WSGA conducted their meeting like Kansas senators do when they held their senate meeting at the Capitol building last Wednesday night.

The student government meets there every year, and traditions at the meeting include reading the full minutes out loud, and candidates for next year’s presidency and vice presidency announcing.

Campaign Announcements

The first pair to announce their intentions to run for president and vice president were Vince Bowhay and Lacey Keller. Bowhay is a junior English education major at Washburn and Keller is a junior business major.

Bowhay said the main message he wants to send to students is that he and Keller are leaders, and that asset can benefit Washburn. They plan on meeting with organizations, passing out flyers and drawing people to their Web site, where they explain their stances on the issues.

“We want them to get to know the real Lacey and me,” said Bowhay, who said they plan on running the election like a business, keeping it as professional as possible.

Students can contact Bowhay and Keller on their Web site – www.vinceandlacey.com.

The second pair to announce their intentions to run for president and vice president were Nick Woolery and Andrea Chancey. Woolery is a junior public administration major and Chancey is a senior political science and management major.

Woolery said there are various messages he wants to get out to the student body during the campaign.

“We want to give students services so they can succeed in and out of the classroom,” said Woolery.

He and Chancey plan to reach out to students by talking to organizations, the student athletes and also reaching out to students who aren’t very involved.

Students can contact Woolery and Chancey on their Web site – www.woolerychancey2007.com.

While announcing at the Capitol is a tradition for WSGA, candidates who wish to still run have until March 2 to declare their intentions.

Editor’s note: The Washburn Review will publish a WSGA Election Guide on March 5 that will go in-depth on the issues the candidates care about, and their past leadership experiences. It will be available online starting Feb. 26.

Campus smoking referendum

WSGA passed a bill that would put a referendum concerning a smoking ban on the election ballot in March.

Whitney Phillippi, chair of the communications committee, said the question was something the committee came up with to link themselves to the community, as other people are considering the idea.

“Our first goal is to stir up the issue, and we’ve discussed using the results [of the referendum] in a town hall meeting,” said Phillipi when she explained the bill to the senate.

As of Wednesday, it hadn’t been determined what the exact question will be on the ballot.

Spring Philanthropy

The goal of WSGA’s spring philanthropy, Wipe Out Poverty, will be to collect toilet paper for people in the Topeka community in need. WSGA approved $400 to purchase T-shirts in order to encourage students to donate toilet paper to the project.

Organization funding

Nine organizations were up for funding for various group projects and conferences.

The Social Justice League was approved for $1,350 to host The Freedom Concert, which will be held on March 3 at White Concert Hall.

The Delta Gamma sorority was approved for $1,903.20 to attend the Delta Gamma Institute 2007 Circles of Influence conference from Feb. 22-25 in Dallas.

Panhellenic Council was approved for $2,000 to attend the Mid-America Greek Council Association 2007 conference from Feb. 22-25 in Chicago.

The Interfraternity Council was approved for $2,000 to attend the same conference the Panhellenic Council is attending.

Washburn’s Chemistry Club was approved for $768.75 to attend the annual convention of the AAFS from Feb. 19-24 in San Antonio.

Washburn’s chapter of the NAACP was approved for $962.46 to attend the Big XII Leadership conference from Feb. 15-18 in Lincoln, Neb.

The Washburn Black Student Union was approved for $1,237.50 to attend the same conference as the NAACP.

The Mock Trial Association was approved for $500 to host the AMTA regional mock trial tournament at Washburn from Feb. 16-17.

The Speech and Debate club was approved for $2,480 to host the Capital City Spring Classic debate tournament at Washburn from Feb. 23-25.