Augustana Student Association

The Augustana Student Association (ASA) is the voice of the student body. ASA membership includes all full- and part-time students at the university. ASA works in cooperation with the Augustana University Board of Trustees, administration, faculty and staff to tackle tough issues from academic accreditation and policy developments to building and grounds issues. ASA oversees a substantial annual budget that funds on-campus organizations, Viking Days, club sports, concerts, guest speakers, entertainment and more.

ASA is organized into two branches: an executive and legislative branch:

The executive branch includes four elected officers (president, vice president, treasurer and secretary) and one appointed officer (technical director).

Pictured (left to right): Pratichi Chattopadhyay, technical director; Amy Kim, secretary; Igen Nyawanda, president; Maggie McKeown, vice president; Ian Kelly, treasurer
 

The legislative branch, better known as the ASA Student Senate, is made up of elected senators who represent the student body's diverse constituencies: academic classifications (first-year students, sophomores, juniors and seniors), international students, adult learners, systemically non-dominant (Jenkins, 2018) organizations and the at-large student body.

The ASA Senate is divided into six standing committees: finance, human & public relations, curriculum, co-curriculum, housing & dining and diversity.

The ASA Co-Curriculum Committee is focused on improving the well-being of the Augustana University community by expanding the resources available to students on campus. The committee’s main areas of focus are students’ health and well-being, as well as improving and supporting extracurricular resources and organizations on campus. Some notable past projects include proposing legislation as a part of ASA’s Reproductive Health & Education Initiative, which included the installation of menstrual products, Plan B and condom dispensers across campus.

Pictured (left to right): Ayden Calvert; Calli Radel; Gracen Juffer; Emily Huggins; Pierce Cunningham

The ASA Curriculum Committee advocates for students' academic needs and works to improve their learning experience. The committee’s projects have included the Syllabus Repository and Faculty Appreciation Week. Three Curriculum Committee members also sit on the Undergraduate Curriculum Council, where they represent the student perspective on course changes, new programs and other changes to the curriculum.

Pictured (left to right): Clark Egland; Hiwote Hailu; Abigail Smith; Carson Steichen

The Diversity, Equity & Social Justice Committee serves as ASA ambassadors for the Augustana Office of Diversity & Inclusion. This committee executes matters of diversity, equity and inclusion, and amplifies the voices of systematically non-dominant (Jenkins, 2018) and international students to encourage and welcome diversity on campus. This committee serves to educate the campus community about diversity issues on and off campus and seeks to provide a safe space for systemically non-dominant (Jenkins, 2018) and international students. The committee also provides a platform for discussing such issues and working towards concrete solutions relating to social justice concerns raised by ASA Senators, students, faculty and/or staff. Additionally, all affinity organizations including the African Student Union, Asian Student Organization, Black Student Union, Gender & Sexuality Alliance, La Unión Hispana, Better Together, Muslim Student Association and Augustana International Club fall under the support the committee provides.

Pictured (left to right): Nyamal Changson; Hawi Meshessha; Madeline Larson; Asmeret Abebe; Chilotam Okafor

Duties and responsibilities of the ASA Finance Committee include: 1.) It will review, discuss and advise the ASA Senate on matters pertaining to the budget. 2.) It will, upon request, meet with any leader of a student group for the purpose of discussing matters pertaining to, but not limited to, the following: fundraising, planning events, service opportunities, setting goals, general planning and funding questions. 3.) It will review, discuss and advise the ASA Senate on amendments to the ASA Constitution, By-Laws and Election Code. 4.) It will review, discuss and advise the ASA Senate on resolutions emanating from the ASA Student Life Advisory Council.

Pictured (left to right): Regis Dzenga; Hussein Kadhim; Ian Kelly; Jefferson Michael

The ASA Sustainability in Housing & Dining Committee serves to uphold sustainable policies while working closely with Sodexo and Campus Life to find solutions in the area of housing and dining.

Pictured (left to right): Rakiya Stocklin; Simone De La Cruz; Mariam Alinizi; Jose Escobar; Julianna Purrington

The ASA Human & Public Resources Committee (H&PR) is primarily tasked with communicating all the great work ASA does in the senate to the campus community. ASA’s Instagram account, @augiestudassoc, is the primary way this is done. ASA promotes its meetings, initiatives and events, and tries to share important announcements from other student organizations through Instagram stories. H&PR also helps with business related to people: appointing new senators to vacant positions and interviewing student leaders for Viking Days, Welcome Week and UBG.

Pictured (left to right): Pratichi Chattopadhyay; Nina Luz; Ellie Pulse; Vy Nguyen; Stuti Shrestha