“It has been quite the numbing experience,” said Erdman, a senior English major.
But Erdman and Skaug are setting their excitement aside to focus on a few of their top priorities for the rest of the year.
One program in the works is the Cougar Lobby Team, a group intended to work on behalf of students to encourage legislators to support higher education funding and protect students from tuition hikes.
“Since I have been at WSU, tuition has more than doubled,” Skaug said.
The plan is to give students the opportunity to earn internship credit while participating. The program will work with ASWSU’s director of legislative affairs to give students an opportunity to make a difference while advocating for the university, Skaug said.
Another one of their top objectives is to improve the freshman experience with the Cougar Success Program. The program is designed to acclimate incoming freshmen with academic and social life at the university to assure they make the most of their time at WSU.
The program focuses on campus-community involvement, success in the classroom and personal development, they said.
“When you’re in your residence hall in isolation, it encourages you to step out and get out there” Erdman said.
Adrian Gonzalez, the director of student success, worked all summer with Erdman on reshaping and renewing the program. It only involves freshmen this year, but Gonzalez plans to expand the program to sophomores next year.
More than 200 freshmen have enrolled for the program so far.
Erdman and Skaug also plan to launch a student fan recognition program called True Coug Fan of the Year, which allows game attendees to earn prizes at sports events by racking up points for each time they swipe their Cougar Cards to enter a game.
“We wanted to switch the focus from the field to the fans,” Erdman said.
The top 100 point earners will win prizes, including free admission to games, Erdman said.
“The prizes will be amazing,” Erdman said.
During spring semester, there will be an end-of-the-year banquet for the top 100 point earners. The points can be earned by attending games for women's soccer, football, men's basketball, women's volleyball and baseball.
Eventually, Erdman and Skaug would like to push for covering every club sport.
By facilitating with WSU Athletics officials, Erdman and Skaug believe the program will also help open the door for greater student involvement.
ASWSU Senate has its first meeting tonight at 5:30 in the CUB. The meeting is open to students and community members.
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Kyle Erdman
