Ledger

Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Campus News

It's tough being the new kid on the block, but even tougher to be under the klieg lights of political office.

Few know that better than K. Douglas Smith, ASUWT's new vice-president.

Smith was hired last month after an interview process initiated by ASUWT President Sarah Myers. Smith, a senior in the Computing and Software Systems (CSS) program, is unknown to many outside the Institute of Technology.

He joins the ASUWT team with knowledge of student organizations. Smith took a few minutes out of his busy day to tell us a little bit about himself.

You have never served with ASUWT before. What is it about student government here at UWT that interested you?
I wanted to get involved in the community. My family had been part of the University of Washington for the last 15 years, up in UW Seattle, so coming here was an opportunity to give back similar to the way they gave back when they were in Seattle.

What are your goals, both personal and professional, for the year?
My first goal is to network with students on campus. I am really involved with creating this campus community.

We'll be preparing [for the] freshman class so there will be some kind of family atmosphere for them to be a part of. [The] goals of student government are also part of the same, but also trying to get healthcare on the books.

That's part of our biggest focus this year. Definitely take care of the healthcare issue.

Media Credit: Mark Dodson ASUWT Vice President K. Douglas Smith mulls over paperwork at his desk in the ASUWT student government office.

What were your preconceptions about ASUWT in general? Have they panned out?
I don't think that students here paid too much attention to student government in general. They thought that ASUWT was a bunch of partiers and weren't really involved in what was happening on campus.

It was more self-promotion and that has really changed this year. We're not partiers, we're not putting on events, we're focused on being a voice for the students. For me, that part has been really key and that's why I like being involved in student government.

So we're actually going to get students' voices heard and in part change our own image as well.

What do you think are the challenges facing the student body this year?
With the administration focused on the incoming freshmen, [we need] to keep in the minds of administration that the students here should still be the primary focus for this next year.

That it's not just the freshmen coming in. That's just such a small part of what the next year is going to be about, but we're still here as a student body and we have needs that must be addressed as well. I think that, in part, is going to be extremely important.

What do you envision your role to be in addressing those concerns?
To remind the administration to make sure we have a balance. A lot of the focus will be on the freshman and rightly so, but just to remember that the other students are here as well and maybe having the current students actively engaging in welcoming that incoming freshmen, so that they will be a part of that, that new experience.

What sort of skills do you bring to the table that a member of IAS or Urban Studies or Social Work would not necessarily have?
With CSS, mainly all of our work is focused on logic, so it's usually a step-by-step process. It's about breaking down large, complex problems into smaller, manageable pieces.

That's really what CSS is all about. But for me personally, my background is in management. I was in hotel management for five years and then I decided to go into computer science, so my strength actually lies in my management skills.

What are the challenges facing student government this year and how do you plan to address them?
Our big challenge is going to be how we prepare for the freshmen. That will change the dynamic and what student government will be about. Traditionally, it's been about juniors and seniors.

Now we'll have freshmen, and we need to create an environment around student government that will be welcoming to freshmen, and help them get involved on campus.

Another one is going to be healthcare. It's a very complex issue and something that people are very passionate about. So that, I think, is going to be our big challenge, making sure something with healthcare does happen.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools