The AS Board poses on Friday, Oct. 5. Ella Banken//AS Review
By Soleil de Zwart
Student Senate:
AS Elections Coordinator Alec Willis has been working on revising the Student Senate election code with Levi Eckman, VP for academic affairs. The Elections Coordinator positions have money specifically set for the purchase and payment of election systems.
The new system can do multiple elections and can do ranked choice election, Willis said.
The board and the elections office have not yet found a solution for paying undocumented students without DACA, if they are elected into one of these positions.
“I think by having student senators in each college we’ll really be able to get that shared governance model within the AS itself,” Eckman said.
The new Student Senate candidates have a filing period from Oct. 29 to Nov. 16.
“An extra week than traditional for candidates,” Eckman said.
The candidate meeting is on Nov. 19, and campaigning runs from Nov. 19 to 30 with elections happening Nov. 26 to 30.
On the new Western Involvement Network, there is an AS Senate candidate recommendation form for people to recommend others or themselves to speak to Willis about the process.
“So staff and students are able to recommend students that they believe have leadership skills for this position,” Willis said.
The more students vote the more representative the Board is able to become, of all student interests that is.
There will no longer be a large voting event. The money that was going to go towards that event is now to be used for campaigns. This allows 40 candidates to run for AS Senate, Willis said.
The Senate candidate packet states you are only required to get 50 signatures of any student and they do not have to be in your college. Those signatures will speak to their qualifications as a senator overall, not specifically for the college that they are a part of, Eckman said.
The Board expressed concern and debated about whether or not the Student Senate candidates would be required to get signatures from faculty members at the candidates’ colleges.
Some colleges have more students than other colleges, Eckman said.
“It also creates an accessibility issue,” Eckman said.
The matter was put to rest to be resumed for another time.
Faculty Senate
Currently, there is only one person who decides whether or not graduate and researching students get approved for their research, Eckman said.
Academic Coordinating Commision
In one of the colleges, Eckman believes the College of Sciences and Engineering program and the Industrial Vehicle Technology Design has been put into moratorium. A faculty member came forward about it.
If a class or program is posted on classfinder, it is legally binding, but these classes were posted on classfinder and are no longer offered, Eckman said.
It’s no longer an accredited program. People are still graduating out of it, but no one can join, Eckman said.
There were students who came for this program and left Western because there was no program, Eckman said.
The AS Board Endorsements
The issue concerning AS Board endorsements was a discussion item last meeting. On Oct. 5 Natasha Hessami, VP for governmental affairs, was approached by two groups about the AS Board endorsing two initiatives on the Bellingham Voters Guide.
Natasha said she tried to get an email out to all students to ask about this issue, since the AS Board would be representing the student body of Western. There were issues sending the email.
Casey Hayden, assistant director of student activities, explained that he AS Board cannot use their resources as AS staff members to endorse ballot items since their time as elected officials is paid.
“You as elected officials can endorse ballot measures, but you would need to be mindful of the endorsement shouldn’t cost the state anything… You can’t start using your computer and your office space to send out emails to say ‘hey did you see I endorse this,’” said Hayden.
The two initiatives that the Board was approached about were Bellingham Proposition 5, the home fund, and Initiative 1631, the carbon emissions fee.
Bellingham Proposition 5 is a ballot measure for the city of Bellingham concerning property taxes for low-income housing. The money is used to build and preserve homes for veterans, seniors, working families and people with disabilities. It was passed in 2012 and is up for renewal, according to the Whatcom County Official Local Voters’ Pamphlet.
Proposition 5 has worked in the past. It has built and preserved homes, said Hessami.
Initiative 1631 is a carbon emissions fee that would charge pollution fees on sources of greenhouse gas pollutants and use the revenue to reduce pollution, promote clean energy, and address climate impacts, according to the Washington Voters’ Guide.
Hessami might bring a discussion item about each of the initiatives to the next meeting. The discussion on this issue is tabled for now and nothing has been resolved.
Counseling Health and Wellness Center
The university is hiring a new director of counseling health and wellness center, AS President, Millka Solomon said.
The center director needs students to serve on the hiring committee. This position will be here for a long time, Solomon said.
Serving on the hiring committee gives a lot of future job experience by looking at applicant resumes, Solomon said.
Email at as.committees@wwu.edu to join the committee.
University Planning and Resources Council
Western will be putting a campus in the region of Poulsbo, Washington. The UPRC is currently looking at how this new campus will affect student dollars and what programs will be offered, Eckman said.
Ethnic Student Center Alumni Network
Camilla Mejia, VP for diversity, is continuing conversations on creating an ESC alumni network and getting them involved in alumni weekend.
Mejia is also looking into creating a tangible university group on supporting undocumented students and creating a new resolution for supporting undocumented students.
Viking Union Gallery
Ama Monkah, VP for activities, is creating a task force that includes different voices to talk about the VU Gallery space.
“We can’t use the gallery, so how can we create more art in the VU,” Monkah said.
Connecting Clubs to Athletics
Monkah spoke to the Athletic director about getting the students at large and AS clubs connected with the athletic department.
It was difficult in the past because Carver was being built, Monkah said.
On Oct 26, at 7pm, will be Women’s Basketball Viking Madness, the players will be doing slam dunks and there will be prices to give away.
The Board members will potentially table at the event to get their name out.
Student engagement events might happen in later quarters, like a tailgating event, Monkah said.
Corrections issued on 10/31: The AS Elections Coordinator is Alec Willis and Levi Eckman is the VP for Academic Affairs.