The school year has barely begun, but already Washburn Student Government Association President Vince Bowhay is excited about what this year will bring to WSGA and the students of Washburn University.

Bowhay says he is most excited about the free lecture series WSGA is trying to bring to Washburn. Working in tandem with the iRead program, which aims to get students all over campus reading a common book, the series will start off with author and humanitarian Ishmael Beah, author of “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.” Beah will be speaking at Washburn at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1, and the event will be free to Washburn students. Bowhay says that the series will start small, with one guest per semester, but he hopes it will grow to three or four per year if the students enjoy the program and funds become available.

WSGA’s other major project, in addition to the lecture series, is the Student Smoking Committee formed to address the issue of smoking on campus. Students who wish to have their voices heard on this matter can submit applications by Friday, Aug. 31. The applications are available in the Living Learning Center lobby, the Washburn Village and the WSGA office in the lower level of Memorial Union. Currently, 15 students have applied to be on the committee. Both smokers and non-smokers are encouraged to apply.

The committee will have until February 2008 to come up with a proposal to the WSGA Senate concerning this issue. Last year, students decided in a referendum to ban all smoking on campus. At a later town-hall style meeting, it was decided that this solution was impractical, leaving many people to wonder what sort of compromise this year’s committee will come up with.

Bowhay is optimistic about the energy he sees in the freshman class and he urges them to channel that energy into getting involved in campus organizations such as WSGA, the Campus Activities Board and Greek organizations.

WSGA plans to continue its ongoing programs, such as the Collegiate Readership Program, Safe Ride and the iSave Student Discount Program, in addition to its new programs. Information on these programs can be found at www.mywsga.com.

“WSGA is here to empower people and help them accomplish their goals,” said Bowhay.