Student Senate met Wednesday, taking a moment of silence to commemorate the passing of 23 years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Senate also took a moment of silence to honor the recent death of an OU student.
Three representatives from other student organizations spoke about events and goals for the year, including past and future plans and events.
The first to speak were President of the University of Program Council (UPC) Claire Richards and Treasurer Luke Vannus.
UPC plans regular events for students on campus. Richards described some of the popular events they worked to host last semester.
“We had Kelly and Christie from Dance Moms, we did a Q and A, which was really fun,” Richards said. “I think we were at capacity in Baker Ballroom, which is about 700 people.”
Richards gave a recap of Welcome Week, discussing the drag show featuring Laganja Estranja from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Vannus then spoke about the event’s success.
“Many said it was the best show that we had,” Vannus said. “We also maxed out the ballroom for this, and there were about 750 people there.”
UPC put on two other events for Welcome Week, including a comedy show featuring an OU and UPC alumnus, Victoria Vincent and Rufus’s Birthday Bash, partnering with the Center for Student Engagement Leadership.
Richards and Vannus also shared upcoming events to look forward to throughout the 2024-25 school year.
“For family weekend, we have Bingos and Bagels,” Vannus said. “Then, during Homecoming week, we have SNL.”
The International Student Union, or ISU, was another presenting organization at the meeting, represented by its Marketing and PR Director Olivia Raney. She spoke about ISU's main mission and goals.
“Our mission is representing international students by fostering an inclusive community through developing global awareness, promoting intercultural exchange, and making understanding,” Raney said.
Raney said ISU wants to provide opportunities for international students to develop leadership and career-related skills.
Some events ISU participated in and hosted last year included walking in the Homecoming Parade, an open discussion with students about ongoing events in Palestine, the annual ISU International Dinner and ISU International Week.
“Last year, our International Week theme was connecting hearts across borders,“ Raney said. "So from March 31 to April 7, we had events all over campus.”
ISU is hosting a start-of-the-year picnic Saturday from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is open to all international students and local students.
Raney spoke about the barriers and restrictions ISU is challenged with; she also discussed the opportunities the organization provides. One barrier specifically are the space restrictions to hosting events on campus.
“I think it’s a struggle too, because knowing that most of those who attend are students, you want to still have a place that’s accessible to campus, but that does kind of limit your options,” Raney said.
Raney said she thinks continuing the solid relationship between Senate and ISU in years past and talking about ideas for events with the organization is important for consistent collaboration.
Raney was also asked what can be done to help make international students feel more a part of the Bobcat community.
“I think there’s a lot of places where international students organically interact … including being aware of maybe your own internal biases and the rest will take care of itself,” Raney said.
The third student organization to present was the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, or BSCPB, represented by President Demi Ward and Co-Vice Presidents Jireh Burton and Joshua Toffey.
Ward opened the presentation by inviting students to join BSCPB. She said it is open for all and events are a great time.
Some events BSCPB takes part in include Homecoming and the annual Blackburn Spencer pageant, this year taking place Sept. 28. Contestants are currently fundraising in full swing. Ward said all proceeds go directly to the Blackburn Spencer scholarship given out at the Leadership Awards.
BSCPB also hosts many events for Moms Weekend and Dads Weekend. Ward spoke about implementing some events for Dad’s weekend as well.
Senate then moved on to swearing in and voting on new Senate members. All six proposed members were voted in with “ayes” and officially welcomed into Senate.
Housing and Residence Life Commissioner Thompson discussed surveys that will be sent out to residents to see how the university can further improve students' on-campus living.
Senate also spoke about re-stocking the period products throughout campus, with about 18,000 pads being donated.
President Dan Gordillo reminded members they are students first and need to take care of themselves.
“It’s hard,“ Gordillo said. "You cannot pour from an empty cup. Give yourself time to recoup and relax."
