Student Government began its spring semester with the elections of a new election commissioner and a new chair of the Civic Engagement committee.

Due to the resignation of the previous Election Commissioner Bradlee Fair, President Julian Neely and Vice President Juan Bibiloni nominated Emily Rizvic, a junior in political science, who had previously served on the election commission for a year.

After questioning from the senate on Rizvic’s experience, qualifications and plans for the commission, her nomination was confirmed with a senate vote of 23-0-5.

Sen. Kaitlyn Sanchez expressed concern about the knowledge the nominee had on the new election code the Senate passed on Nov. 14.

“My only concern about the new election commissioner was that she hasn’t been updated on the code that we passed this previous term,” Sanchez said. “As much as I believe she will get updated in the next few days, the election is right around the corner.”

Sen. Anne Miller was confident in Rizvic’s ability to work on the election with such short notice.

“I think she’ll do a good job on such short notice,” Miller said. “It’s a tough position to be in, but I have confidence that she will do it justly.”

Sen. Caroline Warmuth resigned from her post as the chair of the Civic Engagement committee at the end of the fall semester. Sen. Sandeep Stanley nominated Sen. Jacob Schrader for the position. No other nominations were made, and Sen. Schrader’s nomination was confirmed with unanimous consent.

“We did a lot of things right and we started at the end of last semester to look back through things we thought were a good use of our committees time and things we thought were a bad use,” Schrader said. “I plan on continuing that process, and I think moving forward, our next election is a presidential year, so there is going to be a lot more student involvement.”

Five items of new business were introduced to the Senate.

The C-Nettes are asking for $2,527.80 to help pay for a conference held on June 1 in Alabama. The dance team, who focuses on team endurance, sisterhood and body positivity, will use the funding to pay for uniforms, advertisements, transportation and registration costs for the event.

The Iranian Students’ and Scholars’ Association (ISSA) plans to put on an event to celebrate the Persian New Year on March 22. ISSA is looking for $3,050 to host the event for 300 estimated guests.

The Peterson Squadron is planning to bring three teams to a competitive event on Feb. 1 in Indiana. The requested $1,211.76 in funding would cover the transportation to and from the event as well as registration fees.

The Pride Alliance is requesting $1,511 to hold a Pride Prom on April 12. The group, whose mission is to provide a safe space where student’s and guests can discuss and learn about the LGBTQIA+ community, would use the granted funding for advertisement costs as well as food for the attendees.

For more information or to contact your senator, visit stugov.iastate.edu. The senate meetings are open to the public at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.