ASWSU addresses free speech, medical school

From staff reports

The ASWSU senate unanimously voted to approve the legislative agenda for the 2014-2015 school year at their weekly Senate meeting Wednesday.

The agenda was drafted at a Student Government Council conference, which included student leaders from all of WSU’s campuses.

The agenda highlights the primary goals for the Council during the year, including college affordability, working with the university on the medical school in Spokane and expanding the free speech zone on Pullman’s campus.

The public can currently only use a designated space in front of Wilson-Short hall to exercise their free speech rights, and only with permission from the university two weeks in advance.

“We feel that all of WSU should be a free zone for students to speak their minds,” said Hayley Hohman, the Director of Legislative Affairs at ASWSU, who presented the agenda to the ASWSU senate. “This may prove difficult, hence why it is a primary goal for the Council.”

The council also plans on working with the WSU Viticulture and Enology department to allow underage students to taste test the wine samples that they make in class, as opposed to grape juice and olive oil. The same bill failed to pass last year due to a technicality, Hohman said.