Recently, the Branding Iron was contacted by the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) student government regarding our reporting of their weekly meetings.
It was stated, conveyed by ASUW Vice President Jessica Petri via email, that according to the ASUW bylaws the “processing” portion of the meeting is not allowed to be reported on.
Although “processing” is off of the official record of ASUW, the Branding Iron did an investigation of its rights through the Wyoming Press Association and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and their Student Press Freedom Initiative.
Upon review, FIRE provided the Branding Iron with a Memo clarifying its rights in regards to ASUW’s initial concerns and subsequently, said Memo was provided to the ASUW President Saber Smith and Vice President Petri.
Their response?
Surprisingly, and refreshingly, positive and accepting. This is something I, and the Branding Iron, admire.
VP Petri and I were able to discuss our appreciation for fact, and VP Petri even expressed her interest in FIRE and hopes to reach out to them in the future.
My admiration for this respect for fact was only fortified during the ASUW meeting on Oct. 3, 2023, where they amended and approved of the SB #2896 ASUW Committee Transparency Act which will improve ASUW’s record keeping and accountability.
Although it is our right as the press to criticize the government for their wrongs, we also hold the right to applaud them when something is done right.
It seems the 111th Senate is on a shift towards professionalism and civility.
Though, do not only take my word for it but some from the ASUW senators themselves from last Tuesday’s meeting:
“Ya know, I had a speech written at about 8:30 during this meeting that I had planned to give. I had really harsh criticisms of this body. I’m not going to give it. I’ve deleted the speech entirely. I have faith in this body. I trust that we, as a body, are moving in a positive direction, even right now. . .” Sen. Worcester said.
“For all of those who are still in processing, thank you for sticking around,” said Sen. Brown when addressing the public gallery. “I know we kept you out there a while, and I just also want to say sorry that that ended up happening. We had to discuss a lot of internal things, and frankly I am kind of embarrassed that it took so long.”
Executive Yang, ASUW Director of Community & Governmental Affairs, also addressed the Senate as a whole and then individually afterwards mentioning their admiration for how they handled the executive session.
