The AS Board poses on Friday, Sept. 27. Joe Addison // AS Review
By Stella Harvey
Elections Code
In an emergency meeting on April 8, the Associated Students Executive Board amended the spring elections code to allow candidates to spend more money on online campaigning and lower the number of petition signatures candidates need in order to file for candidacy.
Grace Drechsel, VP for governmental affairs, acknowledged that the original elections code that the board approved in their meeting on March 6 states that the code should not be changed after filing has opened. Filing for AS elections opened on March 11 and will close April 15. The board agreed that under the extenuating circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this requirement could be bypassed in order to vote on changes that will make the election more equitable to students.
The first amendment, which passed four in favor, two against and one abstaining, lowered the number of signatures required for filing to 25. Selome Zerai, VP for activities, abstained from the vote. The previous requirement was 100 petition signatures from currently enrolled Western students. Representation and Engagement Programs Elections Coordinator Ina LaGrandeur said that she recommended that the board lower the requirement to make elections more accessible to all candidates now that campaigning is taking place completely online.
VP for Sustainability Trever Mullins and Senate Pro-Tempore Adah Barenburg voted against the motion, stating that the requirement should be lowered to zero given the current circumstances.
The second amendment, which passed six in favor, zero against and one abstaining. raised the amount of money candidates can spend on social media advertisements for online campaigning to $45, up from the previous $15. Zerai abstained from the vote. Each candidate will still receive a $150 budget to spend on campaigning. LaGrandeur explained now that all campaigning will take place completely online, she recommends raising the amount candidates can spend on online advertisements.
Associated Students Services and Activities Fee
In an emergency meeting on April 6, the Executive Board unanimously endorsed the Finance Council’s recommendation to reduce the AS’s portion of the Services and Activities fee. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial strain it puts on students and their families, the Finance Council recommended that the spring quarter Services and Activities fee should be reduced from $81 to $12.
During an emergency meeting on April 6, the Student Senate also endorsed the Finance Council’s recommendation. On April 7, Western’s Board of Trustees accepted the Finance Council’s recommendation with endorsements by both the AS board and senate. The Board of Trustees included the recommendation in a 47.8% reduction in the total Services and Activities fee. In total, the Board of Trustees reduced all student fees by 28.6%.
The Services and Activities fee is a quarterly fee students pay with tuition and supports campus recreation programs, department activities like student publications and the AS. The AS receives about 35% of the quarterly Services and Activities fee, which was scheduled to be $223.98 for spring quarter. The Services and Activities fee will now be $117, and $12 will go to the AS.
Nate Jo, business director and chair of the Finance Council, presented the council’s recommendation to reduce the AS’s portion of the Services and Activities fee by 85%. According to Jo, the Finance Council reviewed a variety of fee reduction options during two emergency meetings, including reducing the fee from 50% to 100%.
Without collecting the normal portion of the Services and Activities fee, the AS will not have enough funds to operate, according to Jo. To supplement the reduced income as a result of this recommendation, Jo said the AS is prepared to use some of the funding from the AS Operating Reserves, a cumulation of funds that are reserved for emergencies where there is a significant reduction of income. The AS currently has an operating reserve balance of $281,600, according to Jo’s presentation.
Jo said that the council decided to recommend an 85% reduction in the AS portion of the Services and Activities fee in order to support all AS student staff, maintain minimal virtual programming through spring quarter and save a portion of the AS Operating Reserves. Jo said that Western’s administration is projecting a 5-10% reduction in enrollment for fall quarter, which would lead to another reduction in income for the AS. In order to reserve funds for the future, Jo said the council decided on a large, but not complete reduction in the Services and Activities fee for spring quarter.