During their first meeting of the fall semester, student senators for the 71st session discussed various resolutions and had initial readings for legislation during Wednesday night’s meeting of the Texas A&M Student Senate.

The Senate passed the “Welcoming the Class of 2022 Resolution,” officially welcoming the freshman Class of 2022 and new transfer students to Texas A&M. Introduced by sophomore Legislative Affairs Chair Eric Mendoza and sophomore Constituency Affairs Chair Colton Mandel, the resolution expressed the eagerness of the Student Senate to welcome the new class of Aggies.

“As of August 27, 2018, the first day of classes for the fall 2018 semester, thousands of Aggies have traveled to College Station,” Mendoza read from the resolution. “The freshman class of 2022 begins their college careers and first taste of adulthood here at Texas A&M University.”

The resolution wished the new Aggies luck in their first semester.

“The Class of 2022 and new transfer students have officially joined the Aggie family and thus deserve a warm welcome from the group that represents their student voice and opinion,” the resolution read. “Whether it is your first or last semester, we as the Student Senate hope you BTHO the fall 2018 semester.”

The Senate also passed the “The Honoring William Montgomery ‘Monty’ Gano Resolution,” honoring late 71st Session student senator William Montgomery, who lost his battle with cancer over the summer and was remembered at Tuesday’s Silver Taps ceremony..
Introduced by former student senator and agricultural leadership and development senior Coy Westbrook, the resolution expressed the profound loss and memorable life that was late Senator William Montgomery.
“William Montgomery “Monty” Gano passed away on August 1, 2018 after a short, but valiant battle against Adrenal Cancer,” Westbrook said.
The resolution celebrated the life of William Montgomery and highlighted the impact he had on others.
“Montgomery was a member of the 71st Session of the Texas A&M Student Senate, who showed a particular passion for the Student Senate during his short time in office,” the resolution read. “Montgomery truly lived by the Aggie Spirit during his short time at Texas A&M and in his term as a student senator and tried to live by our core values of respect, excellence, loyalty, leadership, integrity, and selfless service.”
Both resolutions were passed by consent with no amendments.

The Student Senate had the first readings for three new pieces of legislation including “The Diversity and Inclusion Representation Bill” introduced by Speaker of the Senate Mitch Parker, Speaker Pro-Tempore Tate Banks and Rules and Regulations Chair Karina Wilson, “Reapportionment of Senate Caucuses Bill” introduced by Speaker of the Senate Mitch Parker and “The Operations Committee Rehaul Bill” introduced by Speaker Pro-Tempore Tate Banks. The bills will now go to their respective committees to be developed further.

At the beginning of the meeting, Liberal Arts Senator Ashali Chimata was elected as Student Services Chair for the Student Services Committee of the Student Senate.