ASUWT's New Bylaws Ensure Accountability For 2023 and Beyond!

The Associated Students of the University of Washington Tacoma (ASUWT) has recently passed new bylaws, for the first time since pre-COVID, aimed at increasing accountability measures within the student government. Historically, ASUWT has faced challenges with accountability, resulting in inactive and inconsistent governance over many years. This has often led to a lack of meaningful progress on initiatives and poor engagement among elected officials and hired staff. This lack of accountability was clearly evident through several failed and uncompleted initiatives from ASUWT in recent years.

To address these issues, the 2023-2024 ASUWT administration, led by ASUWT President Holly Wetzel, has passed comprehensive reforms to the ASUWT Bylaws focusing on accountability on October 16th, 2023. These changes are designed to ensure that every member is actively engaged in their duties, thereby ensuring the overall productivity and effectiveness of the student government.

Key Features of New Accountability Focused Bylaws

The newly passed bylaws introduced several measures to strengthen the accountability within ASUWT:

• Purpose: Establish clear expectations and standards for ASUWT members to ensure transparency, participation, and accountability while fostering student growth.
• Accountability Measures: Includes steps for addressing violations such as missing deadlines, failing to complete duties, unethical conduct, etc.
• Three-Step Process:
  • Step 1: Warning - Issuing a written warning after a meeting to discuss violation.
  • Step 2: Accountability Plan - Creating and monitoring a 60-day improvement plan, with bi-weekly follow-ups.
  • Step 3: Removal - Removing the offending party after repeated violations and non-compliance with the accountability plan.

With the new bylaws in place, ASUWT is now poised to tackle new initiatives that directly benefit the student body. The administration can now allocate meeting time more efficiently, directing attention towards meaningful projects that benefit students rather than administrative issues.