Student Senate gathered Wednesday evening in Walter 235 for a full agenda, including a presentation from Bobcat Student Orientation and a review of funding and programming resolutions.
The Senate announced end-of-year superlative awards for its members, including categories like “Most Likely to be POTUS” and “Best Hair.
Representatives from Student Affairs, Mak Olaker, assistant dean of students for parent and family engagement, and Abbey Cliffel, assistant director of undergraduate orientation programs, then presented updates on BSO operations and plans for the future.
Olaker said BSO is moving to the Division of Student Affairs, which has developed a new office, the Office of New Student and Family Programs.
Olaker said the change will bring forth a stronger connection between the university and students' families, fostering a stronger sense of belonging among students.
In addition to this new office, Olaker discussed BSO’s new approach with upcoming orientations.
BSO welcomes approximately 5,200 new students and 6,800 family members and guests each year, with 65 BSO leaders for the 2025 summer.
Olaker said to welcome more families, BSO will now start at 1 p.m. instead of 8 a.m., with an extended check-in window.
“We’re really excited about that shift,” Olaker said. “We’re also excited about having that longer check-in window, so that folks can do different things on campus and start exploring the space while they’re here.”
Olaker presented the Senate with the orientation calendar for the upcoming summer months and opened the floor to discussion.
Next, Nicholas Selar was appointed as a College of Business Senator, and Bryn Woodruff was appointed as an Associate Justice to the Judicial Panel.
The evening continued with debates over Resolution 2425-150, which sought to revise the student funding allocation process.
Maggie Giansante, Academic Affairs Commissioner, clarified that the resolution aimed to ensure a more equitable budget distribution.
“We found that we didn’t want to go over a certain amount of the actual budget, so we can leave it to the other commissions to ensure that they also have funding, and we realized that if we went below $15,000 that it would be a significant portion of our budget going to allocations,” Giansante said.
She said the clause would allow for continued allocations while maintaining fairness across commissions.
Giansante said they do not foresee a future in which they surpass this $15,000 threshold.
After continued discussion and debate, the Senate passed the resolution.
Resolution 2425-151, a request to revise Academic Affairs' positions and responsibilities, clarifying member roles, formalizing connections with academic offices and updating responsibilities like organizing Final Fest.
Giansante requested to amend the resolution to change the name of Final Fest, granting future commissioners the right to choose the name of the program.
After much debate and following the university's administration's request for the revision, Resolution 2425-151 was passed.
