Illustration by: Maddie Bataille | Photo Editor
This week from the Student Senate: the Student Senate met to elect the new representatives, jurists of the court, directors, speaker of the assembly and chairs for 2023-2024.
The acting Speaker, Cameron Chadronet, started the meeting by doing roll calls. Then, the elections started with off-campus representatives. The nominees were Chris Hoover, Cole Rinne and Emily Gamache.
Rinne, a first-year in the College of Engineering, said he wanted to join the Senate because he wanted to branch out into something new. He thought he was a good collaborator and was passionate about the community around him.
“I hope I get this opportunity to work with all of you wonderful people,” Rinne said.
With 22 votes and zero abstentions, Rinne was elected as the off-campus representative.
The Senate moved on to elect the at-large representative. The nominees for the position were Zachary Hurwitz and Argha Goswami. At the end of voting, Hurwitz got 23 votes while Goswami got 21 votes.
Afterward, Chadronet swore in the Senators of the colleges who were previously elected beforehand. He asked them to stand up and take an oath, which ensured that the Senators would take care and be able to fulfill their duties and responsibilities in their positions.
Then, they went to go over the nomination and confirmation of jurisdiction. The two candidates were Waseem Bahra and Daniel Tarza. Bahra received 30 votes and Tarza received 20. Both nominees won the jury.
Next, they elected the director of treasury and director of communications. For treasury, former off-campus representative Ethan Bose ran. Bose said that a goal he has is to create a frequently asked questions document for all of the clubs to improve financial literacy. With this plan, they will have access to all of the questions they have regarding finances to reduce any issues that might arise.
“It’s obviously a work in progress, but it’s going to be the cornerstone of my tenure,” according to Bose. With unanimous votes, Bose won the election.
For the director of communications, the only nominee was Sanah Feroz. Feroz is a second-year student studying psychology and gender and women studies. This is her first time in the Senate and she said if elected, her goal would be to connect with people on campus and communicate with them. After deliberation, Feroz was confirmed.
The speaker of the assembly nominee was Cameron Chadronet. As speaker, he wants to invite the University of Rhode Island administrators and get new Senators familiar with their job. After deliberation, Chadronet was elected.
Next was the student organization community chair and the nominee was Nick Johnson. He was the chair last year and he said he wanted to continue to promote new clubs and give them better opportunities to thrive. All were in favor of Johnson and he was elected.
Then, they elected the chair of academic student affairs. The only nominee was Lauren Peckham. If elected, she said she would make a fundraiser involving “Crumbl” cookies to engage the community. After deliberation, she was elected as chair.
There were five nominees for the chair of external affairs, Elise Newman, Timothy Small, Justin Mayers, Mia Confessore and Chris Hoover. Hoover received 18 votes, Newman received 11 votes, Mayers received two and Confessor received one vote. Hoover was elected.
The two nominees for the chair of cultural affairs were Meilin Quiora-Reyes and Argha Goswami. After discussion, three votes were given to Goswami and 36 to Quiora-Reyes, resulting in Quiora-Reyes winning the role.
Lastly, the chair of campus affairs was elected. The only nominee was Sophia Buono. She discussed her background in the Senate and said she wanted to be more project-oriented. After deliberation, Buono was elected.
The Student Senate will meet again on Wednesday, April 19.