ASWOU

Description

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University (ASWOU) offers a great way for students to get involved and opens the door for many opportunities to succeed in college. Modeled after the federal government, the ASWOU is comprised of three branches; executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch has separate powers and duties, and acts in a system of checks and balances with the other branches. The ASWOU is here for one reason, the students.

The Executive branch acts on behalf of students to help meet their needs, implementing the policies of ASWOU and coordinating the day to day operations. The ASWOU President is the department head for student government, and is responsible for appointing students to cabinet positions and various campus committees. The ASWOU President also represents students views to the Western Oregon University administration, the Monmouth-Independence community, the state legislature, and the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. There are eight cabinet positions under the ASWOU President; Chief of Staff, Diversity Programs Coordinator, Director of State and Federal Affairs, Director of Public Relations, Director of Communications, Director of Financial and Business Affairs, Student Organizations Coordinator, and Book Exchange Director.

The ASWOU Vice President manages the ASWOU cabinet and oversees the student government offices in the absence of the ASWOU President. The Vice President is responsible for special projects, planning and implementing various recruitment activities on and around campus, representing the Oregon Student Association to the ASWOU Senate, and filling in wherever they are needed within the cabinet.

The ASWOU Executive Director of Diversity Programs promotes diversity on campus by working closely with the Executive Director of Student Organizations, Executive Director of the Stonewall Center, and focusing on increasing diversity awareness at Western Oregon University. The Diversity Programs Coordinator works in association with the multicultural student organizations, Diversity Peer Educators program, the Oregon Statewide Student Equal Rights Alliance, Oregon Students of Color Coalition, and the ASWOU cabinet.

The ASWOU Executive Director of State and Federal Affairs works closely with the Oregon Student Association (OSA), a coalition of the state's public colleges and universities. The OSA was established to advocate on behalf of students. The ASWOU Director of State and Federal Affairs is responsible for voter registration, fighting for lower tuition, increasing financial aid, childcare, access to higher education, et cetera. Through the OSA, every student is part of the United States Students Association (USSA), which advocates for students at the national level. The ASWOU Director of State and Federal Affairs works on national issues that effect students, through the USSA.