Student Senate: Body recognizes current members, inducts next year's members

Student Senate recognized senior members and acknowledged the body’s accomplishments from the academic year at its final meeting Wednesday.

Six senior members were given honors and nine were awarded senator emeritus. The body also appointed senators to the judicial panel, the chief justice of the panel and the director of students defending students. After thanking the general body, the 2016-17 executives reflected on the legacy they’re leaving behind.

“If you had asked me before this term if guns and port-a-potties were going to be the two greatest scandals of my career, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Courteney Muhl, former Student Senate vice president, said.

Muhl listed eight items the body started this academic year. Some of the new items included changing the student trustee selection process, allowing Ohio University regional campuses to have representatives serve on the senate, providing port-a-potties to students to use during fest season, beginning the judicial panel and making changes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Muhl said one of her favorite quotes is from Harry Truman, and she said she does her best to promote and follow what it means.

“It’s incredible the things you accomplish when you don’t care who receives the credit,” Muhl said. “I think it’s important as we wrap up our last meeting to take a second to step back and reflect on all the things that we did this year.”

Student Senate President Hannah Clouser encouraged senate members to make the most of their time while serving on the body.

“If you’re not graduating, take all that you can get,” Clouser said. “I think when your four years are up, you ought to be able to look back and be proud of it, and I really, really am.”

This year’s body also introduced new initiatives in the university that focused on making campus more accessible to students. Some of the initiatives listed by the senate included the fourth floor of Alden Library being open 24 hours, residents having 24-hour access to the laundry rooms, traditional meal plans now having 15 guest swipes per semester, and it advocated for lights on the South Green basketball court.

Dr. Jason Pina, vice president for student affairs, said how proud he was of Clouser’s commitment and transparency with the body.

“I talked about how executives inform you before they take action and exactly the example I used was when Hannah talked to the whole body in the fall about what was going on with budget, what was going on with tuition increase and that she promised you that she would tell you directly after a ... meeting exactly what happened and how she voted,” Pina said. 

Student Senate Graduate Student Assistant Jivanto van Hemert was unable to attend because he was away for a job interview. Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones encouraged members of the senate to reach out to him once he gets back on campus.

“Recognize the work he’s done and the heart and soul he’s put into senate,” Hall-Jones said.

At the end of the meeting, all of the 2017-18 executives and senators were inducted into their new positions. 

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