On Wednesday, March 11, Washburn Student Government Association reconvened in the Kansas Room for its regular weekly meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Funding proposals, a revision to the budget and updates to election procedures were all reviewed and approved during the nearly an hour meeting.
The meeting began with roll call and the review of previous meeting minutes. Key updates included the funding policy and scheduled posts and preparation of marketing materials.
The meeting then moved on to approve several funding requests. Senator of WSGA, Prekshya Adhikari presented a grant request for change for the freshman merit scholarships.
Following requests, the cabinet report started with Belle Hammes, director of communications and marketing. Hammes shared updates on ongoing work, including scheduled posts and preparation of marketing materials like t-shirts, stickers and supplies highlighting upcoming priorities such as funding week during spring break which will include guidance on submitting funding requests and updates to the funding policy.
Similarly, Parker Whaley, director of student accessibility and belonging, reported that the butterfly event was successful, events for the semester are planned and the “What Were You Wearing” event is still being scheduled. However, Amya Carpenter, special events director shared that the big event is being finalized with confirmations coming soon and election announcements will take place on Friday.
The meeting moved to New Business II: The Transparency Act of 2026. The Transparency Act of 2026 aimed to increase openness by recording WSGA meetings by the camera in the Kansas room and then uploading them likely to YouTube because they have transcripts, allowing people to see full discussions rather than relying only on written minutes.
Adhikari presented a grant request to change the merit scholarship to allow students to get the scholarship even if they took a gap year.
“I think that this is very unfair for hard working and dedicated students and a student taking time to think about their future shouldn’t have this disadvantage,” Adhikari said. “If anybody is wondering what’s the amount for the scholarship, it ranges from $1,000 per year to $5,000 per year and that’s on the basis of GPA. So, it’s $4,000 to $20,000 throughout a student’s four year study at Washburn and I think that a gap year shouldn’t be the reason that a student doesn’t deserve that scholarship.”
The meeting concluded with final announcements, followed by a roll call and was then officially adjourned.
Edited by Arohi Rai and Bidhya Sapkota
