At the ASWSU Senate meeting Wednesday night, senators and guest speakers discussed student voting, RDA issues and the ASWSU budget, and approved funding for two student events.

Voting center for students

ASWSU is sponsoring a voting center that will be held in the CUB over the next two weeks leading up to election day to improve voter turnout, said Quinton Berkompas, deputy director of Legislative Affairs.

“We have the resources for students to come vote,” he said. “We want to make it accessible as possible.”

Students can go to myvote.wa.gov to print out their ballot and turn it into the voting center. Students can also check their voting registration status on the same website.

Berkompas said some students may not have received their ballot yet because of the slow mail service. If it is not because of that issue, he advises students to call the Whitman County Elections Center and voice their concerns.

“I want to remind everyone that ASWSU itself is strictly nonpartisan,” he said.

RDA concerns

Matthew Winchell, director of Student Affairs, said he is working in conjunction with ASWSU Vice President Tyler Parchem to evaluate the current RDA system used around campus.

They are looking to launch a survey to gauge student opinions on the RDA system.

“If students are happy with RDA, then we won’t touch it,” Winchell said.

Senator Hayden Arend suggested ASWSU provide more education to students about RDA prices and how the system works.

Budget report

Debbie Majano, chief of staff and finance, said she will be requesting $35,000 in Services and Activities Fees in November for the executive  budget because directors have been working on more projects than expected. Part of that fee goes to the free parking at the University Recreation center.

Senators also discussed the Finance Committee’s budget. Approximately 26 percent had been used, and after more approvals for club funding Wednesday night, it will be closer to 32 percent, Senator Hannah Martian said.

“We didn’t anticipate for all these programs to request money,” Majano said. “But, it’s amazing that [they did].”

Senate approves funding for events

The Omanis Students Association requested $5,400 from ASWSU for its annual Omani National Day, which will be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 11 in the CUB Senior Ballroom.

ASWSU approved $3,600 for the group to purchase culturally-appropriate food for the event.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club requested $1,964 for a Martial Arts Symposium to be held at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 with the location to be determined.

The club was approved for the full amount.

Correction: This article was updated to clarify that there were two separate budgets discussed at the meeting.