ASUW has recently reimplemented the council that will serve as UW’s voice for nontraditional students after falling apart in 2015 due to a lack of leadership positions being filled.
“I think the biggest challenge with nontraditional student council is the different walks of life, even more so than a traditional student, and finding a time when everyone is free,” James Wheeler, ASUW’s projector coordinator and advisor for the council, said.
Wheeler described the nontraditional student as being anyone who is a veteran, a transfer student, a graduate student, a mother, a father, a single parent, or is married, a ward of the state, or an orphan at any age.
“Typically, it’s a majority of traditional students at ASUW, so if a bill is proposed and nobody thought about how it might effect a full-time mother or father or parent, that’s when they speak up and say, ‘hey, have you thought about the ways it could impact this group of people?’” Wheeler said.
The current interim council is working toward fine-tuning the constitution to fit the current goals of nontraditional students. In addition to increasing the council’s membership numbers and gaining recognition about the council.
The council is still in its developmental stages, but is hopeful it can get the word out and grow its number of members by next year.
“For me, personally, legacy is very important,” Rachel Ratliff, council president and part of UW’s counseling program, said. “So just having my little piece in this student council and getting it re-established and giving it a strong foundation is important to me.”
The council will be hosting a mixer April 27, in the ASUW area of the union’s basement and are planning to include a speaker, possibly a band and catering.
“Our overall goal is just to give nontraditional students representation on ASUW and throughout campus,” Matthew Bartholomew, council vice president, said. “I think it’s going to be very beneficial to have this broadly defined council for people who define themselves as nontraditional.”
The council’s mission statement listed on their page describes the organization as being made up of students who advocate for the nontraditional student community of UW. The goal for this council is to look at proposed legislation through the lens of a nontraditional student.
“They did a lot of really great work this year so far, we’re really excited to have the council back up and running,” ASUW President Ben Wetzel said.
