Student Government Association President Jay Todd Richey is in the process of setting up a listening tour for all regional campuses.

This tour entails Richey going to the different campus government associations and listening to the issues they are currently facing. The tour would start with Glasgow on Nov. 15.

All students are free to follow along. Richey wants to acquire a better understanding of students’ needs and wants on WKU’s four regional campuses.

“I care deeply about the students,” Richey said. “WKU students and every single member of the WKU community need to understand that WKU is a system with four campuses.”

Richey supports the advantage of having other WKU-related resources in different locations of Kentucky.

“I believe WKU regional campuses provide many opportunities for students that may not have been able to find the opportunity to go to college any other way,” Richey said.

SGA and Richey are working with the regional campuses to establish Student Body Associations on the four regional campuses.

Being a member of the Student Body Association would give participants the opportunity to be a part of the decision-making process when SGA votes on new resolutions and bills.

“Owensboro is the only regional campus that doesn’t have a Student Body Association, and I would love to see that,” Richey said.

Richey said the regional campuses are being left out and are underrepresented.

“We have a Student Body Association in Glasgow. We just got one at Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox, and hopefully we can get one in Owensboro,” Richey said.

Richey also instructed SGA members not to leave out other campuses on purpose when they refer to WKU’s campus.

“There is no main campus, nor are there satellite campuses,” Richey said. “They’re Hilltoppers just like us.”

Samantha Johnson, the Student Body Association president of Glasgow campus, doesn’t think extended campuses should be responsible for paying certain fees for resources they don’t use.

“[The] majority of students that go to extended campuses are never on the Bowling Green campus,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she is grateful for SGA and Richey’s consideration for the regional campuses.

“We have a really good working relationship with SGA,” said Johnson.

Johnson said Richey has made efforts to reach out to her to start working on some events in the future for extended campuses.

Student Body Association President Cara Barbara of the Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox campus said she’s really excited to voice issues concerning the campus.

“We are excited about bringing domestic violence awareness and sexual assault awareness to the campuses of Elizabethtown and Fort Knox,” she said. 

Barbara said Richey has been very diligent about including the regional campuses in all WKU-related events.

“We really appreciate Jay Todd Richey’s willingness to reach out to the regional campuses,” said Barbara.