2008 Woodie Awards
Campus elections: Associated Students
Voting will take place next week for the 33 positions of the ASWOU cabinet
Judy McClintock
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Various positions include, President, Senate President, Student Activities Board Director and Judicial Administrator.
According to Andrew Fowler, current Judicial Administrator, students are allowed a whole week of campaigning and voting takes place on May 2, 3 and 4.
Voting polls will be set up around campus, in the Werner Center, in front of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) building and in Valsetz Dining Hall, he said.
According to Fowler, the ASWOU President is "in charge of running the cabinet."
"He is an icon for the students," he said. The President spends a lot of time at the state capitol in Salem lobbying for student rights, Fowler said.
The Senate President, Fowler said, is responsible for going over the university constitution, and making necessary changes.
According to Cassie Dodge, current Senate President, significant changes were made this year under her reign.
One important change made to the constitution was a decrease in needed student vote for bills to pass. Originally, a bill needed 20 percent of the student vote to pass, and now, under a constitutional change, it only needs 10 percent.
The Senate President is responsible for looking at student concerns and seeking the means to solve them, according to Fowler.
For example, earlier this year, Dodge and other senators took the time to discuss the troubling issue of sexual harassment at Western.
According to Dodge, they listened to administration, and to students, and represented any student concerns.
The biggest accomplishment this year for the Senate included "approving 28 amendments," Dodge said. And, approving the Incidental Fee Costs (IFC) budget "for the first time in a long time."
The Judicial Administrator, according to Fowler, is in charge of a four-member Judicial board. The board and the administrator, Fowler said, suggest changes for the constitution that are passed on to the Senate.
In addition, the administrator is in charge of "running all elections on campus," he said. The Student Activities Director, Fowler said, is in charge of running their own board of students. They have their own budget, he said, and they "come up with ways to get students involved."
During campaign week students also run for various senator positions. According to Fowler, there are four areas a student can be a senator with: on-campus caucus, off-campus caucus, liberal arts caucus and education caucus.
According to Fowler, most students seeking Senate positions are elected through write-ins. Anyone who supports a candidate, he said, can write the person's name in on voting days.
"It's what most senators do," Fowler said.
Also, students can run for three positions on the IFC committee and two positions on the Judicial Board.