Editor’s Note: The quotes in this story have been edited for clarity, length and style.
Newly elected president, Jacob Boucher, junior psychology major, and elected vice president, Kylie Sickles, sophomore computer science major, have been chosen to lead the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver for the 2022-2023 academic year. The pair aim to increase the visibility of student government at the university, hold more campus-wide events and address student issues through their shared commitment to student involvement.
Q: What motivated you to run for student government?
A: Boucher: I’ve been in student government for three years. I started in the senate, just as a regular senator, and then I came back to the senate and became senate chair pro tem, the leader of the senate. One of my best friends was on the senate, and she recommended it to me just as a good way to get involved on campus. I jumped to executive staff as internal director of legislative affairs because I’m passionate about politics and getting people civically engaged. I decided to run for president because I have a lot of ideas and I know how to enact them. Having been in government for so long I just thought I was a good option to help lead the organization.
Sickles: I’ve always been passionate about student involvement, so when I was a freshman I got a job at the Office of Student Involvement with the front desk, and from there, I learned about student government because the offices are in the same building. Then there was a special election the next year, which meant I got to run for senate. I wanted to connect students more to their school. I think having that connection to your place of learning makes it a better environment for you, and it gives you a purpose to be here other than just going to classes.
Q: How have your prior experiences prepared you for this upcoming year?
A: Boucher: Having been in the senate, I got some familiarity with elections, and I oversaw appointments to the judicial board. I have a lot of familiarity with the legislative branch, how it operates with the bylaws and how they interact with the budget. Then, finally, I made the jump to the executive branch and saw how that works from the inside…. [Additionally, I’ve been] working closely with our current president [Armando Antonino], he’s bestowed upon me a lot of wisdom about the role.
Sickles: [OSI] was the starting point of all of my involvement here at WSU Vancouver. [That played] a pretty crucial role because it allowed me to get to know a lot of students on the ground level – I could hear about their needs, what they think about student involvement and what they think about events. That has been immensely helpful in gauging the general student population and what their interests are and what we need to do.
Q: What are your goals as president and vice president?
A: Sickles: Some of our current goals are based on coming back after COVID. We’ve had a lot of struggles this past year getting students to attend events, just because it’s so difficult when you could be on Zoom and not come to campus. It’s hard to connect with those communities when you’re just not physically there. So we are bringing back a lot more events in a very safe way, we’re going to gauge this based on how things progress with COVID-19. Our job is to make sure that students are connecting to us, and making sure they know how to contact us. We are their advocates, and we want to hear from them. So our job is to open those lines of communication.
Boucher: I have a document that’s getting full of things I want to do as president. This includes looking into getting better cell service on campus. It would be very expensive, but it’s something we want to start looking into at least, we don’t want to just hear ‘that’s too much money.’ We want to see, if we were to do this, what would we have to do? We’re also going to prioritize laying the [metaphorical] foundation for a student union building at some point down the line. It’s really important that students have a dedicated space on campus and right now the Firstenburg Student Commons just doesn’t cut it. We need a space that works well for clubs and different student events, and that is honestly just a better environment. Additionally, we want to look into getting a better cafeteria.
Q: Are there any current ethical problems at WSU Vancouver you want to address?
A: Boucher: Kylie and I are looking into the results of the climate survey that is conducted by the vice chancellor for the diversity, equity and inclusion office. We were troubled by how, especially, the staff and faculty responded to some of those questions. Many of the staff and faculty don’t feel that WSU Vancouver is very good at retaining diverse staff and faculty, which comports with my experience too. Early in the year, we lost the international students coordinator and the CILA adviser, which is troubling, and I worry that’s more indicative of a longer-term experience…. We’ll be partnering with staff and faculty to understand exactly how WSU isn’t really fulfilling its mission and being diverse, welcoming and equitable.
Q: What advice do you have for your fellow students going into the 2022-2023 school year?
A: Sickles: I would say get involved. Finding that community, and creating those new connections. Making those new friends on a college campus is so important because it allows you to engage more with your academics. Joining clubs and getting into student government is also a fantastic way to get involved on campus.
Boucher and Sickles are excited to embrace their new leadership positions and act as the driving force for student voices. Boucher encourages students to reach out if they have comments or concerns regarding campus life – Boucher can be reached at aswsuv.pres@wsu.edu and Sickles at aswsuv.vpres@wsu.edu.
Sawyer is a senior studying anthropology at WSU Vancouver.