Now that the elections are finally over, and students may continue to go around campus without being bothered by all of us annoying candidates, I am extremely excited to get to work in preparing for next year’s Senate. For a number of reasons, this next Senate has a great deal of potential to be an effective tool for change and representation on campus.

With so many returning members, many of our senators already know their jobs well and we won’t have to waste an excessive amount of time with training. This will allow us to get straight to the grit of student affairs and working to make an impact on campus.

In helping to streamline this process and ensure that senate remains an effective institution on campus, I do want to use my role as vice president in order to change the way that senators fulfill their duties. As it stands now, senators often write legislation which is exceptionally idealistic and advocate changes that we might all support.

However, too often this is where the process for change ends—many senators do not follow through on these issues. In correcting this problem, I want to encourage senators to pursue these proposals beyond the chamber, meeting with relevant administrators and using passed legislation as a mandate for change.

Aside from this, I’m eager to get to work on a number of initiatives that I think will greatly benefit the student body, in addition to maintaining an open ear to the voices of the students for further ideas.

I hope to see Student Senate take an active role in policy molding in regards to the sophomore second year housing requirement, as I believe this is one of the most important changes that will occur in coming years. I also look forward to continued Senate participation in other areas, such as reading days and account holds— concerns that have plagued students for years.

In going forward with these plans next year, I am pleased to have Austin and Martha on exec, as I know that the three of us will be a great team in facing all of these issues.

To readers of the Daily Campus, please feel free to talk to any of us about your students concerns, and I look forward to hearing from you all.

Alex Ehmke is a junior economics, political science and public policy triple major. He can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].