Students who brave the Seattle area’s formidable traffic to get to class each day will get a welcome surprise Wednesday mornings: a hot cup of Tully’s coffee, free of charge. The project started yesterday.

Whether you bus, bike or drive, ASUW Publicity and Programming Committee members are scheduled to hand out cups of fair trade certified coffee from 7 - 9 a.m. at the bus stop between the Communications Building and the HUB.

The service is a part of the Commuter Morning Project.

“It was an idea that came about when I was trying to figure out a way to include commuter students on campus,” said Tyler Dockins, ASUW publicity and programming director. “We already see governance structures for the Greek community and the residence hall students. However, commuters do not have any type of significant structure in place that can help them have a sense of belonging on campus and know that other students are looking out for them.”

The Commuter Morning Project is expected to run through winter quarter on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. Tully’s Coffee is providing the refreshments along with the necessary “coffee accessories” of cream and sugar; Dockins estimates there will be enough coffee to serve about 180 cups.

The Publicity and Programming Committee serves to promote programs and entities of the ASUW; often the committee will advertise events to students by handing out promotional flyers and giving presentations about ASUW events to students.

This is the first year the committee is attempting a project of this variety.

Off-Campus Housing Affairs, an agency within ASUW, has traditionally dealt with reaching out to commuter students.

The Publicity and Programming Committee saw the Commuter Morning Project as a way to get students not living on campus to learn about and participate in ASUW affairs.

John Naughton, an ASUW commuter senator, said he appreciates the ASUW’s effort to draw commuter students into campus affairs but said more publicity concerning programs like the Commuter Morning Project would be helpful.

“I was, until [yesterday] morning, unaware of [the program’s] existence,” Naughton said. “After searching the Web, I could not find any hint of such a program at the UW. With that said, I would have to applaud any attempt by the ASUW to better reach out and show appreciation for its commuter constituents. This ‘commuter coffee’ program is a good start but a stronger effort needs to be made.”

Along with several other commuters, Naughton established the Commuter Issues Caucus RSO last week; its purpose is to “inform, advocate and legislate for commuters at the UW,” Naughton said.

ASUW President Cullen White stands firm in the belief that the Commuter Morning Project will improve ASUW’s relationship with commuter students.

“[This program] gives us an opportunity to publicize our events, programs and services to students on campus, with the hopes of increasing student participation in ASUW,” White said. “We specifically want to focus on publicizing our events, programs and services to commuter students because they don’t have an existing structure on campus that specifically represents their needs and concerns. It’s important that we increase commuter involvement in ASUW, particularly our student senate.”

Tully’s previously co-sponsored the UW’s homecoming event during fall quarter.

When the concept of the Commuter Morning Project came up, the Seattle-based coffee company was the natural choice to approach for helping out with the program, White said. Tully’s CEO, John Buller, is a UW graduate and former Executive Director of the UW Alumni Association.

“[Tully’s] has been incredibly supportive of all our endeavors this year,” White said.

Reach reporter Tiffany Wan at news@thedaily.washington.edu.