Go Loggers – ASUPS Official Blog
Find out what students are doing at Puget Sound. ASUPS is the student body government at the University of Puget Sound, and the central hub of campus life. There are many resources available, awesome events and numerous ways to get involved! So let us know if you have any questions!2011-12 Goals
2011-2012 Goals ASUPS Executive Team
The cover page to the 2011-2012 ASUPS Executive Report features the rocky, Patagonia-style logo that will be used for this year’s ASUPS shirts. Above the image is the following phrase: “Focusing on the Foundation.”
As we alluded to in the introduction to this report, it is our belief that most administrations spend the vast majority of their time searching for ways that they can institute changes within the time frame of their administration. This has resulted in many incredible initiatives and purposes, some of which have had lasting influence on the organization.
However, the foundation of ASUPS has been left relatively unchanged in recent years. Some would argue—and perhaps still will—that this is because ASUPS in its current form works. The logic behind this argument is that if there were changes needed, they would have already been pursued and implemented.
We respectfully disagree with this logic. Due to the short-term focus of most administrations, and the structural resistance in place to prevent noticeable changes, there has been little effort undergone to analyze the foundational aspects of ASUPS and whether or not they could be altered in order to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. While we agree that the measures in place meant to prevent hasty and reckless policy changes are necessary, we do not share the belief that this means that structural changes should not be pursued.
Before going into the specific areas we wish to consider, evaluate and potentially alter, let us preface this list with these assurances:
- We are not taking a wrecking ball to the entire foundation—a foundation which has served our student body for more than a century. We are talking about aspects, not the entire structure.
- Structural changes take multiple years to come to full fruition, and any By-Laws and/or Constitution changes would not take place until our administration is finished. Therefore, we are granted the gift of objectivity knowing we will in no way be affected by these changes.
- We have spent the summer looking into different areas of potential improvement, but by no means does that mean we are locked into our direction. As you will see in the following proposals, we have recommended further input, outreach and debrief. Also, none of the proposals seek immediate implementation; all have phases that need to be completed fully before moving forward with any semblance of finality.
The following is a list of our goals as an administration, and the areas we plan on looking into for potential improvements. The list is neither rigid nor exhaustive, and we will continue to keep our eyes and ears open for more suggestions—especially those that are easy to implement within the time frame of our own administration. There are several smaller items that have been left off this list for the time being, but will be made public through various other mediums at a later date.
Lastly, if you have made it this far in the report, thank you for taking the time to become better acquainted with our administration and our goals. We hope that this report will provide both a higher level of transparency and accountability than has been available through ASUPS in the past.
#1—The Chee Chako:
Unlike the rest of our goals, our initial goal has in many ways already been completed. In previous years, the Chee Chako consisted of a mail-out to freshmen (which they paid for) that included both photos of the incoming class as well as general information about student life at Puget Sound. Due to the widespread popularity Facebook and other social media, the photo component of the Chee Chako has been rendered obsolete.
Still left with the traditional responsibility of providing a source of information for freshmen, our administration decided to experiment with a new medium for the Chee Chako: a blog. Using Tumblr and creating an interactive blog (asups.tumblr.com), we were able to provide more information for freshmen than previous Chee Chakos ever had—at no cost to either our budget or the freshmen. Along with the information available at the blog, freshmen were able to view video interviews of each Executive and submit questions anonymously that they had. Both the simplicity and interactive component of the blog has been well-received already, and we believe we may have found a new format of the Chee Chako for ASUPS administrations to utilize in the coming years.
#2—ASUPS Relations with Clubs/Organizations:
By our estimation, ASUPS needs to do a better job of maintaining communication with all the clubs and organizations it recognizes. Many challenges and misunderstandings could be averted if only a better mutual understanding was in place between ASUPS and individual clubs and organizations. Clubs and organizations are the lifeblood of ASUPS, and ASUPS has the ability to support clubs and organizations through funding, advertising and leadership. There should be more symbiosis than there is currently.
Therefore, we propose the formation of a Club Outreach Taskforce. If implemented, the COT will consist of three Executives and three Senators. They will be tasked with the responsibility of going to at least one meeting of every club/organization during the first semester, and bringing the Senate liaison assigned to that club with them. The goal will be to take the first step at reaching out, and expressing our willingness to help all clubs and organizations continue to grow and succeed.
#3—Distinction Between Different Branches of the ASUPS Government:
ASUPS technically is modeled after our national government, with Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. However, in its current operation the Senate is often ran as a subsidiary to the Executive Branch and its leadership is more of a formality than an identifiable edifice. And very few students on campus understand what the Judicial Branch even is, which is why it constantly is struggling to fill its membership.
This is not to say that the branches of ASUPS should not work together; rather, it is a recommendation that we do a better job maintaining separate identities and leadership in order to provide the student body with a wider, more representative government. The proposal outlines our ideas to improve the leadership and identity of Senate, as well as our plans to promote the visibility not simple of the Judicial Branch, but the entire Judicial Process at Puget Sound.
#4—Communication and Dialogue with the Student Body:
One of our major concerns about ASUPS in its current form is the lack of communication it has with the greater student body. We believe that a minority of students stay in communication with ASUPS and access the majority of its resources, while the majority of students do not receive their fair share from their student government. While we appreciate the students who currently engage most with ASUPS, we would like to see a more equitable distribution of our time, representation and resources.
We believe a major lacking on our part has been our ability to evolve our methods of communication to modern mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and an easy-to-use website. While the Chee Chako blog was a step in the right direction, we have devised a multi-pronged plan to improve our ability to communicate with students. Through contests to promote our following on Twitter and Facebook, a simplified-but-more-accessible website and the use of video alongside written outreach, we hope to reach a larger population of students. We believe this will improve the general awareness of ASUPS on campus, and will also enhance our ability to represent the voices and interests of the student body.
#5—Term Shift:
Our fifth goal may indeed be the most ambitious, and also most tedious. The proposal for a term shift for the roles of ASUPS President and Vice President is extensive and comprehensive, with a plan that includes a ten-phase process before an actual implementation of the proposed term shift. We recognize that this will receive the most pushback of any of our goals, and that it will require a time-intensive look at our By-Laws and Constitution.
But we believe that completing this proposal is essential to the improvement of our organization. And if we were forced to choose one of our six goals to be successful, there is a very good chance that this would be the one we settled on. As you can read in the 14-page proposal in our Executive Report, we believe there are numerous reasons to pursue this term shift—and we plan on taking an entire semester to ensure we do it right.
#6—Elections:
As the election of our own President and Vice President clearly demonstrated, there simply is not enough participation and competition in our elections. We believe there are multiple reasons for this shortage of student interest in elections, and some of the above-mentioned proposals address these issues. However, we also want to focus specifically on improving elections.
We believe this can be achieved through five steps, which are outlined in our Elections Proposal in our Executive Report:
- Promoting our current Senators/Execs in a positive, informative way.
- Making ASUPS a more visible, recognizable entity on campus through the above-mentioned proposals
- Clearly publicizing the timelines of the elections well in advance of the first deadline
- Seeking out potential candidates and recommending that they consider running for a position (without publicly endorsing anyone or assisting them in any other way).
- Advertising the elections and increasing voter turnout through multiple mediums, including a mass e-mail that includes a link to the voting page.
These are our administrative goals, and—aside from our initial goal, which has already been completed—they each have a proposal and implementation plan provided in the following pages. While none of the proposals are rigid or immune to change, we earnestly hope that each of these respective areas is given ample consideration. We believe that all these areas are pivotal aspects of our structure, and that the only way to expand ASUPS ceiling is to optimize the foundation it rests upon.
