Have Opinions on the George Fox Community? Contact the ASC.
Reported By: Sophia Lumsdaine
Photographed By: Yolanda Diaz
Although the presence of the Associated Student Community (ASC) is well known on the George Fox University (GFU) campus, the specifics of what ASC is actually responsible for are somewhat murky.
ASC President Austin Wiebe referred to the concrete details of ASC’s role as somewhat “vague and undefined,” and continued by saying, “One of the things we’re working on is advertising a lot more and trying to get the word out about how we provide value to the student body.”
Fundamentally, the ASC serves as an intermediary council between students and administration at GFU. “We exist to make sure that people who make the decisions at the school, the faculty and the board, are accurately representing the wants and needs of the students,” Wiebe said.
Much of what the ASC does is fairly practical, but should serious concerns or grievances arise between students and university administration, the ASC is “supposed to be the first stop for [students] to voice those concerns, because we then have the infrastructure to make them happen,” Wiebe said.
Short of more serious issues, students are encouraged to bring small complaints and requests to the ASC. In this second semester of the 2023-24 school year, the ASC will be working on putting a bike rack next to Pennington House, which houses the Honors Program, and adding StepnPull door openers on restroom doors around campus. Both of these projects arose directly from student requests. Additionally, ASC is currently communicating with Disability and Accessibility Services about a potential partnership and is helping to oversee the Bruin Brawl.
On an ongoing basis, ASC also controls the management and allocation of funds for a variety of organizations around campus. This includes Student Activities, Commuter Life, and student clubs and organizations.
Wiebe and ASC Vice President Noelle Knipe encourage students to participate in surveys and emails that the ASC sends out. However, “direct interaction is always better,” Knipe said.
“If someone does stop by with an idea for something, there’s a really good chance we will make it happen,” Wiebe said. Knipe shared a similar message. “We actually take [the request] and digest it and figure out how to make it happen,” she said.
Wiebe and Knipe will be hosting office hours this semester intended for this purpose. See their office hours on the ASC Instagram @gfu.asc and posted in the Student Services Office in the Hadlock Student Center. The ASC office can be found within the Student Services Office.