At Monday’s general assembly meeting, Student Senate outlined its goals for the year, which will begin with filling more than 15 general assembly seats that remain open.
“[We plan] to completely fill them by the end of October,” Speaker of the Assembly Sarah Handler said.
Handler said Student Senate plans to achieve this by encouraging Resident Advisors and existing student senators to reach out to their respective residents and constituents.
Beyond membership, Student Body President Jason Blumenthal outlined his goals for the year, setting high expectations and highlighting the need to be proactive.
Blumenthal said the first goal is to switch to a three-branch student government association. The new system would include judicial, executive and legislative branches, which would be comparable to governing systems of other colleges such as Illinois State University.
According to Blumenthal, the three-branch structure would create a more efficient system. The current organization consists of a single group, where executive and legislative branches are combined.
The second goal is to market and rebrand Student Senate so students know exactly who and what Student Senate is.
Vice President of Student Affairs Helen Lagerblade will take the lead on this project. Lagerblade said proposed ideas include increased activity on social media and more ownership of the Rise of the Red campaign. Lagerblade’s committee intends to finalize its plan over fall break.
The third goal is to create a smoke-free campus. According to Blumenthal, exact details of what this would include will be developed throughout the year based on student input.
After Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill prohibiting smoking on all state-funded campuses, many private institutions followed. According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, more than 60 Illinois universities have already adopted smoke-free policies. Bradley is one of the last private institutions in Illinois to allow on-campus smoking, and Blumenthal said Student Senate intends to change that.
The final goal Blumenthal outlined was a plan to increase school spirit. This plan includes Student Senate’s Rise of the Red campaign as well as an effort to enhance campus culture on Fridays. Student Senate will reach out to student organizations to wear red on Fridays.
Furthermore, Blumenthal said they intend to help market campus events and create more publicity for student organizations overall.
All students are welcome to attend Student Senate general assembly meetings in the Garrett Multicultural Center on Mondays at 5 p.m. For more information, visit Student Senate’s page on Bradley’s website.
Open Senate Seats
University Hall: 1
Wyckoff: 1
Williams: 3
Geisert: 1
Off-campus: 1
St. James apartments: 1
SAC, Singles, College Hall: 4
Transfer: 1
At-large: 5
