The Associated Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI) has had no shortage of its time in the spotlight in recent weeks.
With strong calls for Athletic Director Rob Spear to step down, the student government has kept a steady presence in the student eye.
However, these recent calls to action might have been the first time many students fully understood what ASUI can achieve.
ASUI is the elected student body government focused on representing the interests of students on campus and work to allocate money appropriately to programs on campus, according to UI’s ASUI site.
The student-run government is composed of both an executive and legislative branch. The ASUI Student Body President and Vice President are both part of the executive branch as well as the president’s cabinet. The president and vice president’s jobs are to oversee both the executive and legislative branch and represent UI.
ASUI senators compose what is the legislative board tasked with writing and working to pass resolutions seeking to enact change or state a position on campus.
As students, the more student voices representing the student body, the better. It would make sense that the overall UI student body would seek to support ASUI and any moves or actions taking place.
Each and every Wednesday at 7 p.m., ASUI meets in the Idaho Commons with maybe a handful of people in the audience. While ASUI strives to be a body that works for change on campus, very few people know the workings of the student government and what changes are actually taking place outside of just writing resolutions on occasion.
Everyone, especially college age students, is consistently told how important it is to vote in elections. We are told even more how important it is to vote in local elections. You can’t get much more local than an ASUI presidential election.
Students were given the opportunity to engage in elections this week by voting in Nicole Skinner and Carlos Vasquez ASUI president and vice president for the upcoming year.
Last week ASUI made itself a force on this campus, working to enact the change they promise to make with the help of a packed house of students and community members. Now, more than ever, ASUI has proven it can make strong change and engage students.
Despite unfortunate circumstances, maybe, just maybe, ASUI has a bit of momentum for change on their side and will work to keep it going even as turnover approaches.
Now it falls in the students’ lap to help ASUI make change after voting and ensure that last week’s meeting is not the only one powerful enough to bring a removed ASUI and student body together for a better UI.
— MS