Associated Students of Washington State University


ASWSU refers to the Associated Students of Washington State University. This student government organization encompasses the Washington State University Pullman campus. The elections happen every spring the Wednesday before spring break. Voter turnout is consistently the highest in the PAC-12 conference.

ASWSU executive branch

The Executive Branch currently comprises:
The undergraduate student population at Washington State University is currently represented in the 49th ASWSU Senate by the following:
The composition of the 48th ASWSU Senate:
The ASWSU Senate is composed of representatives from each of the academic colleges as well as larger jurisdictions, such as all-campus and uncertified, with the role of legislating on behalf of the undergraduate students of Washington State University. One of the earliest key pieces legislation and projects under the 47th Senate was re-establishing the 'Issues & Forums' committee that fosters political discussion between different points of view, which was led by Senator Schilperoort of the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Another major endeavor was renaming a plaza on campus on behalf of the Multicultural Greek Community at WSU, partly led by Senator Hernandez of the Carson College of Business. All-Campus Senator Pielow authored bills to strengthen the independent and unbiased role of an election board, initiating requirements for all Senators to disclose their affiliated RSOs to tackle fiscal nepotism, and introducing new voter registration campaigns at WSU's dorms during the Week of Welcome. Senators Parchem and Dalton, along with Delegate Brown, attempted to introduce a mandatory sports pass for all undergraduates at WSU, though it was eventually thwarted by Senator Pielow. Honors College Delegate Arend had authored and passed a constitutional amendment that changed the position of Honors College Delegate into Honors College Senator, which was eventually passed and ratified by the voters.

Historical lobbying efforts

ASWSU on all campuses recently voted to opt out of the Washington Student Association as a lobbying group. Campus leaders did not believe the lobbying group was providing enough for what students' were paying. ASWSU President Jake Bredstrand also remarked that the addition of community colleges in the lobbying group as it "brings in other schools that have needs far different from ours". The campus newspaper recently supported the decision, stating their opinion that "A coalition can be accomplished without a middle-man like the WSA and if it involves more direct talk between Washington colleges, then we all might find a way out of this budget crisis together". ASWSU will now form a "Cougar Coalition" that will lobby exclusively for Washington State University.