Newly elected student body President Alex Mace swears in VP Zane Cavender and Secretary Katherine Ladner. (Clayton T. Smith/SMU)

After a tough election season, recently elected student body officers and student senators gathered in Hughes-Trigg Commons for the 99th inauguration of SMU Student Senate.

Elected representatives, committee chairs and the comptroller were sworn in.

The event celebrated the achievements of this year’s Student Senate.

“I thank outgoing student body officers for all their efforts,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said.

The Student Senate passed legislation this year that will improve student-university relations and the campus experience.

“We accomplished incredible feats. We rearranged library hours, will start offering free flu shots to students next year and simplified the syllabi process during registration,” Austin Prentice, the current student body president, said.

Student Senate also made greater efforts to reach out to the SMU community with a town hall meeting sponsored by the student concerns committee.

Prentice predicted that Student Senate would continue to build on its efforts to improve campus.

“Alex Mace, you will be far better than I was. This is the process of development and growth in action,” Prentice said.

Mace took an oath to uphold Senate’s bylaws and continue dialogue with students.

“I could have never come this far without people who supported me,” Mace said. “I look forward to next year.”

Mace moved on to discuss his platform, which will focus on community and campus life. He wants to reach out to local businesses to build a community spirit around SMU sports.

He also highlighted the Spring 2013 opening of the Bush Presidential Library and SMU’s transition to the Big East.

“We must be fully united under the banner of red and blue. This place is a home where your very future is set in motion,” Mace said, as his parents watched from a crowded Hughes-Trigg Commons.

Other parents were also in the audience to watch their child be inaugurated.

“We are very proud of our daughter. She is getting real practice being involved in SMU Senate for an eventual political career,” Gerald Ladner, the father of secretary-elect Katherine Ladner, said.

Student Senate, much like other representative bodies, plays a large role at SMU and has influence in organization financing, undergraduate and graduate relations and faculty outreach.

“To the new Senate, it is now your turn to lead. This is your opportunity to not just talk about it but be about it,” Jones, the faculty advisor for Student Senate, said.

“Your peers said that they believe in you, and they will be watching.”