The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) Senate met last Tuesday reconvening for the first time since May 3rd when the 110th administration was sworn-in. It’s the beginning of a new year for the student government with ASUW President Allison Brown and Vice President Kathyrne Carrier leading this new administration.
With the new executive in charge, the executive and legislative branches of ASUW will be focusing on a number of issues that they campaigned upon in the election in the late Spring 2022 semester. The presidential tickets and senators campaigned on issues from parking, ensuring the sidewalks are safe during the winter, to tuition and student fees, as well as an emphasis on outreach and communication to all students, student organizations, and other stakeholders to the organization.
Assistant Director of ASUW Lucus Hansen, intends to “develop the ASUW on-boarding program and to ensure that ASUW enriches the experiences and lives of students, and make ASUW more accessible to students”. Hansen felt that the new administration would have an opportunity to ensure that “ASUW pro-staff would have a good work-life balance and ensure flexibility in the job” while ensuring that “students are being supported and I’m very excited and honored to be hired by the students and work for the students and excited for the year.”
President Brown, a senior studying International Studies, Political Science, and History, says that her administration has already accomplished a few things, “One of the biggest roles I play is serving as the sole-staying voice in the Board of Trustees…and we’re already working with the Board of Trustees and working with President Seidel to work on issues regarding block tuition, which is really exciting for students and is more financially accessible”, she further noted that, “we’re making a plan for a regular ASUW newsletter that will be out in early September”, which she hopes will keep students informed.
ASUW Senator Madison Engelby has a different perspective from President Brown and the executive branch, though says she holds hopes for the 110th administration, “I’m really hoping to tackle some bigger administration issues that we keep seeing pop up that we can’t really fix on our own today. ASUW doesn’t really have the administrative power. These issues include student fee raises, parking, and tuition”, adding, “I would really like to see more students and administration come together for these issues because they’re really contentious”.
Senator Engelby hopes to work with Senate colleagues on “resolutions that are gonna go up to the Board of Trustees or the UW administration particularly regarding tuition raises and parking…because an overwhelming amount of students feel very underrepresented and unheard on those issues by the entirety of the university” and adding on that she felt hopeful that the ASUW Senate will tackle issues relating to women’s reproductive health and birth control, as well as LGBTQ rights and minority students’ rights.
The next ASUW Senate meeting will take place next Tuesday on the second floor of the Wyoming Union.
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