Following an intense spring semester, the Associated Students of Colorado State University are looking forward to another busy fall. With several new student programs, initiatives and resources in the works, CSU’s student government is seeking to build off what insiders hope is positive momentum.
However, the organization continues to be plagued by middling campus engagement, as evidenced by an 11% student voter turnout in the previous election. Dwindling membership numbers exacerbated by departing senators, supreme court justices and executive cabinet members also continue to affect ASCSU’s campus standing.
Annually, ASCSU collects over $1.5 million from student fees in order to fund campus events, including RailJam and the Community Roundtable; community resources such as bisemesterly blood donation drives; and campus transportation initiatives as well as consistent funding allocated for registered student organizations.
President Nick DeSalvo spoke on the role ASCSU plays in ensuring students have access to public transportation, housing and academic research resources, pledging to continue improving student life on a policy level through the Colorado General Assembly. DeSalvo also stressed the importance of new students getting involved in campus organizations.
“The resources are there if you want to get involved,” DeSalvo said. “There’s nothing worse than going to classes and then going back to the dorm or back home and not sharing in the full campus experience when it’s right in front of you.”
Vice President Braxton Dietz said maintaining existing programs and events as well as introducing new initiatives, such as the newly approved Temporarily Disabled Student Transportation Program, will allow ASCSU to continue providing resources for students and build a larger campus presence.
Following the successful return of the Grill the Buffs tailgating event last October, the executive branch intends to expand the event for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Showdown, serving as a valuable promotional opportunity for the organization at large.
“Students are going to see fall semester start off with a bang with Grill the Buffs,” Dietz said. “Students can expect a lot of large-scale national attention on not only that event but events around campus throughout the weekend.”
Dietz added that new event planning will focus more on quality rather than quantity, evidenced by a marginal reshuffling in executive department responsibilities that will allow for fresh input in the planning process.
“We’re really trying to make sure that people know that they can come to ASCSU but also that we’re actively engaging students to distribute (these resources) in less of a passive way.” -Jorja Whyte, ASCSU director of basic needs
Chief of Staff Jakye Nunley emphasized his commitment to including new students in ASCSU processes, expressing interest in making executive cabinet meetings more visible and accessible to outside students. Nunley also helped create the Students of The Oval Caucus in the spring in order to inform outside students of ASCSU opportunities and ease them into an organization previously characterized as hostile.
“For a student who wants to know how to get involved in ASCSU or be a part of any process that we have, Students of The Oval will be a phenomenal program to get you to jump in,” Nunley said.
Nunley will also be implementing additional office hour requirements for cabinet members, ideally giving interested students additional opportunities to interact with ASCSU officials directly.
Jorja Whyte, director of the newly renamed department of basic needs, plans to expand the scope of her department to promote further campus outreach, with numerous new initiatives geared toward improving student health and wellness in the works. The department also intends to continue expanding former Vice President Alex Silverhart’s health and wellness vending machine program, which will distribute reproductive health care products across campus.
Among the new initiatives are updates to the pocket pantry food donation sites across campus. The initiative, which will require senate approval, will expand the pantry to include hygiene products as well as culturally responsive and allergy-sensitive food items.
Whyte also intends to maintain existing relationships with Rams Against Hunger and the CSU Health Network; promote additional involvement opportunities with a formalized ASCSU internship program; and further account for student health and wellness by continuing to provide naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan, and fentanyl testing strips at no cost to students.
“We’re really trying to make sure that people know that they can come to ASCSU but also that we’re actively engaging students to distribute (these resources) in less of a passive way,” Whyte said.
ASCSU senate does not convene the first week of classes, meaning several of the aforementioned proposed programs will require approval the second week of classes at the earliest.
Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Sam_Hut14.