How many times have you gone through registration and signed up to be part of the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) without actually knowing what ASUW is or does? This week’s series will explain who the members of ASUW are and what they do.

The ASUW is divided into four entities: administration, commissions, programs and enterprises. The Board of Directors (BOD) and the Student Senate make up the administrative portion of ASUW, and today’s portion of the five-day series will focus on the most visible student representatives of the BOD: the president and vice president.

ASUW President

ASUW President Anttimo Bennett transferred to the UW from Shoreline Community College winter quarter of 2006, and after seeing the ASUW elections that spring, decided to get involved in ASUW the following academic year.

During the fall of 2006, he was the temporary co-chair of the Office of Minority Affairs Student Advisory Board (SAB), and by winter quarter, he was the permanent co-chair.

He was approached by other students involved in SAB who encouraged him to run for a student government position.

“I was going to be content with the Student Advisory Board, but I was like, this might be another avenue for me to pursue,” he said.

That spring, Bennett ran for director of community relations and held that position during the last academic year. Now in his senior year, Bennett has reached the highest position in ASUW.

Bennett said his main goal is to see increased student participation in ASUW in as many ways as possible. To reach out to students, Bennett said he tries to spend time on campus among students and talking to students, as well as holding office hours in the ASUW office in the HUB.

Although he tries to make himself visible and accessible, some students may still not know Bennett’s name or title.

“I knew that there was a new ASUW president because I saw his picture at the bookstore, but I don’t know anything about him or his predecessor,” senior Spanish major Bronwyn Lewis said. Bennett has used Facebook to appoint students different committee meetings he was unable attend. He also approaches students who have not been involved in ASUW to give them the opportunity to see what it is that ASUW does.

“ASUW needs every student on campus involved,” he said. “That’s what its here for and it wouldn’t work if there weren’t students involved.”

It is important for students to get involved because the association was created by students, for students. Many do not realize how much power they have when working together, he said.

“It’s because the students come together and have one voice, and that’s when you see the most change and the most progress,” he said.

Working with ASUW is an opportunity to build leadership skills and to enhance and complement what is learned in the classroom, he said.

The top three student issues that ASUW is working on this year are improving the student health insurance plan, lobbying for lower tuition and improving campus safety, Bennett said.

Working for students through ASUW coincides with Bennett’s current studies and career goals.

“As a social work major, that how my world revolves — serving others, helping others, in any capacity that I am able,” he said.

No one from the School of Social Work has been the ASUW president, he said. Instead, the ASUW presidents have been generally economics or political science majors, and being from a different area of study brings a different perspective to ASUW, in turn changing how people look at the School of Social Work, Bennett said.

“I see student government as a vehicle for service,” he said.

Bennett has worked with youth since he was 15 years old, through summer camps, community centers and boys and girls clubs. His background of going through the foster care system has influenced his interest in service.

For students looking to get involved in ASUW, Bennett stressed that experience is not as important as passion, and that often those with little leadership experience provide a fresh perspective.

“You have to have that nice mix of students who have experience and those who haven’t — that brings balance,” he said. “I feel like there is something for everyone.”

ASUW Vice President

ASUW Vice President Dolly Nguyen decided to run for the position at the prompting of Bennett, who she met last year when he was the Director of Community Relations.

“He is the most charismatic and inspiring person ever,” she said.

She also said meeting him changed her perception of ASUW.

“I think the Board, and ASUW, has evolved a lot in the last several years,” said Nguyen, who hopes to continue changing student perception of ASUW for the better.

Her campaign platform was to make ASUW more transparent, so that students would feel like ASUW is available and accessible, she said.

But some students do not think that ASUW affects or benefits their lives at the UW.

“I check the ‘no’ box to being a member of ASUW [on online registration],” Lewis said.

The duties of the vice president during the first quarter are appointing all of the volunteer positions of ASUW committees, faculty committees and university committees.

Currently there are six open volunteer positions under the faculty committee; however, Nguyen said university committees would probably be created in response to national issues like the economy.

“We need student representation on all of those committees,” she said.

Students can apply for the volunteer positions through the ASUW Web site. The focus of this year’s hiring is more passion than experience, said Nguyen, echoing Bennett’s statements about the importance of interested and willing students.

After fall quarter, the vice president begins to take on what Nguyen called “pet projects.”

The first pet project, which Nguyen has already started, is a series of public forums at which UW students will have the opportunity, at least once a quarter, to meet and speak with the ASUW BOD in an intimate public forum setting.

“A lot of the time we spend our time talking, but what we really need to be doing is listening,” she said.

Nguyen is also the president of the UW Panhellenic Association, although the two positions only overlap for one quarter because Panhellenic terms are per calendar year, while ASUW is per academic year.

As for the relationship between ASUW and Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic, Nguyen said that because the two are extremely self-governed and internalized, there used to be a disconnect. But now lines of communication have been opened up because many of the BOD members are also involved in the Greek community; ASUW President Anttimo Bennett and Director of Community Relations Gerald Corporal were both presidents of their fraternities.

Other plans for the coming quarters are to have a tri-campus day of service, as well as general “amping up” of student involvement in ASUW, focusing on reaching students who may not even know what the ASUW is. That way, next time registration rolls around, students will know what they are checking the box for.

Reach reporter Sonia McBride at features@dailyuw.com.