Student Senate welcomes new senators and creates ad hoc committees
By Katie Frost
On Sept. 27, the Student Senate leadership team hosted the annual senate retreat to kick off the semester, go over how the senate will look this semester and meet all the new senate members. During the retreat, the Student senate set three “ad hoc” goals to focus on this semester.
The first ad hoc goal the senate plans to focus on is facilities. This was an ad hoc goal that was carried over from last year. When asked about why they chose to carry over this goal, Sage Villanueva ‘29 (Fashion Merchandising and Marketing), the Public Relations co-chair and the head of the facilities ad hoc, shared how they “wanna continue it this year because last semester [they] almost had like a starting path.” Sage said the facilities' ad hoc wants to focus specifically on cleaner, better-stocked bathrooms, including paper towels, soap and menstrual products. For this semester, the team is planning to focus mainly on ensuring menstrual products are in each bathroom and consistently stocked and reliable.
The second ad hoc agreement the senate reached concerns campus engagement. The senate recognizes that providing opportunities for students to get involved in activities and the community is important for giving students a positive day-to-day experience on campus. Campus engagement will focus on finding solutions for students who may be struggling to get involved in the community, and all senate members expressed excitement about helping with this ad hoc committee and seeing where it can go.
The last ad hoc the senate voted for was financial and housing aid. Some senate members brought up concerns around how students might be struggling to find the full potential of scholarships, financial aid or counseling. Additionally, the senate agreed that putting effort into making it easier for students to find off-campus housing and roommates is worth it. The members of the financial and housing aid ad hoc committee also want to help students better understand work-study opportunities, since they can be a great way to relieve financial stress.
Apart from the ad hocs, another new exciting element about the senate this semester is all the new senators that were sworn in during the senate meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Elections this semester kicked off the senate, with over 120 ballots being submitted and almost 10 new legislators and senators being elected. At the meeting, new senators were sworn in, the senate voted on a funding proposal to send senators to a conference for civil action and the senate received a presentation from Jessica Nelson and Kenneth Cooper about their roles in the senate and their goals for this year.
Student Senate meetings are every Tuesday from noon to 1:15 p.m. Food is provided, and everyone is always welcome to sit in and see what the senate is all about.
