Hello, and welcome to your first step towards applying to become Senator in the Washburn Student Government Association (WSGA)! Joining WSGA is a great way to get involved and enact change on campus, build connections, advocate for students, and develop professional, leadership, and political skills. WSGA has two primary methods of joining:

  1. The standard election process, which takes place each spring semester (or fall for freshmen elections).
  2. The open senate seat process, which allows anyone who meets the qualifications to fill out a form and join the legislative branch of Student Government (also known as Senate).

This webpage details the systems for the open senate seat process, from what you need to know to how your Senate application works its way throughout our bureaucratic processes. I wish you the best of luck with this process and hope to see you in Senate soon!

George Burdick
2024-2025 President, Washburn Student Government Association

Position description:

  1. Attend all WSGA Senate meetings on Wednesday evenings
  2. Attend the annual Senate retreat as outlined in the WSGA by-laws
  3. Keep up-to-date on issues affecting the students
  4. Maintain one scheduled office hour per week during the spring and fall semesters

Minimum qualifications:

Must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) undergraduate credit hours at Washburn University and maintain this minimum number of credit hours for the current academic school year. Must also maintain a cumulative and semester GPA of 2.0 or higher.
  1. Filling out an open senate seat application
    The open senate seat application is the form that kicks off this whole process. It ensures that your GPA, student status, and other information are in-line with the requirements as listed in our by-laws and Washburn Student Code of Conduct. This form also serves as a document introducing you to other senators for those who have not yet met you. Some baseline requirements all senators are required to maintain are as follows:
    1. "At least a cumulative 2.0 grade point average, at least a 2.0 grade point average in the semester prior to taking office, and must maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average to continue to hold office."
    2. Maintain six (6) credit hours.
    3. Remain in line with the Student Conduct Code. Violation of the Student Conduct Code will result in immediate removal from WSGA.
  2. Submitting the open senate seat application to the chief of staff
    After the open senate seat application is completed, it will be submitted to the chief of staff in the form of an email. The chief of staff will then ensure everything is in line with the previously mentioned requirements, and they will let you know if there are any violations. They will also submit the form to the WSGA advisor for approval. At this point, the chief will send the application over to the nominations committee, in the form of a bill, for an initial phase of discussion. The next two steps will be conducted only if there are open senate seats available, and decision will be based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
  3. Form goes to nominations committee
    The nominations committee is comprised of several senators. After looking through your application, they will decide whether to give your application, in the form of a bill, favorable, neutral, or unfavorable status. They can also opt to "table" the bill for a week or for an indefinite period. This can occur if more information is desired (such as an interview) or if something other than progressing to full Senate must occur. If the bill is given favorable, unfavorable, or neutral status, it then proceeds to the final phase of approval, the full Senate.
  4. Application goes to full Senate for approval
    Full Senate makes the final decision on your application. During the course of a WSGA meeting, your application will be brought from the nominations committee to the full Senate. At this point, Senate is free to open discussion on whether to approve your application, and a vote is moved and seconded. If the motion to approve your application is passed through a majority vote, then congratulations, you are a Senator! If not, you are free to reapply by starting back at the first step of the process.
  1. If my application is tabled indefinitely in Committee, what do I do? Is there any hope for my application?
    If your application is tabled in committee, that means your application has been essentially killed. There's a couple ways of reversing this though, from resubmitting the application, to working with the committee, to getting enough senators to vote to pull the bill out of the committee for a vote on full Senate. Reach out to the chief of staff for more information, and they should be able to provide you with your options.
  2. I don't have the required GPA as per student government's by-laws. Is there any way around this?
    Unfortunately, if you don't have the required GPA there's little that can be done. The best way forward is to focus on academics and attempt to increase your GPA for the semester in the hopes of joining later. You are still welcome to attend Senate meetings and be a public representative in the gallery!
  3. I've submitted my application, and the chief of staff has told me it's ready for committee and Senate review. Now what?
    Committees can meet in a variety of different ways, whether in person or by holding discussion and votes digitally. It's up to the committee chair to determine how and when to go about hearing your paperwork. The committee chair, fortunately, is the chief of staff, so you can reach out to them to get a timeline of when and how your application will be heard. Full Senate is far more predictable though; with a few exceptions, Senate meets each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Kansas room of the Memorial Union. You should be notified when your request is on the agenda for full Senate, so that you can attend and—pending approval by full Senate—be sworn in that same night.
  4. I'm in Senate! Do I need to do this again at the end of the semester?
    Terms for senators run until the end of the spring semester, regardless of when you join, you will need to re-join if you want to continue your involvement. Senators are advised to run in the spring elections, but you can choose not to. If you chose not to run, you may submit another application to Senate to rejoin if there are any open seats left after the general election.
  5. I still have questions, or I want to learn more about WSGA. What should I do?
    Further information can be found on the WSGA website or by reaching out to the chief of staff.

Please submit the online form.

GET IN TOUCH WITH WSGA

Address
Memorial Union, Lower Level
1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621

Email and Phone
wsga.office@washburn.edu
785.670.2318
WSGA executive staff

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