Student Senate’s unexpected guest knew how to make an entrance. President Austin Prentice told the Senate, “We have a guest who wants to come and speak with us today. We don’t normally have [this] opportunity and . . . Dr. Gates wants to come speak with us right now.”

Gates entered with a group of security guards and staff members for a talk with the Senate.

Welcomed by a standing ovation from the Senate, Gates opened the floor to questions.

During Gates’ term as President of Texas A&M, he would often appear in front of its Student Senate.

“It was an incredible honor to have such a highly esteemed presidential cabinet member share his busy schedule with [us],” Prentice said. “Dr. Gates is a true American hero.”

On other Senate business, the Senate currently decided to reject Christoph Schmidt’s request to become a Cox Senator.

Schmidt still serves as a Dedman I Senator.

The Cox seat remains vacant. Schmidt can still apply to fill the Cox vacancy.

Also, the SMU Mock Trial team argued to the Senate that they should receive more funding from the Finance Committee. Team members Andrew Escher and

Katherine Montgomery spoke on behalf of Mock Trial.

Mock Trial argues that the team helps promote both the communications and political science departments, and they benefit SMU as a whole.

The requested funding was supposed to pay for the team to travel to two competitions, the MTSU and one at the University of Minnesota.

Esau proposed to amend the funding to $11,250 to cover airfare to the Minneapolis competition. In a roll-call vote of 15-28-1, the amendment was vetoed.

“The amount we have currently funded them is 40 percent of what we have funded every organization. We have spent 30 percent of our total funds for the year,” Lyle Senator Christian

Genco said. “I certainly understand their need for funds, we simply don’t have them to give out.”