The Washburn Student Government Association met Wednesday, Oct. 2, to approve several student organization funding bills as well as make changes to its constitution and bylaws.

In the public forum, Student Accessibility Services spoke on a new ruling from the Department of Justice requiring Washburn-affiliated student organizations to create online-accessible content for social media posts. This includes adding captions to all videos and an online reader for text-formatted content. The ruling will go into effect in 2026. 

“It’s going to be a challenge, but that’s why we are visiting with you two years ahead of time, so we can all get into the habit so it’s a more seamless process,” said Heather Popejoy, director of Student Accessibility Services.

WSGA passed several senate bills pertaining to the allocation of funds to student organizations. The Chemistry Club was given $200 for supplies for an outreach event for a home-schooled group in Topeka. The Kinesiology Club was given $100 for pizza for its next meeting. Washburn Strings was given $1,800 for its Baroque Bash. The Spanish Club was given $1,950 for its apparel and miscellaneous items and $700 for its Día de los Muertos trip. The Interfraternity Council was given $445 for its movie night and related costs. 

WSGA recognized October as Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, Filipino-American Month and LGBTQIA+ History Month. 

WSGA also made changes to its budget. Among the many changes, the amount of money allowed to be given to student organizations was raised from $70,000 to $100,000. Similarly, the student grant maximum was raised from $20,000 to $25,000. 

The remaining time of the meeting was dedicated to changes made to the organization’s constitution and bylaws as well as discussion about new committee roles and involvement in homecoming activities.

Edited by Stuti Khadka and Morgan Albrecht