Artwork by Alana Jacobs
ASCWU
GRAB A SENATE SEAT!
STUDENT
SENATE
Story by Samantha Cabeza Design by Sione Sausau
Your voice matters! Speak up, and represent your academic college or department by applying for a seat with the new Student Senate. Applications are open now, and seats will be filled by October, so don’t wait to get involved on campus.
New Senate System Madeline Koval, Associated Students of Central Washington University Senate Speaker, has multiple goals she wants to pursue in her position, including getting as many people as possible to apply for a position, and filling all of the empty seats. “I want to be a voice for all of the students,” Koval said. “I want to create new senator seats for each of the CWU centers, and organize the goals of them.” As Senate Speaker, Koval is a voting member of the ASCWU Board of Directors, and brings issues, concerns and legislation created by the Student Senate to the board.
Last winter, CWU students approved constitution updates, which included the changes to the Student Senate. The new senate system will have about 23 senators who will discuss all campus matters and receive compensation for their efforts. Under the old system, there were about 50 seats, but senators could only discuss academic matters and deal with funding requests, and they weren’t paid for their time. Koval said students pursuing a seat for CWU colleges are only eligible to represent a single college within their majors. If students are pursuing majors in different CWU colleges, then the student senators are required to choose one. “Student Senators may not represent minors, or multiple CWU colleges,” Koval said.
Fall Meetings Meetings will be held in a hybrid form every other Tuesday beginning in October. Koval said that there is no official or formal plan to record meetings for viewers to watch at a later date rather than live, but to stay updated on cwu.edu/ascwu for more information.
Eligibility: • Must be CWU student to apply
According to Koval, the importance of the Student Senate should be enough to get people to apply for a seat.
• Currently enrolled in 6+ credits
“It is an important opportunity to make student voices and it could make a difference on campus,” Koval said.
• Term lasts through spring finals week
• Maintaining 2.0 GPA or higher
To Apply: • Complete the online application at www.cwu.edu/ascwu by 6 p.m. Sept. 18 • ASCWU board members will review applications and conduct interviews to select the new senators