Matt Jarrell, Virgilio Cintron, Ramon Rinonos-Diaz, Colin Watrin, Morgan Holmgren, Mike Pond and Bernard Ikegwuoha all have two things in common: they are all members of the Associated Students Board of Directors, and they are all men.

On the walls of the AS office in the Viking Union hang pictures of past AS Boards of Directors, dating back to the 2000-01 school year.  Of the previous boards, each one had at least two female officers.  Jarrell, the current AS president, said he does not think an all-male board has ever been in office but hopes to remedy the situation as best he can.

“The image of a bunch of guys sitting behind the table can be intimidating and is something we’re addressing,” Jarrell said. “We want to make sure that all students, no matter their race, gender or sexual orientation, feel comfortable in front of us.”

As student-elected officials, the AS Board of Directors democratically represents the entire Western student body.  Nevertheless, while the officers are culturally and ethnically diverse, gender-wise the lack of a female officer could force the current Board to be more conscious of making sure all groups on campus are represented, said former AS Vice President  of Diversity Kayla Britt.  Although, Britt said she sees this as a blessing rather than a curse.
“A lot of times people rest on their laurels thinking other people will deal with things,” Britt said. “But, if everybody is worried about people being silenced then everybody will be worried about making sure everyone is heard.”
Whether the lack of a female officer poses a problem or provides a benefit is an issue on which some of the current board members are divided.

Watrin, current VP of Activities, said he thinks the lack of a female officer could introduce pressure from the student body to make sure the students are properly represented.

On the other hand, Rinonos-Diaz, current VP of Academic Affairs, said he does not think the student body, or the AS Board of Directors for that matter, should focus so heavily on gender or wholly representing the student body.
“Saying that a women’s perspective on an issue is different from our [male perspective] is kind of uni-dimensional,” Rinonos-Diaz said. “Gender is just one part of all of our identities, and it’s more about how the communities we belong to interact with each other.”

The AS Board of Directors officially met for the first time Tuesday, June 23 and immediately began training for the upcoming year to make sure all the officers are adequately prepared, Jarrell said.

Training sessions run Monday through Friday from 3-5 p.m.  The first hour is dedicated to bonding and getting to know each board member while the second hour is dedicated to learning basic AS structure.  After realizing that having an all-male board could be problematic, Cintron said Jarrell wants the board members to have the issue on their minds “100 percent of the time.”

Regardless of the board members current level of diversity, former AS President Eric Lowe said he does not think focus should be directed toward the lack of a female officer based on the gender make-up of previous boards.  Each board brings with it a unique collection of abilities and personalities that might not fall under the same scrutiny as previous boards, he said.

“I think people have to look at the personalities of the individual board members and see how they interact with each other and the rest of the organization and the rest of the university and go from there,” Lowe said. “Just because the board is all men doesn’t mean we should discount the fact that they care just as much about the university and the AS.”

Jarrell said Annie Jansen, the student senate chair, and Anna Ellermaier, editor of the AS Review, are both women who attend all board meetings to provide input.

Similar to how the AS can not represent every student at Western, having female voices within meetings does not necessarily mean that those females represent the entire Western female population, Cintron said.
“We could have a female council to make sure we get that female voice, but who’s to say that they represent all the females at the school,” Cintron said.

For the AS, this issue is one Jarrell said will be addressed during training before the AS begins the official 2009-10 school year in September.  At that point, the officers will begin the year-long process of ensuring each position fully represents the student body.

Jarrell said his fellow officers will need to define their position and fulfill their obligations to the best of their ability.

“My two main goals for each of the vice presidents this year is for them to take ownership of the position and run with it,” Jarrell said. “Each officer also needs to remember that they are elected officials representing 14,000 students."

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