Student appointed senators outnumbered by Senate appointed senators
From the presidential election getting invalidated last April, to the near impeachment of a senator last August, 2018 was an active year for the Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver (ASWSUV) student government. Recently yet another occurrence had almost gone unnoticed by the student body.
If you have found yourself unable to keep track of who exactly is on the student government senate this year, your confusion is not unfounded. Of the 11 senators elected by the student body in March, only four remain in the legislative branch. When a vacancy occurs, new applicants may apply and then the Senate may appoint, after an interview with the ASWSUV president, the replacement. The majority of the senators that sit at the Senate table currently were appointed through this very process, leaving student-elected voices in the minority. Under such circumstances, some students may question their say in the appointment of their student government leaders.
The four remaining senators that were elected by students in March include: Maribel Garcia-Igueldo, Matthew Leeper, Gregory Olson and Colten Sullivent. Additionally, there have been conversations within ASWSUV of one of these senators possibly vacating their position in early January. Who is leaving has yet to be officially identified. However, if they do, this would leave the Senate with only three original members appointed by students during the elections.
The most recent vacancy in the Senate (as of the writing of this article), Abigail Bambilla, exited with a resignation letter that provided insight to her experience in student government. The email containing her resignation was sent to all members of the Senate, ASWSUV Executive staff and The VanCougar Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor. In her email Bambilla wrote, “From my perspective, the present state of ASWSUV is one of political correctness and submission to authority, which ultimately renders it as a subject of the institution as opposed to a sovereign and self-governing body.”
In the email, she also compared student government to an article titled “White Supremacy Culture” by Tema Okun. Bambilla wrote, “There are some interesting parallels between the points made in Okun’s article [White Supremacy Culture] and the current culture of ASWSUV. My hope is that systemic change begins to take place in the near future – for the sake of the students and the university.”
“My hope is that systemic change begins to take place in the near future – for the sake of the students and the university.”
Former ASWSUV Senator Abigail Bambilla
Bambilla said in an interview after her resignation that she knows many students enter student government wanting to make a positive difference. She said she understands that going in, students mainly have good intentions of making change. “I was caught off guard by the systemic barriers that are in the way of making that change happen,” Bambilla said. “The culture is not one where students feel like they can make change or it’s not safe for them to go outside the box of what change might look like.”
ASWSUV President Vincente Chavez offered his perspective on Bambilla’s resignation. “I think it’s important to recognize [Bambilla’s] experience and her perspective on Senate and student government, and make necessary changes so that people don’t feel the way she did.”
“I think it’s important to recognize [Bambilla’s] experience and her perspective on Senate and student government, and make necessary changes so that people don’t feel the way she did.”
ASWSUV President Vicente Chavez
With regards to the high turnover rate of the Senate as a whole, Chavez said, “I challenge the notion [of high turnover], because I have seen ASWSUV play out a few times and there is always senate turnover. I don’t believe it has ever been to this magnitude.” Chavez pointed to circumstances such as job opportunities, personal life issues and schedule conflicts, citing that it really comes down to a case by case basis. He also reference the close call impeachment early last semester, which left Senate without two members. Chavez also recognized that he does have a responsibility to help foster a positive environment within the Senate.
Chavez addressed the issue of persistent turnover, hoping to stop the cycle in the upcoming election. “One thing that this administration [ASWSUV student government administration] is doing is [asking] how we can get the current senators to interact with the individuals who want to run,” he said. A change that Chavez and Vice President Holly Ta are implementing is having current senators in the room when future senators go through orientation, as a way of showing candidates the everyday duties of their position.