Newly elected senators were introduced at the second Union Senate meeting of the year this past Sunday. 

The Senate began by approving Executive Board appointees to their positions. Before the vote, each appointee discussed goals for their time in the position. 

Serving in a recently created role of chief strategist, Aaron Finkel ’20 hopes to reform the Union and increase transparency, particularly through the release of monthly reports on the accomplishments of the Union.  

As chief of staff Emma Russell ’19 plans to make sure that Union members are committed to their positions and hopes to work on financial issues related to printing in the library and club funding.

Director of Programming appointee Adrian Ashley ’20 will oversee Union programming and plans to implement panels addressing student needs, as well as help other senators with programming.  

As director of Academic Affairs, Brandon Stanaway ’19 said he intends to facilitate lecture series on topics of interest to students and to serve as a representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. 

Alanna Levy ’19, the Union’s director of the Office of Student Rights and Advocacy, hopes to advocate for student mental health and improve campus accessibility. 

Director of Communications Rachel McAllister ’21 will run the Union’s social media and manage communications. She hopes to complete the Union website and improve its social media presence.  

After the Senate confirmed the appointees, all newly elected senators were sworn into office. 

Union Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 then introduced the eight Union committees. Each senator must serve on at least two committees, or one if they chair a committee. Reynolds then outlined the expectations and duties of the Senate: Senators must attend meetings of the committees they serve on and are allowed to miss three Senate meetings per semester. 

Previous Senate committee chairs and members then described the past accomplishments and goals of each committee. Reynolds explained that of the eight committees, all are open to student participation in meetings except for the Bylaws Committee. 

Reynolds said that the Senate has an operating budget of $20,000 this year. Senators can introduce Senate Money Resolutions for projects they wish to fund, and those resolutions are voted on by the Senate.

Finally, the senators introduced themselves and talked about which committees they were interested in serving on.