Although the semester just started, ASUA president Morgan Abraham has been preparing for most of winter break. With elections, Spring Fling and senate reform coming up, ASUA is in for a busy few months. The Daily Wildcat sat down with Abraham to catch up.
DW: What do you have on the agenda for this semester?
Abraham: So this is going to be a really productive semester for ASUA. There are two major things my office is working on. The first is senate reform: the way they interact and the way they represent the student body. I’ve always been frustrated by the way it works. … We have such a diverse school with so many different clubs and cultural centers that have no representation on senate. We’re trying to make the senate more representative of the population. We’re hoping to get something hammered out in the next couple of weeks.
We’re going to be doing … strategic planning for ASUA. There’s never been a long-term strategic plan for ASUA. There’s never been something we can actually accomplish five years, 10 years down the line. I think that if you have a goal and work toward it and think about it, you can accomplish that. It’s going to be a very comprehensive strategic plan, breaking down every area of ASUA. We’re really looking forward to doing that.
DW: Talk to me about the upcoming elections.
Abraham: Packets are going to be going out in about two weeks, so that starts the election cycle. We’ve been preparing and getting geared up. Our biggest focus, I think, is reaching out to new people and encouraging new people to run for office. That’s always been the focus of my administration: getting new people in and connecting with other areas of campus. Elections are one of the ways you can do that best.
I think new, fresh ideas are good. You have a lot of people who come through ASUA who have been here for all four years and there aren’t fresh ideas coming in from all over campus.
DW: How’s Spring Fling planning going?
Abraham: Spring Fling planning is going great. We’ve shifted to three days from four, to keep the city happy. We’re really excited and the alumni are so happy it’s coming back to campus. We’re really hoping to make this the best Spring Fling we’ve had in a long time and show the school, and community, why it’s so important to have Spring Fling on campus.
DW: What other big things should students look out for this semester?
Abraham: There are a couple of big things happening at the capital to look out for. In Governor Brewer’s State of the State address, she specifically talked about making college tuition more predictable for students. A lot of the legislators that I spoke to said that meant locked in tuition at the three universities, which is huge. The fact that Governor Brewer included that in her address is huge for students. That’s something that students really want.
The other big thing that we’re tracking is a rumored bill that would be a ‘no questions asked’ if someone has to go to the hospital. So if you call 911 and you’re at a party, there wouldn’t be any questions or citations. That’s definitely something we’re looking at and kind of hoping we see surface this year. I think it’s more than a rumor, but there’s no drafted language yet.
DW: How does it feel that this is your last semester as president?
Abraham: It’s kind of crazy how fast time goes by, but this is the big semester in my opinion. This is the semester I’ve been waiting for where we can actually implement all of the things I ran off of. I think we’re going to be able to do a lot of really great things, and I’ll be able to pass along a good legacy to the next guy.
