Last week, all branches of the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) were in full swing with this year’s first meeting of the Student Senate and a meeting of the Board of Directors (BOD).
The senate discussed the Resolution in Support of Cake, a piece of legislation passed annually to teach new senators about the legislative process. Senators ran out of time before they could pass the resolution, but the legislation should be approved at Tuesday’s meeting, which will be held at 5 p.m. in the HUB Room 145.
The BOD decided to reform the BOD election process which takes place each spring, and began by discussing problems with the current system. Several members of the board, including Jennifer Gibbons, director of diversity efforts, and Michael Kutz, director of university affairs, expressed concerns with the current caps on campaign spending.
The current cap is $420 for BOD candidates, $525 for vice-presidential candidates, and $630 for presidential candidates and Gibbons said candidates are expected to spend that much if they want a chance at being elected.
President Evan Smith said he was confused about the financial side of elections and admitted to not properly reporting some of his campaign contributions.
“My grandma gave me $20,” he said. “Was I meant to report that?”
Kate Callison, director of policies and procedures, said the money should have been reported.
The board also discussed whether candidates should be able to give away food and other goods during campaign and voting season. Last year, the BOD considered an outright ban of all giveaways. Smith and Kutz said the board should revisit the idea this year. Personnel Director Amanda Anderson said she worried whether voter turnout would be impacted by the banning of giveaways.
The BOD members hope to finalize decisions about election reforms at the Dec. 3 meeting.
The BOD will meet again this Thursday in the HUB Room 303 at 4:30 p.m.
Reach reporter Amelia Dickson at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @ameliadickson
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