Newly created positions and appointments filled Wednesday night’s Government of the Student Body meeting in the Memorial Union, which marked the beginning of the organization’s 1995-96 term.

An emergency legislation bill was the first to be voted on. It proposed to have the positions of administrative assistant and executive assistant merged into one chief of staff position. In the past, both assistants functioned as the clerk of the Senate, also a new position this year, said Dan Mangan, GSB president.

“It’s been very confused, and it’s never worked very well. So basically, what we’ve done is jot these two [assistant positions] down as one, narrow that out, and the chief of staff has basically functioned with the president. The clerk of the Senate works with the vice president,” he said. “It’s clear, it’s simple, and there’s no confusion.”

The bill passed on a 16-0 vote.

Bills allocating funds to the new positions were also passed.

In other business, the following people were appointed to GSB positions for the 1995-96 term: Scott Vinson, chief of staff; Steve Elliot, finance director; Matt Dummermuth, director of legislative affairs; Shelia Goergen, Paul Hardersen and Rick Howard, nontraditional senators; and Stein Avloes and Wassef Masri, graduate student senators.

Mangan said he hopes to keep this year’s meetings short. Wednesday’s meeting lasted about an hour. Better attendance at GSB meetings is another goal Mangan said will be achieved.

“This year, we have a chance to improve the image of the government,” he said. Mangan advised senators that they should speak on an issue only if they have something new to add, and not repeat what has already been said.

“No one is going to care about what you know unless you care what you know. Actions speak louder than words,” he said. “Being in the GSB Senate is no different from being in the U.S. Senate. Bills that you pass will affect GSB forever.”

The structure of GSB is also something Mangan said will change.

“We intend to make more use of the cabinets and committees than before,” he said. “Basically, the committees will be more involved in the decision-making process.”

Mangan said he has eight cabinet members who will supervise committees of three to five delegates. These cabinet members will also serve as an advisory body for the president and a resource person for anyone on GSB, he said.

According to Mangan, the changes will hopefully limit the number of people in GSB, but it will depend on how many applicants there are for the committee positions.

“This is nothing revolutionary; it’s just never worked this way,” he said. “If 200 people apply, I’m going to have 200 jobs here. I’m not going to turn anyone away.

“GSB is going to be new and exciting this year. I think we’re off to a great start,” Mangan said. “People just have a fresh attitude and you can see it in the senators’ faces. They take care of their disagreements, hash them out before the meeting and they’re down to business. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”