By Anna Edlund
Western’s new 2016-2017 Associated Students Board of Directors was inaugurated at their annual ceremony, which included final remarks from the current AS Board members as well as the official oath swearing of the new board.
Outgoing AS President Belina Seare spoke about her experiences and hopes for the upcoming year during the ceremony, held on Tuesday, May 24.
“I came into this position with the intention to serve underrepresented and ignored populations on our campus in a way I felt empowered to do so because of my experiences at Western,” Seare said. “My challenge to this board is to never deny your existence in these positions.”
“It’s been cool to see over the last two years that student involvement has grown.”
Senior Terrah Short
Within her remarks, Seare asked for a moment of silence for “all the students that our institution willfully ignores and silences.”
Seare’s successor, Stephanie Cheng, was in attendance but could not be reached for comment.
Bryce Hammer, the new Vice President for Governmental Affairs, praised Seare for her dedication to the students of Western.
“I am very thankful to the people who have come before me, like our current president, [Seare],” Hammer said. “I think she’s done a wonderful job and I hope to make her proud.”
Incoming AS VP for Business and Operations Mary Moeller expressed excitement towards her new position.
“Honestly, it feels great,” Moeller said. “There was so much stress that went into the campaign, and we can finally start doing the work that the students elected us to do.”
After the ceremony, new AS Board members stayed to answer student questions at the Student Session. The session allowed students to meet one-on-one with the new board members.
Senior Terrah Short attended the event to support two of the incoming vice presidents.
“I think it’s really important that students step up their involvement,” Short said. “It’s been cool to see over the last two years that student involvement has grown.”
The current AS Board of Directors will continue to meet until the final day of classes on Friday, June 10. Until then, the current board will show those elected to take over their position more about the obligations they will face in office.
