On Wednesday, Sep. 13, Washburn Student Government Association had its third official meeting of the semester. Each cabinet director gave updated progress reports for the semester discussing topics such as future collaboration with Washburn president, JuliAnn Mazachek and mental health awareness as September is national suicide prevention month in the U.S.
WSGA president, Antonio Martinez, talks about WSGA’s strategic planning phase and its plans to host a presidential round table with WSGA senators, students and Mazachek.
The Presidential round table will take place on Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Washburn Memorial Union in the Kansas room. It will be focused on collaboration between the students and campus administration.
“It is a very important part-time job for our campus because it affects the next 10 years and where we are headed,” Martinez said. “It will help get those students’ voices heard and give them the feedback they need.”
WSGA cabinet member and health and wellness director, Sierra Jeter, presented information from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment including numbers for resource centers and crisis hotlines.
She talked about the importance of mental health, especially among college students.
“You are loved and it is okay to not be okay; there are resources and people to reach out to,” Jeter said.
WSGA has also worked hard on advocacy for organizations across campus and is planning to put a proclamation to the governor’s office for the national first-generation college celebration day.
“This is a special day on Nov. 8, which is celebrated as a national first-generation college celebration day,” Martinez said. “Nationally, we have put in that it will be celebrated in the state of Kansas. We are crossing our fingers that it will pass and we are excited about that.”
Martinez also talks about their goals to improve Ride Smart with Lyft for students.
“Our goals are to increase the Lyft program, so more international students can have access to transportation and students who don’t have cars on campus can use it easily,” Martinez said. “It covers four rides up to $8 right now, and we are looking to increase the amount of ride amount.”
The diversity and inclusion organization is planning to host a mixer for students on Friday Sept. 22 in the Washburn Memorial Union underground room from 5 to 7 p.m.
We want every student to come and maybe make a friend that night said JoAnna Marks, diversity and inclusion director.
The meeting continued with the passing of funding requests from various organizations around campus and concluded with cabinet members meeting with incoming freshmen who are hoping to become the next senators in WSGA.
Rene Cabrera, a freshman public administration major, attended the WSGA meeting on Wednesday.
“It seems that there is a good sense of community between the members, and they are diverse in so many ways; so it’s a good way to get involved,” Cabrera said.
The members of WSGA continue to work toward their goals this semester and encourage students to become involved in the organization.
WSGA’s next meeting is at 6 p.m. Sept. 27, 2023, at the Washburn Memorial Union in the Kansas Room.
Edited by Larissa Morgan, Regina Cassell and LeSha’ Davis
