As a new school year begins, the 2009-10 ASWSU executive team prepares to bring a set of fresh and innovative ideas, ensuring that students have all the tools available to make their educational goals a reality, ASWSU President Derick En’Wezoh said.

Led by En’Wezoh and ASWSU Vice President Jay Hendrickson, the student government has several initiatives it wishes to implement to better serve the student population.

“Our main goal this year is to hold true to campaign promises that we ran on and make life as good as possible for students here,” Hendrickson said. “One major improvement that we’re trying to bring to WSU is to install cameras at the Rec Center and put images online so people can see how crowded it is before they get there.” Rec Center cameras would allow students to better plan out their workout times to spread out traffic flow, relieving congestion, Hendrickson said. The project is expected to be completed and ready for students by spring semester.

Another planned initiative is an Academic Resource Site, the feasibility of which is currently being researched by ASWSU.

“The site would allow students to log in and see past students’ uploaded tests, study guides and homework assignments for a class that they’re taking,” En’Wezoh said. “There are a lot of good reasons for doing this, but the main benefit to WSU would be professor accountability. As time changes, the educational requirements of college students should change along with it, year after year.” In an effort to achieve a wider representation for students, ASWSU is also planning on starting to head a board that will allow students to voice concerns directly to WSU President Elson S. Floyd.

“We currently have a program that allows elected student leaders to speak with President Floyd, but this way we’ll have a wider variety of interested students,” En’Wezoh said. “Which will hopefully represent a larger portion of the Cougar population.” Student safety is also a major concern for the ASWSU senators, and they plan to address the issue by re-implementing and revamping the SafeWalk program, which will allow all students, regardless of gender, to call for volunteer escorts to walk with them to their destinations.

The ASWSU office on the CUB third floor is filled by 12 student directors of varying fields. They act as the voice for the student population. Three of the positions were instituted for the first time this year: the director of student affairs, who represents the undergraduate population at large; the director of residence affairs, who represents students living in the residence halls; and the director of operations and committee oversight, who manages the operations of the Executive Board and ASWSU umbrella organizations.