Student senators of ASUW hit the ground running and passed two bills, funding request approvals and a sustainability presentation, at the semester’s first meeting on Tuesday.
As a result of Senate Bill 2640’s approval, Recognized Student Organizations may now request up to $2,000 per year to attend academic competitions, and the existing cap of $500 per semester for conferences was increased to $750 per semester.
Many RSOs, particularly Engineering organizations, have more of a focus on competitions than conferences and have a different range of expenses in order to get their organization active and engaged, said ASUW President Alex Mulhall.
“This broadens that scope and makes the Funding Board pot a little more inclusive to different kinds of things,” Mulhall said. “It’s something people have been asking for, for a while, and we finally got it done.”
SB 2645 updated procedures and policies for the appointment of a more impartial ASUW Elections Commissioner to oversee future elections of ASUW officers.
For the upcoming Chinese New Year gala hosted by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, senators approved $5,940 for performances and catered Asian food from local restaurants on Sunday, February 10.
Also approved was $4,166 for events during the Black Student Alliance’s BSA Week from February 11-15, itself a part of Black History Month. The funds are intended to cover travel expenses for special guest speakers and performers, as well as food at the week’s events.
Among those events will be a partnership with the American Heritage Center for a remembrance of the Black 14 — athletes who were the center of national controversy in 1969 after they were removed from UW’s football team for requesting to wear armbands during a game against Brigham Young University, in protest of policies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
“I had a student in one of my classes think that the Black 14 statue in the Union was for our first African-American graduates,” BSA member and graduate student Rachel Ratliff said. “I think re-educating our student population about our own history is very important.”
Senior students Sam Ritchins and Slade Sheaffer, of the UW Campus Sustainability Committee, presented an overview of UW’s sustainability initiative to senators. They detailed the Committee’s initial efforts to gather data about waste and sustainability practices at UW and its peer institutions to formulate a plan to earn a ‘bronze’ rating under the prominent STARS metric (Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating System).
Ritchins expressed optimism in UW’s ability to earn such a rating in the near future and continue from there.
“That’s not a super high goal, but it’s definitely a stepping stone to achieve a higher sustainability rating here,” Ritchins said. “The majority of universities that file for STARS end up being silver.”
Improving UW’s sustainability practices is a goal listed in the Breaking Through strategic plan as part of Goal Four: A High Performing University, which includes a call for efforts to “Honor UW’s commitment to the environment by instituting sustainability initiatives in daily operations, renovations and new construction.” These efforts would not only benefit UW’s image but would yield tangible values here at the university itself, Sheaffer said.
“Some universities might just use this an active recruiting tool — we’re planning on using it more to advance sustainability at the university in the coming years,” Sheaffer said. “It’s not supposed to be simply another star on the university’s belt.”
College of Arts and Sciences Senator Derrik Conard was appointed the new President Pro Tempore, a position left vacant by now-Vice President Jason Wilkins. The President Pro Tempore steps in to chair ASUW meetings in the event of the vice president’s absence or other conflicts, and holds other active responsibilities to ensure meetings run smoothly.
“His work speaks for itself,” College of Arts and Sciences Senator Eric Herold said as he nominated Connard. “He’s the head of Budget and Planning, we’re in a fairly hectic time right now running the budget, and I think he’s doing a terrific job at organizing everything and making sure the rest of us stay on task.”
