ASWSU met Wednesday to vote on filling three positions: two freshman delegates and one all-campus senator, in addition to discussing renovations for Southside Dining Hall.

At the beginning of the meeting, ASWSU President Isaac Velazquez mentioned Southside Dining Hall being renovated in some way. One way this may shake out would be an all-you-can-eat style of dining. This decision has been approved by the Board of Regents, though no changes have been made yet.

Godtrust Eruani, a chemical engineering student, was elected for the position of all-campus senator. In his speech, Eruani explored ideas on how to better improve communication with students at WSU. 

One idea in particular caught the eye of various senators, which was a weekly digest sent via email.

In his speech, Eruani proposed an initiative titled Academic and Senior Efficiency Program. This program would be a system to help measure problems faced by students via feedback and impact reports.

Eruani served as state ambassador for African students at his previous educational institution. Additionally, he was an intern at a multinational oil refinery, where he was able to improve the company’s sustainability and advocated for the usage of green energy. He also created his own initiative to help feed children in West Africa. 

Eruani won against Ainsley Carpenter, who had three years of past experience with ASWSU, and against Om Nair, who was looking to create ASWSU workshops for students to engage in. 

The first voted freshman delegate, Parker Casey, won in a landslide. 

Casey proposed a possible free-merch closet that mirrors the current Coug Closet. Instead of offering business attire, Casey’s idea would focus on donated school-spirit merchandise. 

Casey’s experience includes being Washington state’s 2024-2025 Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) president, his high school’s honors president and treasurer and serving two terms as his high school’s ASD executive treasurer.

After an extensive voting process, Alice Higgins won against Brianna Karasha for the second position of freshman delegate.

Higgins proposed numerous ideas for her position, including the advertisement of the Cougar Food Pantry, the free mental health services offered by WSU and the free public transportation offered to WSU students. 

Additionally, Higgins mentioned a possible volunteer-based all-campus clean-up. 

Higgins was also a member of FCCLA and acted as a voting delegate for two years, and was on the executive associated student body at her high school as a treasurer for one year and a public relations officer for another year.

While there were six candidates for freshmen delegate total, Higgins and candidate Brianna Karasha were the closest. 

The voting process for the all-campus senator and freshmen delegates underwent numerous executive sessions, and the freshmen delegate role in particular had to undergo at least three sessions of discussion and revotes. 

This was due to the evenly-split sides of the senate, which, for at least two of the revotes, remained relatively unmoved from a nearly equal vote for both Higgins and Karasha. 

Karasha said that she plans on making an attempt to join ASWSU sometime in the future, possibly in winter.