The AS Student Senate during their meeting on Friday, Nov. 22. Joe Addison // AS Review
By Stella Harvey
At the Associated Students Student Senate meeting on April 14, the senate amended the two resolutions they passed in an emergency meeting on April 7. Both resolutions were amended to change the language used in the original resolution.
The original resolutions insinuated that they were on behalf of the entire AS. Hunter Stuehm, AS communications director, informed the senate that they cannot pass a resolution on behalf of the entire AS because the senate is only one branch of the governing bodies that make up the AS. The senate revised both resolutions to clarify that they were only on behalf of the senate, and to include the full and official title of the senate.
Tuition Revision, response to COVID-19 Pandemic
The senate passed amendments to the first resolution with a vote of 19 in favor, one against and zero abstaining. The resolution asks Western’s administration to revise tuition for the spring quarter due to the lost four days of class and classes being moved online in response to COVID-19. The amendments include changing the senate’s original request for Western to reduce tuition by 10%. The resolution now asks for the greatest reduction possible while maintaining the employment of Western employees.
The resolution also now requests Western inform students how their tuition is being used if reducing tuition is not possible. Other changes include adding a section that asks Western to seek student input as they look at tuition reduction options.
Members of the AS Executive Board spoke during the public comment period about their questions and concerns regarding the first resolution. AS President Lani Defiesta asked if the senate tried to direct communication with Western’s administration about their questions and concerns. VP for Student Services Emily Gerhardt also wrote in the public comment chat that she was worried that this resolution will send a mixed signal to Western’s administration. Defiesta and Gerhardt said that members of the board are working directly with Western’s administration to find the best options to address the financial strains currently on students as a result of COVID-19.
Grace Drechsel, VP for governmental affairs, said that the board and senate, as well as students, can look into advocating for the Washington State legislature to allocate more funding to public higher education institutions to take the burden off of students.
Reasonable Accommodations and Asynchronous Course Instruction
The second resolution, which requests that all classes be made accessible asynchronously in order to reasonably accommodate all students, passed with 19 votes in favor and zero against or abstaining. The only significant change to the resolution was using the official name of the senate.