This week, 10 new student senators
were elected to serve for their residential buildings in Senate, and Student Body President Nick Swiatkowski said he is optimistic about the upcoming year.
“I think it’s going to be good,” he said. “We have a lot planned and a good executive board. We’re fired up and ready to represent the students of Bradley.”
All but four positions on Student Senate have been filled, and several student organizations and academic colleges still have yet to announce who will be representing
them in general assembly meetings.
“I am really looking forward to this year,” Student Body Vice President Tricia Anklan said. “We have a lot of new senators and very high student interest in Senate. The number of people who ran for Senate this year was much higher than last year.”
Senate will be accepting petitions
for one student senator in Williams Hall, one Off-Campus senator and two St. James Complex senators. Any students interested should complete a petition, which can be found on the Student Senate website, and return turn it by Sept. 20 during the general assembly meeting in the Garrett Center.
“We look for senators who are proactive and resourceful,” Anklan said. “It’s great to have people who constantly seek out campus issues and look for ways to better Bradley.”
Although there are still a few positions open, Swiatkowski said Senate had no issues recruiting candidates to run.
“At the first meeting we had a good turn out,” he said. “We even had multiple people running for some positions.”
Last year Senate had a difficult
time keeping senator seats filled. This year, they are trying to fill empty seats quickly and keep them filled, Swiatkowski said.
“We are going to canvas those open seats at hall council,” he said. “We really want to get the word out that there are open positions.”
New faces are just one of the changes Student Senate will see this semester. Swiatkowski said this year he would like Senate to have a larger presence on campus.
Senate will host office hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Thursday and Friday beginning next week.
This will be the first time Senate’s office will be open to students,
allowing them to bring any issues or concerns to the attention of executive members.
By hosting open office hours, issues brought up by students will be addressed during general assembly meetings.
“If students know about our office hours, I think they will take advantage of the opportunity,” Swiatkowski said. “The primary goal of this is to let students know that we are here.”
