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!ASUPS Elections Results:
Due to the volume of votes, election results were not available until ~30 hours after the polls closed. Thank you all for your patience throughout the process.
Off-Campus Senator: Brian Ernst
Residence Hall Senator: Edward Jones
Freshman Senator: Sang Won-Kim
Greek Senator: Eric Hopfenbeck
Residence House Senator: Rosie Jaye
Senator At-Large (half-term): Madeline Waddell
Senators At-Large (full-term): Scott Miller, Kirstin Howley
(A huge thank you to all the candidates for their interest and efforts, and also to our DTS Jake Fuhrman. Jake spent upwards of fifteen hours getting the results from the election; give him a high-five next time you see him. Or a hug.)
ASUPS Senate 10/13/11; Library Hours Resolution Passed
October 13th Meeting:
[Official Minutes will be uploaded pending approval at the next Formal Senate]
Brief Summary: The highlight of the meeting was the approval of a Library Hours Resolution by ASUPS Senate, which was speaking on behalf of the entire student body. The resolution, entitled ” ASUPS Senate Resolution to Extend Collins Memorial Library Hours,” asks for a return to the library hours of last year with a further request that all future changes are discussed beforehand with the student body. It passed unanimously, and it can be found at this link:
ASUPS Senate Resolution to Extend Collins Memorial Library Hours
Along with the Resolution, three other actions were taken:
-An approval of a capital allocation to Kayak Club for paddles and skirts
-An approval of a finance allocation to Equestrian Club for registration and to subsidize riding lessons
-Recognition of Epigeneating Club as an official ASUPS Club; check out a site about what Epigeneating is here.
ASUPS Elections; take the time and vote!
(The link to vote: https://asups.pugetsound.edu/referenda/)
So why should you care about ASUPS Senate elections? Here are five reasons:
1. Whether you know it or not, ASUPS Senate spends a fair amount of time (without pay) working on behalf of the student body. They have multiple meetings each week at which different issues and dockets are discussed, and they take the time to have Diversions Hours during which they talk to students about what can be done to improve the campus community. Simply speaking, they have spent a lot of time working for all of you; take a few minutes and make an informed vote for them.
2. ASUPS Senate controls the ASUPS Budget. The ASUPS Budget is comprised of your student fees, and approximately amounts to $500,000 each year. The money for clubs, programs, individual requests, salaries, operations, etc. all has to be approved by ASUPS Senate. And it’s just “the money”–it’s your money. Take the time to make sure it goes where you want it to go.
3. ASUPS Senate also controls the capital account. The capital account is made up mostly of money that went unspent from the budget over the past decade, falling into a sort of “reserve” account that serves a dual purpose: a contingency fund to back up many of ASUPS’s properties and a fund from which we can draw money to make longterm investments for the good of the student body. The capital account is currently just under $150,000; however, approximately $100,000 of that capital is basically off-limits because it fulfills the contingency role, leaving ASUPS with about $50,000 to work with in capital. This sounds like a lot, but that numbers was as high as $117,000 only a year ago–and there is no consistent mechanism to replenish the account. Tough decisions with capital have to be made over the next year due to this grave state of funds; ASUPS Senate will be the body making those decisions.
4. ASUPS Senate has the power to pass resolutions speaking on behalf of the student body. Just last year, ASUPS Senate passed a resolution asking for the eventual shutdown of a local coal plant due to its impact on the environment; this resolution was presented at the state legislature carrying the weight of the UPS student body’s voice. The Senators you elect have the ability to pass resolutions such as this speaking on your behalf; therefore, it is important that you take the time to elect those you trust to speak for what the student body stands for.
5. Finally, it doesn’t take much time to read the descriptions they wrote and vote. 5 minutes tops. I know it is Midterms Week, but we all can find five minutes out of our day to vote. Then you can sleep in guilt-free on Fall Break knowing that your voice was heard.
If you have any questions about the elections, please contact Garner Lanier, the ASUPS Vice President (asupsvp@pugetsound.edu).
ASUPS Senate 10/06/11
October 6th Meeting:
Brief Summary: A capital allocation of $1910 was allocated to Puget Sound Outdoors for wetsuits and wetsuit accessories–which will be available to all students to rent!–and a finance allocation of $300 was allocated to PSO for the rights to two films that they’ll show in anticipation of the ski season. Numerous potential Senate candidates were in attendance as well.
Also discussed was a draft of a resolution brought forward by students from SSC (Students for a Sustainable Campus), the language of which can be found here. ASUPS Senate will be voting on this resolution as soon as October 20th, which–if it is passed–would affirm that the Puget Sound student body supports this resolution. If you have an opinion on this, or are just interested in learning more, please contact your Senators and let them know what you think about it!
What’s been happening with ASUPS Senate?
ASUPS Senate meets formally each Thursday evening at 7pm in the Murray Boardroom. Though an informal meeting is often held on Tuesdays to talk about current issues and items on the docket, all official business is done on Thursdays. Attached in this post are the official minutes for the past four Formal Senate meetings, along with a brief description of what took place:
September 8th Meeting:
Brief Summary: Amnesty International was officially recognized as an ASUPS club, and Maddi Waddell was appointed as Senator At-Large to fill the remainder of the term. Included in the Executive Reports were an explanation of the Underground Christian Fellowship situation, a recap of Club Orientation, and a request for Senators to submit Diversions hours by Senate Pro Tempore Rodriguez.
September 15th Meeting:
Brief Summary: Triathlon Club was officially recognized as an ASUPS club, a $730 finance allocation was approved for Habitat for Humanity and a $450 finance allocation was approved for the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic. $0 was allocated to Puget Sound Outdoors and The Trail for their capital requests, and to Men’s Lacrosse for their finance request. Executive/Senate Reports included the debut of Logger Nation and an idea of working towards developing Club Rendevue.
September 22nd Meeting:
Brief Summary: Puget Sound Outdoors’s capital allocation of $1910 was approved, along with finance allocations of $190 to UPS CSOC Club and $3200 to Men’s Lacrosse. Minnesota Club was approved as an official ASUPS club. Executive Reports included an update on the Residence Policy clause involving overnight guests being restricted to same sex, bike racks, club sports storage, elections and President Thomas’s presentation to the university staff.
[additional note: the capital allocation to Puget Sound Outdoors was vetoed by President Luther. The rationale of the veto is provided in this written explanation]
September 29th Meeting:
Brief Summary: Kirsten Howley presented a petition for increased library hours to Senate that had over 250 signatures. Senators have been working collaboratively with students at-large to further this petition, and progress will be reported at the next Formal Senate. A resolution was passed by Senate affirming the research into a restructuring of the By-Laws and Constitution to accommodate a term shift for the ASUPS President and Vice President (full draft language of the term shift is located in the Executive Report).
The remainder of the meeting was spent discussing whether or not the Presidential Veto of PSO’s capital allocation ought to be overturned. Numerous students at-large appeared and spoke in favor of an overturn, citing the benefits that the allocation could bring to campus. The discussion focused both on the specific merits of the allocation along with the overall state of the capital account. Eventually a vote was had, and the decision of the ASUPS Senate was to allow the veto to stand. Specific arguments and rationales given by individuals will be available in the official minutes for this Formal Senate, which will be uploaded on October 6th.
ASUPS Senate Elections!
ASUPS would like to notify you of the Fall Elections. Fall Senate elections will be held October 11-14.
The following positions (8) are available with the qualifications listed:
Three Senator-at-Large positions: Any class standing, elected by the entire student body.
Freshman Senator: Elected by members of the freshman class.
Residence Hall Senator: Elected by those living in UPS residence hall facilities (except for those living in Greek Chapter housing).
University Residence House Senator: Elected by those living in UPS on-campus houses and specialty freshman houses (not Greek housing or Residence Halls)
Off-Campus Senator: Elected by those not living on campus.
Greek Chapter Housing Senator: Elected by those living in Greek chapter housing.
To run for a position, applications are now available in the ASUPS office and are due Tuesday, October 4, in the ASUPS office. From there, you can begin campaigning and then elections will begin October 11.
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to talk to someone about the process of Senate or running for a Senate position, please feel free to contact any Senator or anyone on the ASUPS executive team. For any questions regarding the actual elections process, please contact me at asupsvp@pugetsound.edu.
Garner Lanier–ASUPS Vice President
ASUPS Statement regarding Underground Christian Fellowship
In response to the mass mailbox solicitation and table in the SUB this week by the group calling itself the Underground Christian Fellowship, we feel compelled to clear up any assumptions or questions that may exist that are pertinent to ASUPS:
- The UPS Christian Fellowship has not been recognized as an ASUPS club since last spring. The organization now calling itself Underground Christian Fellowship, essentially being comprised of the same membership as UPS Christian Fellowship, is not recognized either.
- There are certain privileges that are given to ASUPS-recognized clubs and organizations, from having a table at Logjam to advertising in Wheelock Student Center to having a budget from ASUPS. Any use of these privileges by an unrecognized club or organization would be in violation of university policy. ASUPS does not deal with university policy violations; we refer all questions regarding university policy violations to the Dean of Students Office.
- The table in the SUB this week occupied by the Underground Christian Fellowship was reserved as an independent, off-campus organization, and because of this there was a cost attached to it. Whether or not the group represented itself as an on-campus organization is not an ASUPS matter, as the group is currently independent.
- The mailbox solicitation is not a practice we endorse, as it is both costly and unsustainable. ASUPS-recognized clubs have numerous other options for marketing and advertising available to them, and should contact our Director of Public Relations [asupsdpr@pugetsound.edu] to take advantage of them.
- ASUPS supports a wide diversity of beliefs, perspectives and styles amongst its clubs and organizations, and does not preference or discriminate against any particular doctrine or belief. However, we require all clubs and organizations to adhere to both University and ASUPS policy, and do not recognize any clubs that refuse to do so.
- We adamantly hope that the Underground Christian Fellowship takes the necessary steps to become an ASUPS-recognized club, so that we can help the group become as successful as possible going forward in collaboration with ASUPS.
ASUPS Execs Office Hours:
Hi everyone,
Hope you all are enjoying your last, gorgeous day of summer.
During the year, ASUPS Executives set aside time during the week specifically to be available to students who want to talk about ideas, concerns or questions they may have. The following are the new Exec hours for the first semester (all offices are located upstairs in Wheelock):
ASUPS Director of Public Relations, Libby Orrick
–Office Hours: Monday and Friday, 9:00am-10:00am
–Diversions Cafe Hours: Wednesday, 9:00am-10:00am
ASUPS Director of Business Services, Adam Guzek
–Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 2:00pm-3:00pm
ASUPS Director of Technology Services, Jake Fuhrman
–Office Hours: Wednesday, 3:00pm-4:00pm and Saturday, 12:00pm-2:00pm
ASUPS Vice President, Garner Lanier
–Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 4:00pm-5:00pm
–Diversions Cafe Hours: Friday, 4:00pm-5:00pm
ASUPS President, Marcus Luther
–Office Hours: Monday and Friday, 1:00pm-2:00pm
–Diversions Cafe Hours: Wednesday, 2:00pm-3:00pm
All Executives will be available at other variable hours, and are more than willing to find a time outside of their scheduled office/Diversions hours to meet and talk. Please contact us individually if you can’t make it to one of these times, and we’ll set up a time that you can!
Thanks, and farewell summer. It has been a blast.
Marcus Luther
ASUPS President
Why Social Media?
We have a functioning website and all the posters we could ever want, right? Why spend so much time developing and coordinating this social media approach?
Because the old way was not working.
When I remarked during my Convocation speech that ASUPS operates with a $500,000 budget, it was very apparent that many current students had no idea. In its current state, ASUPS is an incredible resource for the few who know how to access and utilize it. While that is great for those select few who have figured out how ASUPS works, we do not believe that is fair for everyone else. The resources need to be spread more equitably, and we need to better represent the interests of the entire campus rather than simply a vocal portion of it.
So we are taking this Social Media approach to expand our reach and provide as much transparency as possible into our organization. When Garner and I ran for ASUPS, we stressed the importance of a better campus-wide awareness of its student body government. From the Social Media Marketing Campaign to the Club Outreach Taskforce, to the Executive Report and Budget being available through Google Docs for everyone, we are making a concerted effort to give as much access and knowledge as possible to the student body.
And the transparency is not the only benefit. By increasing our ability to reach out to campus, we can help individual clubs and groups advertise for their own events. Through a simple e-mail to our ASUPS DPR [asupsdpr@pugetsound.edu], you can have your events or information advertised through several mediums [including the option of video if you have the time to come in]. Social Media should help us to better help you.
While it is a work in progress, we believe it is a large step in the right direction for ASUPS. Please take a few moments and follow our Twitter account, like our Facebook Page, explore the Youtube Channel and scan this blog daily for updates. Get involved and stay involved. And possibly win an iPod nano.
Thank you, and welcome back.
Marcus Luther
ASUPS President
ASUPS Blog?
Hey all. If you’re stumbling across this for the first time–don’t fret. We know it’s new, and different from the existing website.
We are in the process of reformatting our website, but in the meantime we wanted to construct a central location for all our information, updates and media to be directed to. Different Execs and Senators will be posting on this blog, and the pages in the second-column on the page will provide brief overviews of the various dynamics of your student body government.
While a blog format may not be perfect, we believe it is suitable for providing current information and maintaining a dialogue with the student body. Please feel free to explore its different features, leave comments on any posts you have an opinion about, and check it semi-regularly to stay well-informed.
This is your student body government, funded by your money. Help us represent your interests by voicing your opinion!
Thanks!
The ASUPS Execs
