During the final meeting of the 70th Session of the Student Senate Wednesday night, an update to election regulations was the primary subject of discussion.
The principal matter of business was an override vote on former Student Body President Bobby Brooks’ veto of The Election Regulations Update Act. The override passed unanimously.
The act introduces a set of new rules set to take effect during the next round of student body elections, though key sections updating the powers of the election commissioner were removed before the act was passed at the previous meeting of the 70th senate.
Brooks and Speaker of the 70th Senate Jasmine Wang shared their last executive reports with the 70th Session. Wang said she is grateful for those who were respectful throughout her time as Speaker of the Senate, and called the upcoming session to action on issues of respect in the Senate.
“I do want to emphasize how grateful I am for the kindness and the grace that so many of you have extended to me,” Wang said. “There have been nights after meetings here I have left… and I have been frustrated by the outcomes of legislation… I have been angry with the way someone behaves towards to me or in general.”
Community Relations Chair Joshua Sweet asked Wang about her fondest memory of her time in the Senate, and she responded with the day she was elected as speaker.
“I don’t think that I ever really felt just so in the right place, and it was probably the biggest honor of my entire college career,” Wang said. “So it is always going to be a highlight.”
Speaker of the 71st Senate Mitch Parker welcomed the 71th Session of the Student Senate and positions were ceremonially passed down from the 70th Session to the 71th.
New members of the senate finance committee were confirmed after a period of consideration and voting, and the 2018-2019 Chief Justice, economics junior Corbin Neumann, officially took office after his confirmation, along with a group of associate justices.
Student Body President Amy Sharp’s pick for vice president of university committees, Agribusiness Freshman Trey Richardson, was confirmed by the senate and sworn in to his new position. This follows Richardson’s initial appearance before the senate at Tuesday’s special session, in which he did not receive the two-thirds vote required to be confirmed.
The confirmation of Sharp’s nominee for diversity commissioner, political science junior Ricardo Mercado, was denied. A meeting has been called for May 2, providing another opportunity for the position to be filled.