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WSU student leaders urge stronger town–gown ties; prioritize housing, safety and basic needs
Summary
ASWSU representatives told Pullman City Council on Nov. 4 that student government’s priorities this year are student engagement and community connection, campus safety, and basic needs — including housing and retention — and asked for collaboration on events, transit, and legislative priorities.
Kelsey Thoren, ASWSU director of community affairs, and ASWSU President Isaac Velasquez presented student-government priorities to the Pullman City Council at the Nov. 4 joint meeting, asking for expanded collaboration on housing, public-safety infrastructure and student access to basic services.
Velasquez told the council that ASWSU’s three pillars for the year are student engagement and community, campus safety and basic needs, and described programming to bridge students and residents — Police in the Park, a fall housing fair, and plans for a spring “Pigout in Pullman” food-and-music event. He said student-engagement work aims to improve retention, noting ASWSU’s figures that the institution loses about 20% of students between first and second year and another roughly 10% later, a trend the student government says increased the urgency of outreach and housing initiatives.
Vice President Grace Carpenter summarized departmental work: expanded community-affairs staffing and outreach, a fall housing fair that drew about 150 students, Police in the Park (attendance over 200) to build relations between students and law enforcement, and plans for a spring housing carnival and a community-kindness week. Bhargav Iyer, ASWSU director of legislative affairs, said the student government has lobbied for rent caps at the state level in prior years and highlighted campus efforts such as the Students Experiencing Homelessness Act and a campus navigator for students facing housing instability.
Council members asked for specifics on how students could plug into city processes. Community-development staff and City Administrator Sean Wells pointed to volunteer and engagement opportunities — parks and recreation programs, the periodic comprehensive-plan update (more than 80 engagement events scheduled), transit advisory group (TAG) participation and neighborhood gatherings — and pledged to follow up on collaboration for events such as Pigout in Pullman. Council member Meg Guido said the pro-housing work group will present recommendations in December.
The exchange was primarily a briefing and Q&A; no formal action was taken. The council recessed briefly for a photo and to allow informal follow-up between student leaders and council members.
