By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

By the students, for the students of Central Washington University

The Observer

ASCWU-BOD positions influence Central student life

BY Colt Sweetland

Assistant News Editor

CORRECTION: Cassie DuBore’s name had previously appeared as Dubore. The below article has been edited, and the Observer apologies for this mistake.

 

On April 14, the Associated Student Body of Central Washington University Board of Directors (BOD) will be starting its election campaign when students will be allowed to start campaigning for different positions.

Cassie DuBore, vice president for legislative affairs with the BOD, said that the primary elections will be held on April 23, which is for any position that has at least three people running for it.

“Right now, every position has someone running for it, and I don’t think anyone is running unopposed,” DuBore said.

According to DuBore, those who want to run for one of the positions have to receive signatures from four of the current BOD officers, and 100 from Central students in order to be eligible.

“The informational sessions are a really good opportunity for students to ask certain questions to the current officers if they aren’t sure about which position they want to run for,” DuBore said.

Two of the bills that were passed during this year were the Real Hope Act, and a bill for in-state tuition for veterans.

“If you were a student veteran from Idaho, and joined the military and were stationed in Washington, and you wanted to go to school in Washington after your service, you would have to pay out of state tuition and when veterans use their G.I. bill, it can only be used for in-state tuition,” DuBore said.

Here at Central, if that were to happen, a student veteran would have to pay $10,000 per year even with their G.I. bill, according to Dubore.

DuBore said that the BOD is also currently working on increasing voter accessibility on campus.

“What’s really difficult about being a student and trying to register students on campus, is that we start school so late, so that gives us about two weeks to try to register as many students on campus to vote,” DuBore said.

Brian Elliott, the president of the BOD, said that his position involves attending public meetings, creating an agenda and meeting with President Gaudino.

“The job is pretty flexible, and it’s one of those things where you create your own initiatives and pursue your own projects,” Elliott said.

Jacob Wittman, the executive vice president of the BOD, said that his position deals with the financial side of university operations. This quarter, he said that he will focus on recycling issues around campus.

“I review each office’s individual budget and the overall community budget,” Wittman said.

Kelsie Miller, vice president for academic affairs, said that she spends most of her time with the Student Academic Senate, which funds students to enrich their academic experience.

“Some of our goals this quarter are to work on library hours and possibly explore dead days,” Miller said.

Mary Orthmann, vice president for clubs and organizations, said that she is the chairwoman for the Club Senate, which is in charge of around 130 clubs.

“I deal with a huge base of students, and I try to raise involvement and student engagement,” Orthmann said.

Spencer Flores, vice president for equity and community affairs, said that she represents students with regards to discrimination, bias, or any other problems, acting as a voice for these students.

Flores also serves as a liaison to the community on equity issues.

“If the community or the school is upset about something, I can kind of facilitate the students’ perspective from both sides,” Flores said.

Dubore said that her position entails helping students’ voices be heard.

“During winter quarter, I spend time in Olympia with our student lobbyists that I hired and make sure that students’ needs are being met,” Dubore said.

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