About 248,300 people in the U.S. are sexually assaulted each year. This amounts to one assault every two minutes.
With these statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, ASWSU senators presented a resolution Wednesday night supporting Take Back the Night, an annual march that unifies people against violence, especially sexual violence against women.
District 1 Senator Angie Agliam helped sponsor the resolution. She has participated in the march twice, and has become very passionate about it.
“It touched a soft spot in my heart, and I know a lot of my friends have experienced violence on this campus and other campuses as well,” she said.
Because violence is glorified in the media, it is more important that students show support for anti-violence, Agliam said. No one deserves to be a victim of a violent crime, she said.
“My experience in the march made it very powerful as well because you … actually feel the impact when you’re around people who are as passionate about the cause,” she said. “And so it’s important that we send the message out as people who represent the student body of WSU.”
District 1 Senator Brenna Stroup, who also sponsored the bill, said it was essential the senate support Take Back the Night and encouraged students and community members to attend. The march will begin at 5 p.m. Oct. 12 on the Glenn Terrell Mall.
In addition to hearing the resolution, the senate also heard the first reading of a new bill. Senators Alex Smith and Joey Pacific sponsored an amendment they said would make the process to pass bills more efficient. The “Frontloading Amendment” is a rewrite of a bill that was vetoed last month because some senators worried it would not allow for enough student input.
According to the amendment, when new bills are presented, senators will have the option of voting on the bill immediately or sending it to committee, giving senators an extra week to form an opinion before voting.
The bylaws currently require all bills to automatically move into committee, but Smith said the "Frontloading Amendment" will allow for smaller housekeeping bills to pass easily, while still allowing sufficient time for senators to mull over more controversial bills.
“It’s essentially frontloading our work so we know about the bills ahead of time ... and (making) the process more efficient,” he said.
At the end of the meeting Wednesday, the senate confirmed its last vacant seat. The senate has struggled to keep the seats full this semester, but Pacific said he hopes the senate will stay full this time.
“I’m super excited we have a full senate now,” he said. “Hopefully it will be for more than 24 hours.”
The senate confirmed junior criminal justice major Devon Stiles as district 5 senator. Stiles, a recent transfer student from Shoreline, said his goal during his college career is to help people. He said he feels joining ASWSU Senate is the best way to do that.
“I’m excited to be a part of (ASWSU), and … I just hope I can make a difference,” he said.
Get to know your senators:
Name: Angie Agliam
Year: Senior
Major: Communication
Hometown: Seattle
Occupation: District 1 senator, mentor for Multicultural Student Services
Favorite movie: “Inception”
Hero: Her mother
Goal for the year: “My goal is to be a new voice in the senate and to encourage others – especially in the multicultural community – to pursue a position in ASWSU.”
