ASW Events President and sophomore neuroscience major Ashlee Szwedko said this year’s focus for ASW events is on tradition and partners from the Westminster College community. With a drop in attendance, they want to increase their engagement with the student body, according to Szwedko.
“We’re really trying to work on being more collaborative with different partners on campus,” Szwedko said.
Szwedko said ASW events are chosen depending on the year and what their team looks like as a branch of student government. ASW currently has vacancies for student representatives, which means their team is smaller this year, according to the ASW website.
“For the Fall semester, events are chosen based on what [ASW has] done in the past,” Szwedko said. “We do more traditional events, since we don’t have the full team to be able to put on new events.”
The revamping of traditional events means a Fall semester featuring events such as disco skating, casino night and tailgates, according to Szwedko.
“Spring semester is more when we pick new events, things we’re interested in and think would be more collaborative and fun for the campus,” Szwedko said. “Right now, we’re trying to really be more involved in the campus rather than bringing people outside of campus, so one thing we’re really excited about is Seasonal Regression.”
Seasonal Regression is a band made up of Westminster and University of Utah students who performed on campus at Roast N’ Toast Oct. 6.
“[ASW’s] primary goal is to make sure that students are having fun and are able to take a step back from classes and life,” said Claire Mischel, ASW Chief Justice and junior biology major.
After a year of online learning, attendance and engagement is key to rebuilding the Westminster community, according to Szwedko. ASW wants to create opportunities, and have a positive impact on students and their lives during their time at Westminster, as well as develop a sense of community, according to Mischel.
“Events are a good way to reconnect with friends and make new ones,” Mischel said. “The student-led events done by ASW are one of the easiest ways that students can get involved.”
Westminster senior and chemistry major Hezro Da Silva said he imagines ASW events as a way to gather to help support each other as a student body and campus community.
“I think it would be a good idea to do a yard sale or a market where all of the students sell their old textbooks,” Da Silva said. “It would be a convenient way to get school supplies for the semester.”
Events that involve culture or dressing up for an off-campus activity is a great opportunity to take a break from weekly routines and have a change of scenery, according to Samuel Bach, a first-year sociology major.
ASW encourages students to stay in the loop about upcoming events by connecting on social media. ASW currently has an Instagram page, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook, all under the handle @WestminsterASW. Additionally, events are included in the Westminster Weekly emails that are sent to students every Monday.
The best way for Westminster students to have an impact on what events get produced is to contact ASW through their email aswevents@westminstercollege.edu, or by dropping a note in the suggestion box located by the ASW office inside the Shaw Student Center.
