ANNUAL REPORT
2020
MISSION STATEMENT
The Associated Students of the University of Washington is the democratic voice of students that engages the campus community through programming, services and advocacy. The ASUW strives to enrich student life and develop future leaders.
2019-2020
ASUW STATEMENT
Dear Huskies,
Every year, the ASUW releases their Annual Report in June which highlights the year that we had and all the work that was done. This report includes employee highlights, events, collaborations, updates from our budget, fun stories and more.
Every year, we have a new wave of 60 employees who move into the HUB offices in September excited to work for ASUW, advocate for students, and have fun on campus. But this year is not like every other year. What started out as a normal school year, quickly became a year of change, uncertainty, trial and error, action, and growth. From a global pandemic that quickly changed the way the world worked, what our formal education looked like, who we could see and where we could go, to the rise of Black Lives Matter protests around the world which demand change, justice, advocacy, and support for Black Lives in response to the continuation of heartbreaking and unjustified murders of Black Members of our communities.
We as the ASUW recognize that we are in a time of immense revolution and uncertainty. We stand by you, our students, as we continue to demand change not only across our campus, but across the world. We appreciate your dedication to create the change we wish to see in the world. We are stronger together as we move forward toward progress in the future.
That is why this year, our annual report will be different. We want to reflect on our year and these historic moments that we are currently living through and will continue to carry with us throughout the rest of our lives. We want to use this opportunity to learn from one another, what we will continue to do, and what lies ahead of us. We want to highlight entities and students who led the charge in helping students stay healthy and safe during Covid19, as well as help students find resources and demand change during the protests. We as the representatives of students on our campus, will continue to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and we will continue to support our students and fight for change on our campus.
Sincerely,
The Associated Students of the University of Washington, 2019- 2020
ASUW TEAM
The people behind the projects.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Finance & Budget Director
ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
OFFICE OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Director of Legislative Affairs
DIVERSITY COMMISSIONS
Student Health Consortium Director
Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence Activists Director
Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence Activists Assistant Director
Pacific Islander Student Commission Director
Theana Lynn
Mariano Aromin
Asian Student Commission Director
Asian Student Commission Assistant Director
La Raza Student Commission Director
American Indian Student Commission Director
Black Student Commission Director
Queer Student Commission Director
Student Disability Commission Director
Student Disability Commission Assistant Director
Christine Lew
Camille Hatwig
Womxn's Action Commission Director
Womxn's Action
Commission Assistant Director
Julia
Jannon-Shields
Amber Torell
Middle Eastern Student Commission Director
STUDENT FOOD COOPERATIVE
Co-Manager
Business Co-Manager
Christie Lee
One of my favorite parts about working within the ASUW is the amazing student leaders that I have gotten to meet and collaborate with, from the wonderful Board of Directors and Entity leaders, to the passionate volunteers and Student Senators. We all come from different majors across campus but are united together by a shared desire to serve our fellow students, and make the student experience a little bit better. Working with the great people in Senate the past 3 years has made me laugh, helped me grow, and made my college experience at UW thoroughly enjoyable. I know that I will look back at my time in the Senate and ASUW as a whole with fond memories for years to come.
What I love about ASUW are the endless opportunities to network and build my leadership skills with and for communities I care most about. Being able to directly work hand in hand with the systems and entities that have the power to enact change, is a blessing that can only be found within the intricacies and involvement in ASUW."
Nick has continued to provide excellent service to the UW bike community this year. He's gone out of his way to help customers build up bikes from the frame up, as well as organizing group rides for our mechanics and customers. He's going to do a great job as operations manager next year!
André brings an engaged, positive energy that brightens up any space he enters. His dedication to the development of the program and of his mentees is truly exemplary, and he has been such a wonderful part of the UW Leaders program this year!
Arwa Mokdad was my lead intern this year. She put aside the time to deal with my frustrations and my anxieties, and at the end of the day, she was one of the biggest helpers that was able to push me across the finish line so that our collective team could put on a great event for our community and to bring a name to the Middle Eastern Student Commission. I know that she will be doing great things for herself and the world in the future.
During my time at the University of Washington I (and probably many other students as well) have struggled with finding my community. It was only when I stumbled across ASUW did I finally feel at home. Everyone in ASUW was so welcoming and always made me feel like I belonged. From coffee chats to just hanging out in the HUB I never wanted to leave. I remember waking into the office one day and seeing everyone eating taco salads. They all immediately offered me some and told me to come hangout! I am so happy to be apart of ASUW and I’ve even met some life long friends. Coming from a small town I was scared to move to a big university, but being in ASUW has helped me find a home away from home.
Coming to the UW this year, the ASUW has given me a welcoming community where I can pursue my passion for advocacy. Working in the ASUW, I believe that I can actually make a difference and improve the lives of others.
Lily has done an amazing job to capture amazing moments of the ASUW through photography and videography for the past two years. She always upholds a positive attitude and produces engaging media that truly reflect the diversity of ASUW by working diligently. Without a doubt she's the ray of sunshine that everyone needs in the ASUW!
Sahra Ibrahim
Director of Diversity Efforts
My experience at ASUW has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally. With my position as Director of Diversity Efforts I learned new ways of becoming a leader and speaking up for students whose voices go unheard.
Sarah Shaklan
Director of Community Relations
ASUW has brought me so many connections and opportunities to interact with students, faculty, and visitors alike. I have grown as a leader and person, and could not thank my colleagues enough for pushing me and challenging me to be the best version of myself. Forever thankful for the friends that made this experience so fun!
Brianna Asman
Director of Campus Partnerships
ASUW was a place where I developed many skills professionally and made some of my life long friends. My favorite part of this year was the opportunity I had to get other students involved, which sometimes included cheesy tabling efforts in front of the HUB alongside my interns letting folks know that the ASUW was excited to interact with them.
$1,091,865
Husky Pride Fund
The ASUW donated $100,000 to the Husky Pride Fund to help students affected by Covid19.
32 Approved Special Appropriations
Requests
Pre-COVID: $69,142
Post-COVID: $37,843
Remote Events
60+ events held remotely during Spring quarter! Including Webinars, Panelists, Concerts, Meetings, and more.
Students Served
The ASUW serves over 45,000+ students on our campus including commuter students, grad students, and more.
What started out as a normal and exciting school year, quickly transformed into a new way of life. No one could have predicted the move to online learning due to a global pandemic that changed the way we live and learn. This pandemic was a learning curve for all as we adjusted to living at home, working at home, and taking care of ourselves and others as best we could. We at ASUW always strive to support the students on campus and provide events and resources to enrich both your personal and academic lives. Due to this, we want to highlight some amazing events put on by our entities throughout the year whether that be in person or online.
The ASUW Black Student Commission, UW Leaders, SARVA, and Bike Shop put on this event to have an open conversation about anti-Blackness, police brutality, and racism in America.
Last fall, Rainy Dawg Radio and the Womxn's Action Commission collaborated to put on an amazing concert with Womxn identifying performers!
UW Leaders, the Student Health Consortium, and Live Well collaborated on a Mental Health Webinar in May. This event focused on mental health during a pandemic.
This year the Black Student Commission and Rainy Dawg Radio collaborated to celebrate Black History Month with a concert focused on Black Music!
Rock the Vote is an amazing event that promotes exercising your right to vote! The Office of Government Relations and Rainy Dawg Radio put on this event to promote music and democracy.
The Annual Humble Feast event is an amazing event put on by the Student Food Cooperative! This event invites many sustainable RSO's and groups on campus to promote healthy and sustanaible eating.
This year, the Office of Government Relations has been successful in advocating for student interests in the state legislature and in understanding and articulating student concerns. Though the creation of our legislative agenda, we collected and broadcasted the legislative priorities of the student body. Here is a look at some of the legislation we advocated for and our biggest wins for UW students.
Mandates comprehensive K-12 sex education in all public schools across Washington state for the first time. The curriculum begins in kindergarten with topics such as building healthy relationships, and expands in later school years to newly include consent and LGBTQ+ issues. This will help to improve LGBTQ+ visibility, cultivate a culture of consent, and close the geographic inequities in access to sexual health information.
Set to raise almost $1 billion for higher education over a four year period. Provides tuition-free college for families making less than $50 thousand a year, and significantly reduced the cost of admission for Washington’s middle-income families. Additionally, it funds a student loan refinancing plan and expands Career Connected Learning in the state.
- Increase Accessibility in Higher Education
- Combat Food & Housing Insecurity
- Promote Mental Health & Wellness
- Allowing student athletes to earn compensation for services provided, to be paid for the use of their likeness, and to hire agents.
- Menstrual products to be exempt from the state sales tax.
A letter from Kelty
Thank you ASUW for allowing me to serve and grow. My time as ASUW President was the greatest honor, and I am humbled as I reflect back on the past year.
Student government has the power to be a force of nature, and I encourage the next year’s students leaders to continue to speak truth to power. But, also remember this is fun. You can have fun. I had a lot of fun. I laughed until I cried more days than not, I slid down giant blow up slides in the HUB, and inviting you all into my home once a week this quarter for an online “Coffee with Kelty and Brianna” while we tried to cook far too complicated recipes was often the best part of my week.
One of my favorite sayings comes from my friends at Camp Columbia, “Leave people and places better than you found them”, and I hold this close to me, and I can only hope that as I say “see ya later” to this chapter, that I did all I could to leave the UW and ASUW communities better than I found them.
As the year comes to an end, I ask that we continue to fight for injustices that we see around us. Continue to demand that Black Lives Matter, look at all the work that has been done in the past few weeks and months and take note that using our voice HAS created change. Continue to take care of yourselves and those around you, COVID is still heavily affecting many communities around us and the world.
To womxn leaders, there will be moments that men will be intimidated by you as a womxn in a leadership role. Let them be. They will try to take advantage of your authority, speak down to you, or not give you the respect you deserve. Do not let them. Call them out on the bullshit. And if you do not feel comfortable doing so, I will. There are still moments that you will be the only womxn in the room, and that is hard. But know, there are fierce womxn who have come before you, and will support and believe you.
Thank you to the ASUW 2019-2020 cohort. I worked with the best team. You all are the advocates for change, the ones demanding justice, the ones finding ways to look out for our communities, celebrating each other, and ultimately taking what you have learned and using it for good. Thank you for humoring me and playing camp games with me, chatting in the HUBBUX line, and most importantly, holding me and each other accountable to our students.
AND THAT'S
A WRAP
See you again next year!
