For many people, the year starts in January. For Student Government, the year starts in April. The newly elected 2016-17 SG Senate held its first meeting Tuesday, April 5. During the meeting, the new senators were sworn in, and the Senate elected its leadership.
Jason Finan, a junior majoring in health administration and minoring in global studies, is a former SG senator for the College of Health Professions and Social work. He was the only candidate nominated for the Senate president position. The president leads and runs the meetings and has no vote.
“I want to accomplish great things with senate for the university,” Finan said during the meeting. “This will probably be the highest number of senators you see the whole year, and one of my goals is to have as many senators as possible always.”
Finan said he wants to get SG involved with the community, but his main priority is to establish a good relationship with Senate Executive.
“He has experience with being programming with SigEp,” former SG Vice President Jessica; Scanlon said about Finan. “Hhe knows how to lead a business meeting professionally.,”
Finan was elected unanimously.
Two senators were nominated for the pro tempore position — Sen. Laura Gardner and Sen. Bradley Berry. The pro tempore assists the senate president.
Several senators asked both nominees about their knowledge of the Roberts Book of Rules, how they’d maintain decorum at the Senate chamber at all times and how they’d balance their involvement on campus. Berry, a junior vocal performance major, was elected.
Sen. Jalisa White, a junior majoring in finance, was the only nominee for the secretary position. White said she wants to bring back “senator of the month” and create a calendar with all of the SG events. She was elected unanimously.