Platform

Section 1 | Purpose

The “Student Organization” is the broad policy term of the ticket to implement an organizational structure of student-led groups on campus to facilitate policy goals and student advocacy at the university, municipal, and state levels. Once the student body is better organized we’ll have the ability to better advocate for policies that we pass. Our collective bargaining power will enable us to be taken more seriously by the UW Administration and state when it comes to issues that are of paramount importance to us as students.

Section 2 | Structure

The ASUW should organize wider student-led entities, acting as a policy, strategy, and long-term planning organization. From RSOs to ASUW commissions and entities the ASUW will work more closely with students and have a better understanding of their needs and issues. Collaborating with them to implement policies would ensure a bottom-up structure where student concerns are met at a lower level first. If this issue is systemic then the ASUW can act to research and implement solutions through policy to better assist the needs of the students.

Having been a member of the ASUW throughout my entire academic career at UW, I have seen both its low points and its astonishing potential. The mission of ASUW is something I have absolute belief in, a goal to be the “democratic voice” of the student body on campus takes both immense effort and commitment.

When I was elected as the Director of Internal Policy last year it was an election which saw 3.7% student turnout and I won by 86 votes to a candidate that already dropped out. For me there was a huge responsibility to ensure that the mandate I had entered office with would not be taken for granted. Although having only been elected by less than half of that 3.7% made it even more difficult to represent the rest of the 40,000 student constituency that had not been heard. I was not deterred from the responsibilities and duties that the voters believed I had the capacity to fulfill.

For all my effort, for all my work, and for all my policies have been to represent and listen to the needs of my peers. That might be hyperbolic, but you get the idea. I not only want to earn the votes of my peers by passing and implementing policies that address their interests, but by devoting my time and effort throughout my term for their benefit. Because ensuring the interests and needs of the people you were elected to represent should be the goal of any candidate, politician, or government.

Section 1 | Engagement and Accountability

• • Ensure that town halls are implemented on an at least a quarterly basis to present pertinent information, inviting student media and students to answer questions from;

  • Conduct brief Presidential Reports to the Senate every week on major business of the ASUW with time, if and at the discretion of the Speaker of the Senate, to answer question(s) from the senators;

  • Working with OCOMM and the Communications Director to send a monthly Presidential Newsletter with ASUW information, resources, events, passed legislation, and other items that would be relevant to inform the student body of;

  • Present a consistent video address, “Huskies by the Fire”, to the student body that informs them of the work the ASUW has been doing;

    • Along with a “State of the Association” Address to the Student Senate, members of the ASUW, GPSS, and the UW community at the end of Spring quarter;

  • Conduct “factory tours” where Board members go and visit RSO meetings to present what they do, what ASUW does, and answer any questions for students present;

  • Maintain a consistent schedule of office hours, open office desk hours, and tabling at Red Square, the Quad, and other high trafficked areas;

  • Work with the Office of Communications (OCOMM) to update the ASUW website, creation of a YouTube channel to post videos of ASUW information and to better outreach to the student body;

    • Also work with OCOMM to reach out and have student media organizations be closer to the ASUW and our work; 

  • Work with the members of the ASUW and student body as a whole to implement policies that truly concern the students.

Section 2 | Thoughtful Leadership & Administration

• • Achieve consensus by ensuring that as many voices associated with a policy and/or issue are listened to and considered in decision-making;

  • Consistently contact ASUW entities and associated organizations for their feedback and concerns, inviting them to Board meetings, and aim for weekly presentations to Board from ASUW entities;

  • Once collected, read and review quarterly and annual reports from the various leaders of ASUW entities to check on their progress and general actions during the quarter, seeing who ASUW can better assist their work and if they want any assistance from the Board;

  • Conduct Board Evaluations at the end of each quarter to ensure Board members are fulfilling their job descriptions; 

  • Ensure that all pieces of non-internal Board legislation, particularly statements of student opinion, are first introduced in the Senate to then be voted on in the Board, as Senate is more accessible and representative; and,

  • Establish a long term ASUW Strategic Plan that is designed to ensure the longevity of policy goals and complete a critical analysis of what ASUW needs to address and expand upon over the next few years, for future Boards to consider.

Section 3 | Government Reform

• • In the event of the passage or failure of the constitutional referendum then work with all ASUW entities to review the Bylaws and see if there can be any internal structural changes to make the ASUW more democratic and representative to the student body, and to conform with the Bylaws to the new constitution if adopted;

  • Continue the University Agenda, which is designed to advocate for general policy goals of the ASUW towards the UW Administration;

    • Focus on gathering the policy points from Board members and reaching out to the rest of ASUW and student-led organizations on the most pressing issues;

    • Work with the Director of University Affairs in collaboration with the Provost Advisory Committee for Students (PACS) / Tri-Campus Advisory Board for Students (TABS), UW Administration, and other faculty institutions to implement the University Agenda;

  • Reevaluate the ticket system to ensure regulations on ticket formation, campaigning, and fostering civil discussion among candidates. Their role in future ASUW elections will be important if they operate under guidelines concerning campaigning and outreach; and

  • Lay the groundwork for financial independence and sustainability of the ASUW to be in a better position and agency to advocate and implement our policies.

Section 4 | Important Advocacy Work

• • Tackling Housing & Food Services (HFS);

    • Collaborating with the Residential Community Student Association (RCSA) to see how student issues are addressed to HFS;

    • Find solutions to food costs at dining services, amount of diverse food options, healthy nutritional values, worker conditions for student employees, and other issues that have been dealing with for a significant time;

  • Advocating with Washington Student Association (WSA);

    • Work with other student governments in the Washington Student Association (WSA) to address the common issues and plans for all our campuses;

    • Research into possibly inviting Olympic College into the WSA;

  • Build a closer relationship with the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS)

    • As the official representative body of graduate and professional students, GPSS will be vital in representing the interests of and advocacy of post-baccalaureate students, who are still members of the ASUW;

    • See joint-resolutions passed through both GPSS and the ASUW Senate, consisting of graduate and professional students issues to showcase the collaborative efforts of both our entities;

    • Work with the Director of Internal Policy to foster a closer working relationship between our two student governments;

  • Reaching out to International Students;

    • Work with the Office of International Student Advocacy (OISA), CIRCLE, and other international student groups to ensure the voice and interests of international students are adequately represented on campus;

    • Possibly elevating the OISA into an official commission;

  • Intercollegiate Agreements;

    • Research the potential of a Director of Intercollegiate Affairs position and if it can work as a member that focuses on tri-campus policies, communication and collaboration with student governments at other universities;

    • Work for the advancement of the Chicago Statement principles adopted by the Board this year. This is a statement which promotes public, civil, and more open dialogue and discussion among students on campus where the university administration doesn’t restrict what speech should be spoken, but where the community as a whole speaks decides by consensus what is disrespectful and discriminatory;

    • Work for the adoption of the Okanagan Charter to promote health awareness on campuses throughout the state; 

    • Have a greater understanding of our collective policy goals as a possible member of the Association of Big Ten Students;

  • First Year Outreach; 

    • Work with First-Year Programs (FYP) to establish modules about ASUW for First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) so that Freshmen students have an understanding of our organization their first year; 

    • Generally reach out to Freshmen so that students coming into UW have an early understanding of ASUW and its potential for advocacy and leadership development.

    • Better access to information about ASUW as students register for classes, specifically when it comes to first year students;

  • Financial Independence and Sustainability;

    • Work with the Finance & Budget Director to develop long-term to achieve financial independence and sustainability for the ASUW;

    • Achieving such would enable the ASUW to effectively advocate and implement policies approved by us; 

    • Research into the possible revival of the beloved Parnassus cafe in some form, establishing a student operated enterprise at this level will be crucial in developing our ability to implement further enterprises;

  • The Student Publication Board;

    • Work with the Communications Director to reestablish the Student Publications Board, an organized group of student representatives from the various student-run journalistic groups at UW;

    • Foster student journalism on campus so that they can report on the work of the ASUW while also keeping us accountable to the student body; and,

    • Allow a press question period in Board meetings during Public Forum to receive questions from student publications.

Section 1 | Accessibility & Transparency

• • Ensure governing documents, bylaws, agendas, and the current constitution of ASUW and associated entities are easily available and accessible to all students of the University of Washington;

    • • Ensure the website allows for documents to be opened, and that Zoom links are up to date and obvious;

  • Work towards fostering an environment within ASUW that promotes questions and open discussion from the public, ASUW Senate, and any other entities that are impacted by ASUW Board of Director decisions;

    • • Ask feedback from entities on how the Board of Directors is run on a quarterly basis, including how comfortable they are sharing their valuable perspectives to meetings;

      • Work with the President to promote order through consistent following of procedure, with the intent to ensure the public can anticipate how a meeting will be ran and therefore increasing comfort within meetings;

      • When order or procedure is broken, upon knowing, ensure that it is corrected immediately, stating intent, and clarifying the right method of procedure for the future with the purpose of working towards understanding;

  • Work towards a solution that allows remote users to have more of a voice within meetings – Zoom is a great start, but doesn’t allow for a lot of communication between real life and online attendee;

    • • Active responses in chat that are subject to parliamentary procedure – the goal behind this is to allow those who are sick, in loud environments, or are otherwise unable to unmute have live response input in meetings;

      • During meetings, my focus will be put on Zoom whilst the President runs meetings. This means I take note of hands, who was first, and ensure their questions will be answered by Board;

  • Encourage transparency within decisions made within Board of Directors meetings by clearly communicating rationale behind major projects and actions, along with what factors and alternatives were considered, and what the finished ruling was.

Section 2 | Awareness of ASUW

• • Conduct anonymous surveys sent to the student body on general awareness of ASUW’s goals, resources, and presence on campus – along with awareness, these surveys would poll student opinion on ASUW inner workings with the purpose to address historical concerns by the student body;

    • • Identify main issues on campus, and collaborate with other Board members or entities outside of ASUW to address these issues on campus;

      • Identify what keeps students and staff away from ASUW: Accessibility? Lack of awareness? Lack of trust in the Board of Directors? After figuring this out, find ways to mediate these issues;

  • Attend events around campus to get a gauge on student opinion, promote Board attendance in RSO events around campus and/or ASUW Senate, and maintain consistent office hours – awareness starts with a welcoming environment;

  • Work with OCOMM to collaborate on ways to increase student awareness, and create action items to be completed on a quarterly basis based upon the previous quarter’s survey results;

    • • Examples of action items may include: Increased tablings within Red Square, flyers advertising events of ASUW entities, Town Hall meetings to allow for the public to directly interact with Board of Directors members, or smaller merch items that can serve as advertisement.

Section 3 | Collaboration and Campus Unity

• • Increase cross-entity collaborations by organizing quarterly caucus meetings where leaders and members of entities outside of ASUW can meet, share updates of their organization, and identify where we have overlap in order to facilitate collaboration;

    • • This goes hand-in-hand with establishing interdepartmental communication with entities like GPSS, D Center, Student Veteran Life, and large RSOs;

  • Implement a program that assigns a mentor to new members of ASUW, encouraging transparency and allowing for students to gain a better understanding of ASUW’s functions – increasing our connection overall with our peers and lowering barriers to participation within ASUW;

    • • This would be an opt-in program, where people can sign up as mentors or mentees;

      • Mentors serve as safe sources of information to for questions, advice, and comradery;

  • Encourage participation in Campus-wide events and initiatives to encourage a sense of unity and collaboration among our peers to remind them we are all facing the same goal: making UW better than we found it;

    • • Include other entities' events in our emails and regular communications, maintaining priority to ASUW entities while empowering student groups;

      • Make an active effort to attend campus events, encouraging other Board members to do the same;

    • Establish a quarterly or yearly networking mixer, where leaders from entities within and outside of ASUW can meet in a relaxed environment to exchange ideas and build relationships with one another.

In my first year at UW, and within student government, I have observed effective representation and governance as well as the shortcomings of ASUW. When dealing with an organization as old and extensive as ASUW, there are bound to be internal issues which require attention and change, and there are bound to be ways the bureaucracy can be streamlined or re-examined.

Although I certainly plan to continue the efforts of our current Director of Internal Policy in items such as Bylaw Reform, the re-evaluation of our internal policy and the pursuit of new ideas is vital to the future of ASUW. As your Director of Internal Policy, I will let this platform guide my actions, while adapting to circumstances as they arise so that I may not sacrifice practicality in order to execute my personal goals. The needs of the community are above all else.

Section 1 | Bylaws Reform

• Focus on streamlining the bureaucracy, dealing with reorganizing the structure of ASUW to make it more efficient in researching or implementing policy. This will involve:

  • Receiving and reviewing the quarterly and annual reports from Board members and entity leaders to understand concerns about their positions and responsibilities, addressing the concerns to the right position to best oversee their work; 

  • Investigating and ensuring the efficiency of the organizational hierarchy;

• Establish, if the current Constitutional reform is adopted, the Bylaws Reform Task Force, which will rewrite the Bylaws in accordance with the new Constitution;

• Research the Bylaws to address problems related to:

  • Inadequate representation, outreach, and resources from ASUW entities;

  • Redundancies and confusing clauses; and

  • Complexities of language which are not necessary for effective, binding governance.

Section 2 | Informational Materials

• Maintain a smooth transition between sessions while managing the large turnover rate each year, with students deciding to no longer participate in student government and with graduation;

• Work on the creation and maintenance of an Internal Policy and ASUW Handbook to better assist the transition between ASUW sessions, formalize organization and government standardization, and to overall support record keeping and management. This will involve:

  • Simplified job and entity descriptions inspired by the Residential Student Community Association’s Executive Board Director hiring process;

  • Bulleted summaries and lists of functions, powers, and requirements;

  • Guide on how to chair a committee; 

  • Organizational charts and visual aids where appropriate;

• Examine reform methods to better support the management of internal documents;

• Prioritize the principles of cohesion and legibility.

Section 3 | Departmental Representation

• Research the feasibility of establishing College and Department Student Associations similar to that of the Associated Students of the College of Education (ASCE) and the Student Council of the School of Dentistry (SoDSC) in order to protect and empower student voices across campus within matters which may not necessitate ASUW action, or which may not have seen it due to a lack of visibility. This will involve:

  • Working with any enterprising groups within Colleges and Departments which seek such Associations in order to facilitate their establishment;

  • Supporting and keeping in touch with existing College and Departmental Student Associations to aid their operations;

  • Gauging student opinion on such ventures and measuring benefits and disadvantages;

  • Encouraging activation of designated Student Senate seats;

  • Considering the effectiveness of the ASCE and SoDSC in relation to their own establishment goals in order to examine how to best assist such organizations;

• Consider which colleges and departments are underrepresented within ASUW, and work to correct any imbalance – systemically if possible, and immethodically if not;

• Focus on student interests and issues concerning undergraduates in order to improve student representation across the entire university; and,

• Work with our GPSS counterparts in colleges and departments to advance our common interests to faculty and administration.

Section 4 | ASUW Wiki

• Establish a Wiki-style website platform. This will involve:

  • Creating basic information articles;

  • Opening the Wiki to good faith public edits;

  • Enforcing rules for editing based on Wikipedia’s own standards of conduct;

• Pursue the amendment of the bylaws to create a Wiki Editing Standing Committee. This committee will:

  • Set standards of editing;

  • Review edits for grammar;

  • Reverse and discipline bad faith editing; and

  • Organize the addition of articles and information; and

• Follow the guiding principle of the Wiki as a historical record.

Section 5 | Internal Strategy

• Work with the Senate Speaker and Vice Speaker on strategies and goals for the 31st Senate Session per the ASUW Bylaws. This will involve:

  • Considering the election platforms of the Board; but

  • Prioritizing the campaigns and plans of the elected Senate leadership to preserve their independence and electoral mandate; 

  • Offering assistance as a legislative resource per the Bylaws;

  • Improving the relationship between Student Senate and GPSS, especially through joint resolutions and frequent reports between both bodies;

• Meet with ASUW liaisons under the purview of the Director of Internal Policy in order to plan measurable and achievable goals for the academic year per the Bylaws; and

• Pursue changes to the Bylaws which are necessary to the achievement of the campaign platforms of fellow Board members to meet the electoral mandate of student voters.

During the majority of my time here at UW, I have been involved with ASUW. Initially, I got involved solely as a student senator; nonetheless, my passion for representation and student government nurtured. Henceforth, I have been interning at the Middle Eastern Student Commission, where I share various elements with constituents. Coupled with my time as the Vice-Chair of the Off-Campus committee at the ASUW Senate, I wish to elevate my path within ASUW and ensure adequate representation of the student body.

Aligning with the mission statement of the University Honors Program of engaging a diverse population of students through an interdisciplinary curriculum that promotes expansive, innovative thinking and conscious global citizenship, an interdisciplinary perspective is vital for diversity efforts. Integrating a culmination of my current leadership positions, past life experiences, and the various perspectives of my peers, this approach will allow me to excel in this position and promote diversity.. 

Section 1 | Collaboration with the JCC

• Work closely with members of the Joint Commissions Committee (JCC) to showcase the diversity of identities on campus while bringing together the diversity commissions in the common goal of supporting all students on campus;

• Promote inter-commission collaboration through activities such as, food festivals, cultural bazaars, etc; 

• Conduct research into the commissions to determine equitable distribution of resources to registered student organizations, ensuring there is no underrepresentation of certain student groups on campus in commissions, presenting recommendations to the JCC, Board, Senate, and all relevant stakeholders to improve the systematic structure; and, 

• Raise awareness about the resources available from ASUW for cultural RSOs and student associations through commission outreach. 

Section 2 | International Students

• Reform the Office of International Student Advocacy into the International Student Commission in order to set it on equal footing with other commissions based on identity and diversity, rather than leaving it in the category of ‘programs,’ which deals with non-diversity advocacy issues;

• Collaborate with the Center for International Relations and Cultural Leadership Exchange (CIRCLE) to create spaces unifying greater involvement of international students;

• Collaborate with CIRCLE and JCC to host career fairs and workshops specialized for international students;

• Represent the diverse 8,000 international students – from more than 100 countries – who make up approximately 20% of our student body, advocating for their needs through the lens of a similar perspective as an international student myself; and

• Promote further international cultural exchange by encouraging domestic students to participate in study abroad programs, building a greater understanding of the international experience;

  • • Conduct surveys and contact constituents of commissions to make study abroad more appealing, whether that is adding destinations or making it more feasible.

A common issue that I have seen throughout my years of involvement within ASUW is the lack of knowledge that students hold as to what change their advocacy is making at the administrative level. I believe that the Director of University Affairs position is the key bridge between ASUW and University Administration yet needs a systematic reform on its operations to better serve UW students and ASUW.

My main goal while serving in this position is to ensure the representation of as many student needs as possible at the University level. That’s why I want to focus on providing an avenue for widespread student involvement to represent the student body’s needs through my position, the Faculty Senate student representatives, and the University Agenda.

As such, my 4 main plans as Director of University Affairs are:

• Researching student needs year-round to better understand the pressing issues that UW students encounter including but not limited to campus safety, food insecurity, and limited financial aid – and then advocating for potential policies to University Administration;

• Appointing and coordinating regularly with knowledgeable student representatives to Faculty Senate and Councils;

• Reviving, reforming, and refining the University Agenda - the key to student advocacy to UW administration and faculty – to form a new tradition of amplifying student voices at the highest level; and,

• Increasing awareness of the decisions made by faculty and administration to the student body through social media, town halls and other platforms, through collaboration with the Director of Programming and the ASUW Office of Communications.

Section 1 | Research into Student Concerns

Currently, the ASUW does not conduct many year-round long term research plans that survey the needs of the student body for a variety of concerns or topics. As such, in order to better isolate student concerns/needs, the ASUW needs to spearhead more regular and comprehensive research into student needs to focus our advocacy efforts each year based on the current environment of UW. I want to focus on this role, mostly focusing on implementing the following aspects:

• Conduct year round and quarterly surveys that can be utilized within ASUW to understand student needs and shape policy for the current year;

• Formulate surveys based off of the input from faculty council representatives that are appointed from the student body;

• Implement an open-feedback inquiry system for the ASUW that operates similarly to the RCSA inquiry system;

• Collaborate with RCSA to survey hall residents to better understand the obstacles students encounter with housing and dining;

• Cross-referencing results with other major surveys taken on campus, such as the UW Surveys advertised by the Office of Educational Assessment and  the Autumn Resident Survey;

Section 2 | The University Agenda

The University Agenda is a document meant to highlight specific needs that students have on a University-wide level. The University Agenda is highly underutilized, only having been introduced this year after being unutilized for over a decade. I want to help set a new standard for the creation of the University Agenda that can increase ASUW and Student advocacy at the faculty and administrative level. As such, my main goals are:

• • Creating a University Steering Task Force to create the University Agenda, with the ultimate goal of enshrining its duties as a new standing Committee within the Bylaws, which will:

    • • Be structured and operated based on the Legislative Steering Committee which creates the Legislative Agenda;

      • Include all ASUW representatives to student councils, faculty councils, and university committees, to ensure diversity of voice and perspective;

      • Include representatives from the Student Senate, the official student opinion making body, and the Board of Directors, the Executive authority of ASUW;

      • Work year-round to document and research current student issues on campus, which may then be synthesized into a University Agenda mirroring the in-depth research and high quality of the Legislative Agenda – ASUW’s goals for yearly lobbying;

      • Draft the University Agenda with specific policies to improve student quality of life on the Seattle Campus;

      • Work with the ASUW President and Vice President to promote shared policy goals in tri-campus administration across all UW campuses;

      • Advocate for the University Agenda to UW administration and Faculty Councils; and

      • Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the taskforce, and implement Bylaw and Constitutional reform as needed for next-year’s administration;

  • Opening discussion within the task force or committee on specific ideas and areas of concern with the ultimate goal of receiving a diverse array of input and adequately representing student opinion in the University Agenda, including, but not limited to:

    • • The promotion of a safer campus environment, through increased lighting and blue light poles, as well as the protected reporting of and strengthened response to reported instances of violence or hate crimes on campus;

      • The advocacy for increased financial aid to students in need, including more scholarships for underprivileged students within Washington as well as for out-of-state and international students;

      • The improvement of academic policy for students on campus, such as UW grading policies or  increasing provision of class supplies to students; and

      • Improving the sustainability of HFS dining practices and ensuring that student concerns over food quality, pricing, dietary restrictions, and more are heard on a University level;

  • Fighting for the policies and ideals of the University Agenda, so that it becomes more than just a statement of principles, and rather serves the community as a strong foundation for real change on a University level, primarily through:

    • • The discussion of University Agenda items in Faculty Senate and Councils, making use of a close knit Faculty Senate and Council liaison network to ensure that the various Faculty entities provide specialized attention to the specific issues and needs of the students;

      • The encouragement or direct introduction of Senate resolutions and University Directives to clarify, refine, and add to the University Agenda after its passage, or to draw attention to the successes or failures of administration in meeting the goals set forth by the students; and

      • The use of meetings with University administration to touch base on the progress of the University Agenda, figure out potential conflicts or issues, and reinforce the enactment of policies consistent with its ideals and goals.

Section 3 | Faculty Senate and Councils

• The Faculty Senate serves as the legislative body of University faculty, where elected representatives from various schools and departments work together to form faculty opinions and make policy which concerns not just the University administration, but the students as well. As such, protecting and expanding the input of students is vital to successful advocacy. I will accomplish this by:

  • Promoting the University Agenda within the Faculty Senate and Councils – myself and through appointed liaisons – to ensure that the policies are enacted in a timely manner;

  • Setting general expectations and qualifications for appointed liaisons to the Faculty Councils to ensure that passionate, responsible students are representing the voice of UW;

  • Maintaining strong oversight in case liaisons violate these standards – student appointees who do not fight for the needs of the students should be replaced with those who will;

  • Building a productive working relationship and a positive working environment between ASUW and the UW Administration in order to facilitate the implementation of student opinions or policy goals;

  • Following up on legislation from the Student Senate or other ASUW action with faculty and university administration in order to ensure that student voices were heard and positive change was achieved as a result;

  • Taking input from various RSOs/Student Groups and keeping in contact with the Director of Programming to ensure that the voices of student groups, especially, are being heard, and their needs advocated to UW administration; and

  • Examining the structure and content of student advocacy in other universities for insight into how to maximize success in amplifying the student voice.

Section 4 | Transparency and Outreach

• As a member of the People’s Voice Ticket, I believe in transparency and outreach from the student government, so that all students may understand ASUW advocacy in general, and my work in particular. I seek to ensure that all students are aware of what we in ASUW are achieving with regards to university affairs. Moreover, I want to establish a direct line of communication between myself and the students to answer any questions and hear any concerns from the public. I will pursue these goals of transparency and outreach by:

  • Cooperating with the Director of Programming and Office of Communications to educate the constituents of ASUW on the inner workings of University Affairs and advertise openings in Faculty Senate and Council positions;

  • Reporting on University Affairs successes on social media to generate public awareness of ongoing issues of concern, including the progress of the University Agenda;

  • Reporting back to the Student Senate, Senate Steering, and the Senate Speaker about the progress of the University Agenda and academic or administrative legislation, as well as summarizing major discussions within various Faculty Councils, largely through:

    • • Regular meetings with the ASUW Senate Speaker;

      • Reporting at least twice per month to the Student Senate; and

      • Attending Steering, as per the bylaws;

  • Keeping in contact with the Chair of the Senate Committee on Resolution Follow-Up in order to work together on shared duties regarding the tracking of Senate academic and administrative legislation;

  • Reporting on major projects and Faculty Senate or Council topics of discussion to the Board of Directors during weekly meetings; and

  • Providing my voice to Presidential addresses and town halls designed to inform the student body and solicit opinion and input into the actions of the Board of Directors and the University itself.

Throughout my time representing student voices as a Senator in ASUW, I’ve been made aware of an issue affecting practically every demographic of students; a lack of knowledge about ASUW itself and how one can get involved. I consider opportunities to work with ASUW to be vital to the UW experience, and one of the best ways to promote this to the student body is through incoming students from every walk of life. To achieve this, I intend to partner closely with communities like RCSA, transfer students, athletes, veterans, and the Greek Councils to increase awareness of ASUW and its advocacy.

While I concede that the current disconnect in ASUW participation is going to be a struggle to overcome, it is imperative that together we bridge this gap to provide student representation on all levels of the university. As your Community Relations Director, I will work towards the following goals to ensure your voice is heard.

Section 1 | Involvement of Incoming Students

• Bringing first-year students into ASUW will be instrumental in retaining long-term retention and ensure that our work is efficient and productive as students are better able to understand how our organization works the more involved in ASUW for as long as possible;

• Growing our connection with First-Year Programs (FYP) as a way to getting incoming students more aware of our resources and opportunities to advocate student interests;

  • Propose a lesson module about ASUW and how students can participate in it; 

  • Increase visibility during ASUW funded FYP events to promote awareness;

  • Have more staffing for ASUW information session during events like Dawg Daze to answer questions new students have on how to be involved;

• Ensuring that transfer students are not overlooked in the onboarding process between quarters provides opportunities for these groups that may otherwise be lost, and by doing so creates a pathway for ASUW to properly represent them;

  • • Look into possibilities to incorporate transfer students that join between quarters;

    • Hosting events past fall quarter to welcome and recognize transfer students by working with the Transfer and Commuter Commons;

• For both pathways of incoming students, recognizing the difficulties international students may have in adjusting to campus life and culture is crucial to improving their transition to UW, as not only are they faced with the regular transition to living on campus, but have to endure the culture shock that may occur in their time here at UW;

  • • Cooperating with CIRCLE to provide safe spaces for students to feel comfortable;

    • Collaborate with OISA to advocate for international students' interests here on campus.

Section 2 | Relationship with Greek Life

• • Historical participation of Greek Life in ASUW resulted in greater student turnout in elections and greater say of that student community in our advocacy and policy work – rebuilding our relationship with them through the four (4) Greek Councils will be essential in establishing our presence among that community;

  • Developing the bond to the Greek communities through engaging with the variety of events the Councils plan to increase participation among the members of Greek life;

    • • Supporting charity events hosted by the fraternities and sororities;

      • Increasing promotion of awareness events from the Greek community to the wider student body;

      • Having further discussions with Greek life leaders to enable ASUW to remain informed on how we as an organization can better serve this community.

Section 3 | Relationship with RCSA

• • With the RCSA being the largest and main representative body for on-campus students, it is imperative that ASUW forms close bonds to RCSA leadership so both entities can advocate for their constituents’ needs on several levels, and renew ASUW’s presence alongside RCSA in the lives of students on-campus;

    • • Work with the RCSA Director of Recognitions and Partnerships to see how ASUW can support RCSA events; 

      • Gather student opinion of HFS in conjunction with the RCSA executive board to determine what actions would best support student interests;

Section 4 | Outreach and Research

• This position is the main avenue to ASUW for some of the largest student communities, but communication between ASUW and these communities has diminished – in order to properly connect with and elevate them, these relationships need to be reinvigorated, providing a platform with which ASUW can help them support their constituents;

  • • Ensuring that frequent meetings are occurring for all of the outlined bodies to create a proper flow of information to keep all parties knowledgeable;

    • Looking into student participation within each entity to confirm that the leadership of these entities are providing opportunities for student input and are working for student interest;

• Understanding the general needs of student communities allows ASUW to more effectively support their constituents. In order to do so, information must be gathered to determine these needs, and then actions taken by the directors who are in the best position to aid the students. 

  • • Conducting student surveys to better understand the issues that ASUW can help to address;

  • Resolving community-wide concerns like campus safety by working with other directors.

I am passionate about advocacy through ASUW, serving this year as ASUW Asian Student Commission Co-Director, helping to empower Asian/Asian American student voices on campus. Through the Director of Campus Partnerships role, I intend to advocate broadly for the betterment of the student body experience through strategic Campus Partnerships. As a future therapist, the opportunity to work with health-related organizations/departments on and around campus is an opportunity that I especially look forward to. During my term of service as the Director of Campus Partnerships, I hope to competently represent the student body and raise students' concerns while bringing my own passions and experiences to the role.

As a student at UW and someone who has sought out mental health resources at UW, it is apparent that the counseling resources that Husky Health/Wellbeing provides for mental health are often minimal and inaccessible. I would like to work with Husky Health & Well-Being to explore the possibility of expanding the providers and number of times students can access mental health services. During my term as Director of Campus Partnerships, I intend to improve and expand access to mental health services at Husky Health/Wellbeing and the UW Counseling Center. I understand that campus safety is students’ concern and would also like to explore the possibility of increasing campus safety officers, who will be trained and unarmed in the U-district area and North of 45 (Greek row). I am also aiming to cooperate with UW Transportation Services to extend the beginning of the night ride earlier during winter months.  

Section 1 | Campus Participation

• Work on growing ASUW’s collaboration with various partners in and around campus, including a diverse range of organizations to increase the scope of our campus partnerships; 

• Strengthen our relationship with student groups that specifically focus on identity/diversity issues and advocacy to ensure a greater amount of collaboration on student issues;

• Ensure the student body receives up to date information by incorporating a Campus Partnerships update into Presidential addresses, and pursuing monthly newsletters if the President does not deliver reports;

• Acquire student perspective by delivering frequent reports in the ASUW Student Senate meetings;

• Create surveys to gain student body’s feedback on campus issues like campus safety, mental health resources, sustainability, and more; 

• Encourage students to apply to the Campus Sustainability Fund, Student Safety Advisory Board, and other entities under my purview through strong advertisements within and outside ASUW:

  • Students may find it difficult to commit to something that they are not familiar with. hosting an open meeting for candidates to answer their concerns and questions;

  • Work with each committee/board to help advertising and bring student input to public meetings; and

  • Advertise with the help of Office of Communications and the president’s student wide emails;

• Establish recurring information booth to increase the transparency of my position and/or ASUW;  and

• Host educational and social events to form an in-person connection between committee members and UW students.
  
  

Section 2 | Build Relationship with Campus Partners

• Maintain inclusive and positive spaces for the LGBTQ, disability and D/deaf community;

• Hall Health, Health and Wellness, and the UW Counseling Center

  • Consult the Office of Student Health Relations (OSHR) on work with these entities;

  • Explore the feasibility of hiring additional counselors and offering more resources to students seeking not only short-term care but also long-term care; 

  • Cooperate with HuskyHelpLine to create a non-police response system for mental health emergencies;

• D Center

  • Work with both the D Center and Disability Resources for Students to improve the possibility of getting accommodation for disabled students for classes;

  • Improve the accessibility of accommodation for disabled students due to unforeseen circumstance;

  • Promote visibility of D center; 

  • Collaborate with D Center and ASUW Student Disability Commission to create new events to connecting with students;

• U-District Partnership

  • Use the bi-monthly meeting to elevate students’ voices and raise their concerns;

  • Collaborate with the business on U-District for hosting some cultural festivals/event;

• UWPD

  • Maintain strong student input and transparency in the process of hiring campus safety officers;

  • Work with UWPD  to explore the possibility of increasing campus safety officers, who will be trained and unarmed at the U-District area and North of 45 (Greek row);

• UW University Bookstore

  • Cooperate with UW Bookstore to increase visibility of University Bookstore on campus, tucked into a downstairs corner of the Hub;

• U- Pass / Transportation

  • Ensure constant updates with the U-Pass Advisory Board and University Transportation Committee;

  • Examine the possibility of extending the beginning the night ride to earlier times during the darker, winter months;

• UW Sustainability

  • Advocate for carbon neutrality per existing goals and targets as well as adapting to student advocacy;

  • Promote Five-Part UW Energy Transformation Strategy; and

  • Use regular meetings with UW Sustainability to push for progress updates and maintain a fast but achievable pace on climate goals.