WSGA appoints new positions
New chairs for the allocations, campus and community affairs, health and wellness and diversity, equity and inclusion committees were appointed during the Washburn Student Government Association all-senate meeting May 3.
Katie Woltje, appointed allocations chairperson, Valeria Ortega-Borunda, appointed campus and community affairs chairperson, Emma Teply, appointed health and wellness chairperson, and Mae Atakpa, appointed diversity, equity and inclusion chairperson, are the new chairs of the senate.
Other appointments included Brycen Labertew as the parliamentarian and Samarii Berry as the new director for the campus and community affairs committee.
Berry was not previously a member of WSGA before being sworn in as campus and community affairs director. Tevin Asamoah, WSGA vice president, felt that she would be a great fit for the position.
“She is more than capable,” Asamoah said. “She’s friendly, she’s happy, she’s very upfront about it and she’ll let you know if something’s going wrong or something’s going right.”
Antonio Martinez, WSGA president, and Asamoah, re-introduced their budget during the meeting. The budget was revised after being rejected by the senate during the April 26 meeting.
Notable content of the proposed budget included an increase of $4,000 in funds for the Washburn Ride Smart program, a program that offers Washburn University students four discounted Lift rides a month.
Following concerns discussed at the last senate meeting by Bella Wood, former campus and community affairs director, the new proposed budget allocates $1,500 to The Big Event. This is an increase of $1,000 from the previous proposal. The Big Event is a WSGA sponsored community service event held each spring semester.
JoAnna Marks, diversity, equity and inclusion director, expressed concern over the decrease of $1,000 from the campus and community affairs, health and wellness and the diversity, equity and inclusion committees. Asamoah explained that the committee budget cuts are helping to fund community integration with the hopes of creating a more interconnected Washburn.
After discussion, members of the senate agreed to approve the budget proposal. Martinez and Asamoah have an upcoming meeting to discuss their newly approved budget with their advisors.
If you want to know more about WSGA’s fiscal budget plans for the 23-24 academic year click here.
Edited by Christina Noland and Glorianna Noland
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