Vice President of Student Affairs Sara Axelson joined the ASUW Senate in its Tuesday meeting to discuss ongoing projects and challenges for the coming year.
“I think it’s important to challenge one another as well as being supportive of one another,” Axelson said. “My most treasured relationship is the one I have with ASUW. I’m really proud of what you all did with the funding of Half Acre. ASUW made the remodeling happen.”
The Half Acre remodel will begin this spring.
“I’m proud to say that we got a great group of people that I’m proud to work with.” Axelson, said.
Axelson also touched on several of the accomplishments Student Affairs achieved within the last year and during the summer.
UW now offers a virtual orientation program for students who are unable to make it in person, as well as an e-flash newsletter for alumni. There also is now a net nutrition website where people can go to find all the nutritional facts for any food purchased at the university.
Axelson informed the Senate on two other projects: a transfer initiative intended to make transitions easier on transfer students, and a Gateway Center for the university that will house offices for the foundation and for alumni. The Gateway Center also will offer students the chance to do practice interviews as they move closer to graduation.
ASUW senators and Axelson addressed budget concerns at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We’re still waiting to hear from the Governor on whether or not we will see those budget cuts,” Axelson said. “If we do, it will be an opportunity for us to be creative in what we do. We may have to modify the way we do things, but the bottom line is that we have to make things work.”
Axelson assured the Senate that every measure will be taken to make sure the budget cuts will not affect students.
“The budget cuts all depend on natural gas, but we’re still in a real strong position and we’re a well-financed university. If we have to endure an eight percent cut, it’s not something we want, but it’s something we can make work,” Axelson said.
Axelson addressed safety on campus and said it is a top priority.
“We can’t do enough to make sure that the campus is safe,” Axelson said. “Safety is always on our minds and it is key.”
Axelson also addressed concerns about shuttle buses.
“We had 5,000 bus riders Monday. It was more than we expected and I’m sure it was quite a hassle to wait for the bus, so we may have to increase the bus visits,” Axelson said.
Following Axelson’s address, ASUW President Joel Defebaugh addressed the senators.
“Over the summer, ASUW was rebranded with a new emphasis on the term ‘student government,’ and we’re hoping to get more outreach just through the logo,” Defebaugh said.
Defebaugh also said that ASUW is hoping to get more students involved with United Way, which collects money to donate to a variety of organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Defebaugh addressed the possibility of UW adopting a plus/minus grading system.
“Plus/Minus grading is tentative and will most likely be up for a vote as it has been since 2008 since this was discussed,” he said. “We have done lots of academic research for not switching and we will present that to the Board of Trustees to defend our stance on not switching to a plus/minus system.”
The plus/minus grading system will be up for a second and third reading at the ASUW meeting on September 4.
To get the year started for ASUW, Defebaugh also reminded the senators of their roles as student leaders.
“Know that we are a team and there is neither a top nor a bottom. Remember that your words have the power to inspire and lead astray. It takes only one person to damage the integrity of this organization,” he said. “We can’t let our students, especially our ASUW students, slip through the cracks. We have to watch out for each other.”
To close, Defebaugh said that ASUW is currently accepting applications for Freshman Senate.
ASUW Vice President Brett Khaler addressed the senate and discussed the upcoming 100-year celebration for ASUW, stating that there will be a celebration luncheon during homecoming and a celebration in February as a way to make sure students will get the most out of their student fees.
Khaler also said ASUW is looking for students to be on “student at-large” committees for the university.
