Collin Bannister and Emily Bell want Washington State students to know they will be coming down to meet them where they are.
The duo is running for ASWSU president and ASWSU vice president, hoping to win the first contested ASWSU presidential election in three years. Their campaign is centered around student advocacy, which Bannister broke down into three sections.
“I think the biggest one is fighting tuition increases,” Bannister said. “There’s no guarantee we’re gonna be successful on that, because it’s the board of regents who decides that, but we can control how we show up, how we advocate.”
The WSU Board of Regents has increased tuition by 3.3%, the state’s maximum allowed increase, three years in a row. Bannister said he would like to fight against those tuition increases by speaking to the Board of Regents on behalf of the WSU student body.
The second key component of the Bannister-Bell campaign is to increase ASWSU’s transparency and student access. They would like to form a student leadership council to better connect the student organizations on campus.
“This is something that we’ve actually talked with President Cantwell about,” Bell said. “Having leaders of all different student organizations and student groups come into a room and be able to collaborate together.”
Bell said they would like to make sure ASWSU is serving students as best it can.
“We want to look at what ASWSU is now…and see how the positions can be improved,” Bell said. “So that ASWSU gets broader and bigger, and so that our service extends out further than it has in the past.”
The campaign’s third priority is to focus on increasing campus safety and community.
“We want to bring back Cougar Safe Rides,” Bannister said. “I think that’s an essential service for students.”
He said if elected, they would use ASWSU to help build a better campus community. Bannister mentioned social media, newsletters and event promotion as ways to help build community and promote clubs and other student organizations.
Bell said their campaign values passion for service. Bannister said he values meeting students where they are.
“A lot of the times, there’s a philosophy of having an open door, and being available to students,” Bannister said. “I think we need to go a step further and meet students where they’re at.”
Bannister said they would like to expand tabling efforts and talk to students about what they want to see on campus and how they can improve life on campus.
“We need fresh perspective in our ASWSU leadership,” Bannister said. “We need people who focus on the issues that directly impact students…we want to represent students as students.”
