plan.

“I encourage student issues that face higher education. This PAC will give students more spotlight,” Barajas on CSU student political action committee.

“I absolutely expect the president of the university to answer directly. “The student body needs clarity ?” clear and concise answers from Gonzalez,” Barajas on the resolution to ask for presidential feedback on RWEC changes.

“It’s important to keep the integrity of the vote. They should have already had a timeline, they should have already had the estimates and – some of the $25 million should have been already designated toward building that events center,” Barajas on the RWEC.

“The new design comes at a time when we are trying to reform our physical appearance and some of our operations and will help give us a fresh start with fresh ideas,” Barajas on the new ASI logo by Osaki Design.

“I’m pretty sure the majority of students will be against the policy. What students do in their private lives is not related to their academic lives,” Barajas on new student code, Title V.

“Outreach programs are essential for recruitment and retention of college students of lower socio-economic standing,” Barajas on outreach program cuts in the proposed state budget.

“Right now, public education is becoming a private good ?” that’s what I’m concerned about,” Barajas on President Alexander Gonzalez’s $34,020 boost in pay, bumping his annual salary to $255,024.

“It’s great to cancel the tuition fees, but students should look for the political move of the governor. This is a small victory for students, but it involved a lot of factors,” Barajas on the governor’s 8 percent student fee freeze in the 2006-07 state budget.