Short AS Board meeting still shows results

Western Washington University’s Associated Students Board of Directors meeting for Wednesday, April 15, covered the issues of feedback on the Queer Resource Center and permanent approval of the EverFi Haven sexual assault training for all incoming Western students. The Associated Students Board meeting lasted only 26 minutes due to three of the AS Board members including AS President Annika Wolters being in Washington D.C. to lobby congress on behalf of the students of Western and Washington state as a whole. Despite the briefness of the meeting, two resolutions were passed. The first resolution was a Structure and Program Advisory Committee, SPAC, review on the Queer Resources Center, QRC. The QRC presented eight recommendations about how they can improve their offices, which were submitted for approval of the AS Board. The Board passed the motion 4-0. The second resolution was a continuation of the process to make EverFi Haven sexual violence training mandatory for all incoming freshman and transfer students. This measure also passed 4-0, although it does not finalize the process and Haven must still be approved by the Board of Trustees, VP of Business and Operations Chelsea Ghant said. Assistant Dean of Students Eric Alexander said the rest of the AS board flew to Washington D.C. on Tuesday, April 14. They are there to lobby on behalf of several bills including The Voter Empowerment Act, The Reintroduction to End Racial Profiling Act and the Reintroduction of the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education act is of particular importance to Western students because it helps to support financial aid and various grants for college students around the country, Alexander said. “It’s a great opportunity for the students from a learning perspective, but it’s also a great thing for the national level. This is how [Congress] gets to hear the voice of the people they are representing,” Alexander said. Next week’s AS Board meeting promises to be much longer and full of discourse with the return of the other board members from Washington D.C. and the myriad of issues postponed for their return.

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