Advices

HI ALEX!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING TECH DIRECTOR!!! I’m excited to see what you’re going to cook up this year! CSA is quite a bit of work, but it’s a lot of fun!

There are two main parts of your job: Webmaster and Tech master.

Note that I changed the name back to Tech Director cause I think it sounds cooler. Basically it went from Webmaster + Tech Director -> Tech Master -> Tech Director

Webmaster

This part of your role is completely virtual and done on your own time. You get as much out of it as you put in.

Website

calpolycsa.org as you know is our CSA website. You have total control over it and can change up the design to however you see fit. I'd recommend just adding new features to it and updating the information to build on what we already have. Also I think it’s a good idea to keep the website on SquareSpace because of the easy learning curve for future Tech Directors. Quite frankly I don’t think anyone actually looks at the website…

Design: 

Make sure that the design is similar to the general media team’s design this year since CSA is a brand. This was formatting that the website has been following for the past 3 years.

Colors: 

Red: #8F1600

Gold: #D2843B

Beige: #F8F4EE

Fonts: 

Heading: Work Sans

Paragraph: Lato

CSA Logo and panda

Hosting

Linktree

Right now, the website is built by hosted on Squarespace because it's easiest and relatively cheap. It's way more secure than a website from scratch because Squarespace has the money to stay secure. Everything from servers to the sites code is protected very well. Website traffic encrypted by SSL which prevents hackers from stealing info. It also has a very small learning curve and is easily updatable. Note that I changed our plan this year to the cheaper one, not entirely sure if that changed anything but it hasn’t seemed to so far.

Some things to consider/steps to take:

  • If you want to make any big changes to the website, do it over the summer before Fall quarter starts! (things like updating the photos, info, changing the format if you want, or adding any big features)

  • Make sure to keep all information up to date. You’re mainly going to be updating the main page and the events pages as they go on.

  • Make sure the mobile version of the website isn't ugly

    • Sometimes the formatting becomes super wonky on the phone, so make sure to check that as well 

  • Make sure the hosting is updated! Please switch the payment to your credit card (don't worry, you'll get it reimbursed when you submit a check request form, which you'll learn about if you don't know what that is)

    • You should kindly remind the treasurer to reimburse you if they don't do it within a week

    • You can also add a fake credit card so that SquareSpace doesn’t steal your info. You can do this if you have a credit card with Citi Bank or using the Privacy App

  • Be sure to always communicate and ask people for the information you need. One thing that really annoyed me this year was that people are very unresponsive. So if you already sent a person 2-3 emails, I would start escalating to the VP or president to drag the information out of them (only had to do this once).

    • fam heads for fam descriptions

    • board for board profiles

    • performing groups

  • https://archive.org/web/

    • Use this to see past versions of website!

  • Make sure to stay organized with the photos!

    • The events page is basically a year behind which is normal. Your first task will basically be scanning Flickr to get new photos for the Fall/Winter quarter events.

Content:

Most of the content for events and main page can be found somewhere in the E Plans in the CSA drive. I recommend taking those descriptions and adding your own flare to it. Also for the main page, CSA’s Instagram usually posts first, then you can “steal” their description (I’m a lazy Tech Director). I ended up doing this because we were behind on graphics meaning that I wouldn’t get notified about the new event graphics and they would be directly shipped to Instagram. Quite frankly no one really checks the website and we only have it for professional reasons.

Linktree has shifted over to Tech Director from Historian. People general stop messaging you about what links need to be on there after Spring Quarter, so you need to be on your toes. You could always just ask everyone to send you their links after each board meeting, but that gets tiresome since you would have to start hunting heads.

  • Put any links that were shown/qr codes during the gen meetings on the linktree

  • Update the most recent meeting slides

  • Put any forms/other important info there!

Discord

This is a relatively new server since the old one got deprecated (3 years ago the CSA Discord account got locked so we had to make a new CSA account and therefore server). Something I wish I did was make the Discord server more active. I did have one attempt called “Bounty” but that fell through. Your job is as follows:

  • Make announcements for important events and gen meetings!

  • Add more discord bots to make people more active on server (if needed)

  • Encourage board to use it and promote it

  • Encourage conversation on the server if you can

I think CSA doesn’t generally like to use Discord since we are more Instagram heavy, but I think it would be cool if we had some sort of online community.

Tech Director

For this part of your role, you're in charge of tech for all events and meetings.

IMPORTANT: if your computer doesn't have an HDMI port, get an HDMI adapter! Almost all the rooms we use have an HDMI cable to connect to the projectors.

Notes for Rooms

  • Aliso Conference Room

    • Speaker system sometimes doesn’t work (there is only a speaker for the projector closer to the side of the bathrooms). Check with Aliso front desk the day before events. Display works. This is the only room where you need the VGA to HDMI cable (we have a CSA one I will give you).

  • Baker Rooms

    • Speaker system is good. No mirrored display of projector so it can be hard to see where your mouse is.

  • Phillips Hall

    • Good speaker system.  Two projector screens. Has HDMI and another screen that mirrors extended (very nice).

  • The Silo

    • Good speaker system. One projector screen. Has HDMI and another screen that mirrors extended.

  • Chumash Auditorium

    • You will need to show up at least 30 minutes early if you are still having meetings in Chumash. This is an ASI controlled room meaning that you will need to be working with ASI. There are two ASI people, one general ASI person and the Audio/Visual person. The general ASI person will have a walkie talkie that will be given to the President, they will also help you get a table to set your laptop on. The Audio/Visual person will help you connect your laptop to the screen. On stage on the right side (when facing the back screen), there are cables. There is an HDMI cable and an audio jack cable connected to a green box adapter. Use both to plug into your laptop. The Audio/Visual person should also give you two microphones. Make sure you ask to use the front screen to hide the stage. In addition, the Audio/Visual person is basically a 50/50. I’ve worked with some really good people who know exactly what they’re doing, and also some people who have no idea what they’re doing. The main things they need to do is connect the audio and focus the projector. I recommend being early because of this. One time we were extremely late to the meeting because the Audio/Visual person didn’t know how to focus the projector. This is also something that is completely out of your hands and I would make sure board members understand that so you don’t get too many complaints.

  • General

    • If the audio doesn’t work but is plugged in, check laptop volume and room speaker volume

    • There is usually some sort of tablet device plugged into the wall that you can mess around with to get audio/visual working

    • The cables are usually by the front desk

    • Keep your laptop charger on you

    • If you have an iPad, use that during gen meetings to see what the next slide is

    • Make sure to have the right adapters

      • Generally, most rooms only use HDMI

      • Some rooms use VGA, but we have an adapter

      • You may also want to get a USBC adapter incase other board members who don’t have HDMI want to plug their laptop in

General Meetings

Pushing buttons for each meeting is simple, but here are my tips:

  • If you have 2 screens, use Google slides presenter view

    • But make sure you reload it (has to open again) every time someone makes an edit they want presented

      • Trust me this happens a lot when board members need to change their slides last minute

  • When there are videos or external links you need to present during a meeting, I suggest opening them up in advance on another window so you don't struggle with it during the meeting

    • This only really happens with smaller videos/TikToks, larger videos you can just press space to start the video.

    • If you have a mac,

      • CMD+Shft+f for full screen.

      • Ctrl+CMD+f also for full screen

      • CMD+Shft+r for reload

      • CMD+numbers to switch tabs

    • If you don't have a mac, I'd recommend learning the equivalent keyboard shortcuts if you don't already know them, it helps a lot while presenting so you don't look silly looking for buttons with the cursor

  • I’d HIGHLY suggest extending your device to the HDMI because this allows you to be able to access your laptop if you ever need it (spotify, any other reason). In rooms where there isn’t another display that mirrors extended, I use my iPad as a second display. This allows for you to see where your mouse is.

  • Always do a final run through of the slides before presenting to general members

  • Try to read other board members and get a feel when they want to change slides, you could also ask them to just give you a heads up during the gen meeting itself

  • When using Spotify, if you start it on your computer, you can use the app on your phone to pause/start the music without ever needing to swap screens.

Events

At events, you are the person that makes sure that we have all the required tech and that it is working, and to fix it if it fails. Always make sure to bring your laptop even if you don't think you need it (someone else might) and have the correct adapters (usually HDMI, only VGA for aliso). Show up early for events so you can get everything set up!

  • If tech fails, don't panic! Sometimes there's nothing you can do, but just communicate with your other board members so you can all work together to find a solution 

  • We have  CSA speaker too that the president will usually bring from inventory, but I recommend always bringing a backup portable speaker if you have one, since music is always nice.

  • Get Spotify premium if you don’t have it already

  • Make a Spotify playlist and share it with your other board members

    • I have been banned from playing that playlist tho since my president said it’s “too sad” which is why I’ve been playing so much 2000’s music. I’ve also been banned from playing a number of songs/genres.

CSA Playlist 2024-2025: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2yTXphdfukK2c27gfQVYTu?si=ef1c0d47387749db
My Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2NtpkYl86GWlyGfdgYdr0K?si=5be27ac07f06486a

Major Events

Senior Banquet:

Basically TBanq but you have a slide show on the screen.

Tbanq: 

This is honestly a really chill event for you because it's mostly planned by exec. You're responsible for playing music and the presentation

  • We had it in Chumash last year

  • Make sure you have an HDMI port or adapter

  • ASI is there to help you, they'll probably give you a walkie talkie to communicate with them about when you want the projector on/off and the music on/off

  • Make sure to ask board/exec what they want presented and have it prepared for the day of

  • make a playlist !

CNYB:

This is definitely one of the biggest events for tech! You're in charge of lighting, audio, mics and performances. It depends a lot on the venue, but regardless you'll be working closely with ASI and their tech team, and they're super nice. Just make sure to communicate clearly what you want with them so that everything runs smoothly (especially the performances).

  • Communication with all of the performers is very very important. Make sure you understand everyone’s needs EARLY and be strict with them about showing up on time and giving you the info you need

  • Would highly suggest making a group chat with you and all of the performers. SET deadlines for performers to get their stuff together.

  • If possible, see if you can do tech rehearsals some day before, but if not then it should be ok. you can do tech rehearsals the day of (to make sure lighting and music and smooth and how the performing group wants it)

  • Definitely make sure to check out the venue first before tech rehearsals to figure out where everyone will be positioned.

  • Communicate through walkie talkies! Have a detailed cue sheet for ASI that they can follow

  • Venue

    • If it's in the MAC, most dance groups will probably perform on the floor bc the stage is too small. Make sure to note that there are no lights for the floor, since they are fixed to the stage. There are only lights (with colors) for the side walls

    • If it's in Chumash, they will perform on the stage (with tech!)

      • There are curtains, but nothing fits in front of the curtains

    • Both have a projector screen

  • Tech Committee

    • As you already know, for CNYB, you will be in charge of a tech committee. Hopefully you will have someone else to work with but you will be the main person in charge.

      • Sylvia, the cultural ambassador, was my point of contact and I worked with her to figure out the requirements for performers.

      • Tech committee and what they did was entirely up to me, though.

    • Set a mock plan for the day of and expect it to change. As the day approaches, set a very detailed cue sheet plan for your team to follow very closely and hold meetings so they know what's going on

    • I had tech committee split up into 3 parts. One group to handle the setup and cleanup, one group to handle notifying performers, and one to handle all other tasks.

    • I highly recommend pushing for some sort of screen process for only tech committee. I got some pretty useless members that didn’t know what was going on day of/were just generally incompetent (sorry). Also you really only need 2-3 members.

  • ASI

    • ASI is notoriously difficult to work with. I would start notifying them as soon as you are able to. Also you need to work really closely with the A/V people and be on your toes. Throughout the event they constantly swap out A/V people and each one of them has a slightly different style of doing things which can throw off the rhythm of the entire show.

    • We usually choose Tier 2 lighting for CNYB, and this allows us 5 different light swaps (dimming does not count).

    • Set up a meeting with ASI to talk about lighting and bring a cultural ambassador with you.

  • Performers

    • You are in charge of emailing and managing the performers.

    • Understand what the cultural ambassadors want specifically from them.

      • Time, schedule, lighting, etc.

      • You will have quite a bit of freedom with this as cultural ambassadors are busy with other stuff.

    • Make sure that you get all of the information out of them as quickly as possible and have a clear line of communication with them.

      • Even if you need to ask for the same information twice, that’s completely fine as long as you get the information.

General Board Advice

I think the Tech Director role is the easiest role on board. The biggest part of it is just being a general board member. You'll probably have a lot more time than you think!

General:

  • Everything you do at events, meetings, or in general reflects onto CSA

  • You're required to attend every board meeting, gen meeting, and event

    • If you have a time conflict, let your board know in advance (availability channel)

  • Be on time! Respect other people's time waiting for you. Each board role is crucial for every event

  • Be kind and friendly to everyone. I know you may have certain friends or people you feel comfortable talking to in the club, but as a board member, it's important to be sociable and help everyone feel included. Make small talk with new members, keep your energy up, even if you're not feeling it

  • Lend a helping hand to fellow board members if you have the capacity to! They'll always appreciate it, and it shows that you care, especially since Tech Director is one of the roles with arguably less work

  • Bond with board members! These are the people you're going to be working with for a whole year. It's a bonding experience, and being on board is an opportunity for you to make lifelong friends 

  • I think of the Tech Director role as an anchor of the team. You’ll be in the background most of the time helping to run the event and also keeping people in check

Mental Health:

  • You are your highest priority. Your mental health comes before everything, even CSA

  • If you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and rest, and communicate with your board. They're there to help you and support you. Don't feel bad if you aren't able to get something done that was assigned to you if it was too much, because you know the capacity of how much you can take

  • At the end of the day, CSA is just a cultural club that you volunteered to be on board for. I know you worked hard to get there and that you have more responsibility, but your board isn't there to get mad at you, they're there to support you

  • You > Academics > CSA > everything else

  • Make sure you leave yourself time to do fun things and things you like doing!

  • CSA shouldn't be on your mind all the time! It's important to have other hobbies, which I'm sure you do (you were fire at Illuminate). Separate CSA from your personal life.

Academics:

  • Balancing classes and CSA can be hard at times, but it's super doable! Just don't overwork yourself!

    • HIGHLY recommend taking 12 units Fall and Winter quarter (or easier classes)

    • a lot of board says fall is the hardest quarter, but i think winter was more stressful for tech (bc of cnyb)

  • I'm sure you've heard this, but think about CSA board as a 4 unit course. I'd say:

    • CSA Spring = free 4 unit GE

    • CSA Fall = 4 unit major course

    • CSA Winter = 4 unit STEM course

  • Make sure you don't schedule a class during CSA meeting (Tuesday 8-9pm)

  • Prioritize academics. Manage your time well, but academics comes before CSA

Other:

  • Don't be afraid to ask. If you're unsure what your role is, ask! If you're unsure what needs to be done, ask! Everyone is there to help

  • Exec has more experience, but their word isn't everything. If you think something they did or said is wrong, let them know or at least talk to them. They're just students like you.

  • Be approachable for gen members! Always try to hear them out, but they're not always right (use your own judgement).

  • I regret not being able to meet more people as during fall quarter I was stuck behind the scenes a lot and never really got the chance to talk to people.

  • I also wanted to make the Discord more active, but I realized that people just generally don’t use Discord. The appeal of CSA is mainly the real life bonds you’re able to build with other people, and with so many people, I don’t think people are inclined to use Discord. If you do want to boost the activity of it, try to find a niche for the Discord so people have a reason to use it.



Hello Tech Director Alex!

This is a sad moment for me, but I would be lying to say that it also isn’t liberating. I loved CSA, and my term has been a happy burden for me. I’ve been able to meet so many people and create memories, but at the same time I feel that I could have done more if I didn’t join. Remember to not burn yourself out as that is something that I was struggling with my entire term. Although board is stressful and at times you will want to quit, I think that it is a very unique experience that will create lasting memories. I’m excited to see what you’ll cook up. Congratulations and good luck!