The AS Board poses on Friday, Sept. 27. Joe Addison // AS Review
By Stella Harvey
At the Associated Students Executive Board Meeting on Feb. 28, VP for Diversity Yesugen Battsengel was absent. President Lani Defiesta was present via video conference.
Public Forum
Fourth-year Student Sanai Anang gave a presentation on a potential Independent Study through Fairhaven college called the By Your Bootstraps Project. Anang said that while the project is currently being developed, the proposal is to connect students who have an idea for a business or project to funding and local businesses that can assist in their entrepreneurial endeavors.
Spring Elections Code
Nora Harren, representation and engagement programs director, presented revisions to the Spring Elections Code. Revisions include updating all of the dates and deadlines and adding a section under endorsements that allows current AS employees or elected officials to endorse candidates or ballot measures in their student or individual capacity, as long as they do not identify or implicate their position within the AS. The code also states that AS employees should not wear campaign materials such as buttons or stickers while in their official capacity as AS employees or elected officials.
Grace Drechsel, VP for governmental affairs, suggested adding specific guidelines to the code so that employees and elected officials have a clear understanding of where the line is between their student capacity and their official capacity.
Selome Zerai, VP for activities, said that having AS employees, particularly elected officials, being able to endorse candidates in their student capacity, seems like a grey area because there is not a clear boundary between their position and their student-self. Harren agreed, but stated that because of the First Amendment, the code cannot restrict an AS employee’s free speech when they are not representing and working for the AS.
Program Advisor Leti Romo and Board Program Coordinator Annie Byers, agreed to look into the framework of the code before next week’s meeting.
Student Trustee Selection Charge and Charter
The board passed revisions to the Student Trustee Selection Committee Charge and Charter with a vote of 6-0-0. Revisions include adding a student senator to the voting membership and having only one representative from the board on the committee. The Board of Trustees is the legal owner of Western, and sets policy which is carried out by Western’s administration. The Student Trustee Selection Committee chooses three to five candidates, which are then recommended to the Governor of Washington, who selects one student trustee.
Hunter Stuehm, the current student trustee, said that applications are now open for the student trustee position, and encouraged any student leaders to apply.