{"id":24809,"date":"2026-03-11T09:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=24809"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:03:56","slug":"aswou-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/aswou-101\/","title":{"rendered":"ASWOU 101"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left to right: Morgan Pemberton, Emily Phoun, Makayla Wright, Lukas Dyer, Joey Guerra. | Photo from @aswou on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 11, 2026 | <\/span>Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University has opened their application forms for the general election, described as \u201cthe annual election called to fill all of the positions created by the ASWOU Constitution, as well as three Incidental Fee Committee members, and to vote on various ballot measures,\u201d per the ASWOU governing documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucial roles are potentially up for grabs as the transition from Spring to Fall terms kicks off.<\/span><\/p>\n

ASWOU is the official student body government, student-run and student-funded, tasked with important roles such as advocating for the student population, overseeing and governing clubs, as well as collaborating with Western\u2019s administration to facilitate a healthy relationship between students and staff, faculty and admin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain roles, such as director roles and the chief of staff, are selected following interviews held during the summer by the ASWOU president and vice president. However, the president, vice president, senate president, judicial administrator, IFC member and senator roles are open for election applications. Students will be able to vote in these elections during Spring term to determine the next batch of student leaders for the following academic year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Split into three branches \u2014 executive, legislative and judicial \u2014 ASWOU maintains specific roles that serve in meaningful, but different, ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The head of the executive branch is the president, currently Morgan Pemberton. In that position, the student acts as a bridge between the administration and student body, as well as being the student representative to the administration, as well as state and federal governments. They also attend senate and judicial meetings, contribute to committees, meet with students and, again, faculty and admin, as well as Western President Jesse Peters, plan events and maintain a list of other varied duties, spanning 20 hours of paid work weekly from June to June.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the job is very rewarding because you get to do a lot of community organizing,\u201d said Pemberton. \u201cYou get to really focus on the projects on campus that you\u2019re passionate about, and get to interact with higher admin and kind of see the behind-the-scenes of a lot of things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It would be Pemberton\u2019s replacement\u2019s job to select Executive Cabinet members, including director positions and the chief of staff. Director positions at ASWOU include public relations, business & finance, equity & advocacy, state & federal affairs and student organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pemberton also spoke directly to the impact of the president\u2019s role. \u201cI know for me, it was super important to focus on internal structure, kind of a rebuilding ASWOU year and connections to the community, more (connections) with admin, that was really important for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous ASWOU presidents have focused on other issues, such as safety and sustainability. \u201cIt really depends on the administration for what direction you want to go, because you have so many resources and options for what you think is important on campus,\u201d said Pemberton.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vice president position is also being re-elected, with Emily Phoun graduating in the summer. In her words, the vice president is a support system for the team with the freedom to begin their own initiatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I would say it is something that I never have any regrets on. I love every second of it,\u201d said Phoun. \u201cJust getting to be able to not only be a voice and representative for students, but really just getting to be out there and getting to be on different committees, doing different projects. I just honestly love it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoun is also on the University Budget Advisory Committee, often called UBAC. The group consists of faculty, staff, students and administrators, intended to discuss Western\u2019s budget. They review budget proposals, submit recommendations and consider important factors that influence the cost of tuition, bringing a variety of perspectives from different positions across campus. ASWOU recommends two students as members, opening more opportunities for new workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the projects that I actually did was hosting a town hall, which they\u2019ve never had a student-run town hall, before I came along and did that initiative,\u201d said Phoun. \u201cBut there was lots of encouragement as well as praise from both the student body and the committee.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>Another project that Phoun took on was a collaboration with The Western Howl, created to spread ASWOU news and insight through the student paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoun recommended that students give it their all: \u201cAdvice that I would give is don\u2019t be afraid to take initiative on something, even if it might seem scary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The director of state & federal affairs is a relatively new position, but one that ASWOU takes pride in having. \u201cI think that is so important in the kind of political time we\u2019re in. (It\u2019s for) students who are super interested in getting involved in politics, or who are interested in making sure other students know about what\u2019s happening politically, that kind of thing,\u201d Pemberton said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The role pays close attention to state and federal changes that might impact students or the university so that those changes may be relayed to the student body. They are also part of organizing Lobby Day, an annual event when students travel to the Oregon Capitol to advocate for their beliefs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the judicial branch, the five or fewer student justices attend all judicial meetings, interpret policy and administer the judicial process. With a heavy focus on club activity, the judicial branch meets on a less-regular basis, mainly to discuss clubs in the case of potential violation of ASWOU statutes, since ASWOU has governing documents that all clubs must abide by. Two of the justices are appointed by ASWOU, but the three remaining slots are elected by the student body. One of the five is also appointed as the judicial board vice-chair by the judicial administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n

The judicial administrator facilitates judicial meetings and makes sure ASWOU adheres to its governing documents and policies for 20 hours paid a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

The senate serves as the policymaking authority within ASWOU. Likewise to the expectations for justices, elected senators must meet with the senate president multiple times a term, sponsor legislation such as bills and resolutions and partake in IFC meetings, which determine incidental fees and their distribution to student activities and resources. Some examples of IFC-funded organizations are Athletics, Abby\u2019s House and Student Engagement. According to ASWOU governing documents, no more than 15 senators are allowed at a time, with 11 elected positions currently open for applications.<\/span><\/p>\n

The senate president is required to remain impartial, contribute weekly to the position and must pick a senate president pro tempore during Fall term to serve beside them. Compensated for 20 hours of work a week, the senate president oversees the senate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senators and justices, alongside their weekly participation, must meet with their branch presidents, attend at least one training session on parliamentary procedure, expectations and responsibilities and adhere to proper etiquette. The hours are volunteer and vary between 2-5 hours a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is within the legislative body that senate bills can be passed and debated, requiring Western\u2019s president\u2019s signature to pass or be vetoed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe senate or legislative branch is focused on changing things. So, if we think that there is something wrong, we can make recommendations and resolutions to those departments,\u201d said Pemberton. \u201cI would say (the executive branch) is for doing and planning, legislative is for making change and judicial is for ensuring fairness and making sure that everyone has the right support.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All ASWOU members have sworn an oath of office in front of a witness: \u201cI, [student name], do solemnly swear to faithfully execute the duties of the office of [position title] to the best of my abilities and, in the best interest of the Associated Students of Western Oregon University, to uphold the Governing Documents and the Student Code of Conduct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, they must sign a document acknowledging their oath, which is then signed by the witness and designee who swore them in.<\/span><\/p>\n

The annual general election is run by the Elections Committee, a subcommittee of the Judicial Board, comprised of six members from various positions on campus, such as one appointed by the Residence Hall Association president, another by the judicial administrator and four co-appointed by the ASWOU president, senate president and judicial administrator. Additionally, all three branch heads serve as advisors to the Elections Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates must meet the current GPA standard, be enrolled in at least six credits while in office and meet requirements outlined in the ASWOU bylaws, constitution or other governing documents, as well as have submitted the appropriate application and\/or documents. And, more clearly, they must follow Western\u2019s student code of conduct as well as the Elections Code of Conduct.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, according to governing documents, \u201cThe purpose and scope of these election policies is to allow all students an equal opportunity to present their views and qualifications to the ASWOU during an election period \u2026 All students of WOU shall have an equal opportunity to vote.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With applications already open, students can look to join ASWOU for the 2026-27 school year by checking Involve.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor elections, I think that if you\u2019re not looking to get elected, there are a lot of appointed positions. I would say one of the really impactful ones is the Director of Equity and Advocacy, making sure that we\u2019re being equitable as a campus and that advocacy is happening, especially in a time like this one, that community bringing together communities,\u201d said Pemberton.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the head positions \u2014 president, vice president, senate president, judicial administrator \u2014 \u201cThey have a lot of responsibilities \u2026 You have to have really strong leadership skills or be really willing to learn along the way, because you\u2019re directing a whole group of other students,\u201d said Pemberton.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pemberton\u2019s advice for students looking to join ASWOU? \u201cDon\u2019t doubt your abilities. The positions can be hard, but you could really make them your own, and all it really takes is the want to do something different and the want to make campus life better. So if you\u2019re worried you don\u2019t have the skills, you can really develop the skills and it\u2019s a perfect opportunity to do that \u2014 so it\u2019s more about your willingness and your go-get-it kind of attitude.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoun added: \u201cIt\u2019s a great way to not only build up your resume, but also gain leadership skills and experience. But you also get to interact with the campus community as well as interact with admin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Incidental Fee Committee has three elected roles and six appointed positions to discuss and deliberate over budget distribution and fee costs within student incidental fees. Positions require no experience, as training is provided, and the positions are volunteer, between 5-10 hours a week through both Fall and Winter terms.<\/span><\/p>\n

For students who are uninterested in working with ASWOU, there are still reasons to pay attention, as important discussions come and go regarding funding, tuition, on-campus events, new resources, club operations and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact the author at <\/span>howleditorinchief@mail.wou.edu<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 11, 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief The Associated Students of Western Oregon University has opened their application forms for the general election, described as \u201cthe annual election called to fill all of the positions created by the ASWOU Constitution, as well as three Incidental Fee Committee members, and to vote on various ballot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"ASWOU 101","_seopress_titles_desc":"The Associated Students of Western Oregon University is ready for the general election","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40,8510,108,105,1487,9263,9262,9260,9257,9258,9259,144,3459,9261,309,7680,6836,623,3472,683,982,1254,3475,684,39],"class_list":["post-24809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-application","tag-associated","tag-aswou","tag-election","tag-elections","tag-exec","tag-executive","tag-funded","tag-general","tag-govern","tag-governing","tag-ifc","tag-judicial","tag-legislative","tag-monmouth","tag-office","tag-oregon-2","tag-president","tag-senate","tag-student","tag-students","tag-university","tag-vice","tag-western","tag-wou"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24815,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24809\/revisions\/24815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}