As the 105th ASUW administration came to a close, the members of the new administration were sworn in and immediately set to work.
Former ASUW President Ben Wetzel and Vice President Jaynie Welsh both gave exiting speeches. Wetzel and Welsh spoke of the many people they worked within their year of service, acknowledging them for their support and the impact they made on their journey.
Chief Justice of ASUW JD Richardson swore in the new vice president, Alex Mulhall. He said that he swore in the new president, Seth Jones, earlier in the day as Jones was set to leave for a trip to Washington D.C.
During the first meeting of the 106th ASUW Student Senate, there was a debate over addressing the vetoes to Senate Bill No. 2618, SB No. 2623 and SB No. 2628 that former President Wetzel issued earlier in the week. Senator Dusten Strock moved to put all three on that night’s agenda. He said that they needed to be discussed as the senate only had two meetings to overturn a veto and SB No. 2618 was time sensitive.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Senator Jaylnn Van Ballen said. “I think it is inappropriate that the first action we do as an administration is to try and overturn a veto from the last administration.”
SB No. 2618, is a bill that would allow Associated Students Technical Services to work on recruitment events over the summer. The motion was eventually defeated, but when deciding on whether or not to cancel the ASUW meetings during finals and dead week, it was decided to have a meeting next week so that they can discuss these bills.
One of the reasons for the meeting was to elect the new head table positions. The head table consists of positions that hold responsibilities the other senators do not possess. Each position holds specific responsibilities, like keeping the speaking list, tallying the votes, reading the legislation during the meeting and keeping order in the chamber.
Senator Wendy Hungerford was elected president pro-tempore, the head of the senate who keeps the speaking list and chairs the senate when the vice president is unable to. Senator Derrik Conard was elected parliamentarian, responsible for keeping track of motions and amendments made on the floor. Senator Alex Gunter was elected sergeant at arms, responsible for maintaining order. The final position, martial, was filled by Sadie Gruntmeir, responsible for reading the legislation aloud and recording the votes.
Two executives were confirmed during the meeting as well. Nicole Sanders was confirmed as the chief of legislative affairs, while Bailee Sanders was confirmed as the chief of staff.
