Senate didn’t waste any time filling the recently abandoned Student Body Treasurer seat.
Junior mechanical engineering major Andrew Puhr was elected by Senate to complete the remaining three week term of Student Body Treasurer.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m spinning right now, it’s nice. Now I see all of the behind the scenes planning that goes into everything and I see how it all works.”
Although Puhr is new to the exec board, this is not his first experience on Senate. Puhr has served as a senator since fall and said he saw the new opening on exec as a great opportunity.
“A friend recommended [the position] to me and I though it was a good way for me to have influence in senate,” he said. “I was planning to run for this position [for the next term] anyways and I figured if I ran now it would show my interest.”
Puhr was one of three students who ran for the position, completed a petition and spoke in front of the general assembly.
Student Body Vice President Tricia Anklan said electing a new student to exec will provide Senate with a fresh perspective.
“Andrew has been asking a lot of the right intelligent questions, has shown that he is prepared and knows what he has gotten himself into,” she said. “He is a good candidate for Senate.”
Puhr said his first plan of attack is to address issues Senate had last semester with fund-raising.
“I have created a fund-raising committee to come up with ideas on how to raise money,” he said. “I want to start early on and I don’t want to leave it up to the senators to figure it out. I think a committee will have a more substantial impact and hopefully will come up with better ideas.”
Puhr said he already looking into the idea of a Senate date auction as a fund-raising option for the next few weeks.
“I think a date auction would be fun,” he said. “It would also tie into Valentine’s Day, which is coming up.”
Another goal Puhr has for the next few weeks is to create a better planned budget, he said.
“I think Senate should be open,” he said. “Overall, I want to let the whole Senate know what the budget is and where we are financially.”
Director of Student Activities Michelle Whited said she is optimistic for the rest of the semester.
“I think it is great [on Puhr’s election],” she said. “It will be fun to work with someone new. I think Senate is finally getting really poised to address some issues by the end of the term.”