Thousands of students will vote for their future Student Union (SU) treasury representatives and senators on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 9:00 p.m. CST. But what impact do these roles have on campus? Student Life breaks down the purpose and structure of SU, as well as its influence on campus life. 

SU Exec

SU’s Executive branch serves as a point of leadership for SU. There are five members of this branch: President, Executive Vice President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Programming, and Vice President of Engagement.

The President of SU leads the organization and presides over the Executive Council. The President maintains relationships with WashU administrators and appoints or removes members of the Executive Council as needed. The President can also veto acts passed by SU Senate or SU Treasury within three days, and call emergency Senate or Treasury sessions. 

The Executive Vice President manages the internal affairs of SU by overseeing SU-affiliated organizations and leading the election of Senate and Treasury’s speakers, who chair all of Senate and Treasury’s meetings, respectively. Should the President be unable to serve for any reason, the Executive Vice President would take over their duties.

The Vice President of Finance supervises the collection, allocation, and tracking of SU’s funds, which come from the student activities free, and which amounted to approximately $4.6 million this fiscal year.

The Vice President of Programming is responsible for SU programming, like Night at the Pageant (NAP) and Spring WILD. They also serve as the head of the Social Programming Board (SPB) and oversee all of its operations.

The Vice President of Engagement is a liaison between SU and the student body — they supervise the SU Public Relations team and coordinate the publicity of SU’s actions. 

All of these offices are chosen via plurality vote by the student body in SU’s spring election.

Treasury

SU Treasury is a body responsible for allocating the student activities fee to student organizations and SU-affiliated entities that host programming for students. 

The money that Treasury allocates to clubs can be broken down into two main categories: appeals, flat funding, and budgets. Access to these funds depends on each club’s status within SU. 

SU has three funding tiers for clubs: CAT I, CAT II, and CAT III. All student groups have access to flat funding with CAT I groups being able to request budgets for the next fiscal year. During the budgeting cycle, a committee composed of treasury representatives decides on club budgets. 

CAT I groups are also the only groups that can access appeals. Appeals are additional funds that CAT I groups can use for programming that they did not budget for in their annual budget. 

These appeals can be further broken down into sub-$1,000 and over-$1,000. All appeal requests below $1,000 are decided on by the SU Vice President of Finance, while appeals over $1,000 can be passed by a majority vote from Treasury, which is composed of all treasury representatives. 

For every over-$1,000 appeal, a club must present its request in front of SU Treasury, detailing the event that they hope to get funding for. After the presentation, treasury representatives decide if the event should be fully funded, should be amended to decrease the amount requested, or should not be funded.

Treasury representatives also select the Speaker of Treasury, who guides Treasury’s meetings and holds the right to remove or appoint individuals to the body.

Treasury representatives are elected by the student body, with the 12 most-voted-for candidates taking office every semester.

Senate

Senate is made up of senators who primarily work in committees to drive positive change on campus. They do so while working and conversing with administrators and students. There are four committees — Health and Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion, Campus and Residential, and Academic Affairs — each of which pursue projects based on their objectives. 

These committees can write reports and evidence-based documents that are then presented to WashU administrators to highlight systemic problems on campus. Senate can also address issues through resolutions which are voted on by Senate and passed with a simple majority.

Senators can select the Speaker of Senate, who guides Senate’s meetings and holds the right to remove and appoint individuals to the body.

Senators are elected by the student body, with the 12 most-voted-for candidates taking office every semester.

School-Specific Councils

Each school at WashU has its own council that operates independently of SU. These organizations provide resources and programming for students in their respective schools, and they collaborate with SU to ensure that their students feel heard by the organization. 

All positions within the ArtSci Council are voted upon by the student body and elected based on plurality vote.

Election Commission

This branch of SU conducts and sets the rules for all SU elections, including elections for SU executive members, treasury representatives and senators, referendums, constitutional amendments, and recalling SU members/leadership.

The Election Commission is chaired by the Commission-appointed Election Commissioner. The Election Commissioner can appoint individuals to the Election Commission during their term.

Constitutional Council

The Constitutional Council serves as the Judicial branch of SU. Its responsibilities include interpreting and updating the constitution as needed, reviewing the actions of SU’s officers, providing guidance to SU at its discretion, and handling trials and hearings regarding SU operations.

Closing

SU wields influence within the student body and impacts how students interact with WashU as an institution. But this power does not exist within a vacuum; it is given to SU representatives by our votes.

Editor’s Note: this article has been updated to reflect information that SU Vice President of Finance Meris Damjanovic and Speaker of Senate Ella Scott provided to Student Life.