The Senate voted on two bills this week and passed both unanimously, one of which filled a seat that had been vacated due to a constitutional violation.

After Sigma Phi Epsilon was suspended, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) seat was constitutionally invalidated, said Eddie Mahoney, a graduate student in computer science and speaker of the Senate.

“They were no longer recognized by IFC and to be a fraternity senator, you have to be living in IFC housing,” Mahoney said.

Since the vacancy occurred during a term, the spot is filled through a nomination process rather than an election. Brandon Kamstra, junior in kinesiology and health, was nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Kamstra is currently the chapter president of Beta Theta Pi. 

Kamstra heard about the available position during an IFC delegate meeting. 

“It kind of shocked everyone in the room that no one knew about Student Government having an IFC seat, which immediately struck my passion of ‘we need to fix that,’” Kamstra said. 

Kamstra wants to increase communication between IFC and Student Government. 

“I would like to run for that [IFC Senate seat] because I could see a lot of good coming from someone actually taking that role and using it for benefit for both Student Government and IFC,” Kamstra said. 

Liberal Arts and Sciences Senator Madeline Becker, a sophomore in economics, asked the nominee what he would like to see changed about the Greek community on campus. 

“Transparency,” Kamstra said. “If a chapter is having an issue, it shouldn’t be that chapter dealing with it, it should be also the entire Greek community, but also it should be well known at Student Government, but also the rest of the student body.”

The Senate approved funding for the Iowa State Equestrian Hunt team. The bill transferred $3,258.40 to the organization’s account. 

The team requested money to rent stalls, equipment and an arena for their event, as well as lease the horses for the event.

According to the representative for the team, Victoria Jezioro, a junior in animal science, the funds are rental costs for an event the team will host. 

“Our team is an opportunity for Iowa State students to continue riding and bettering their athletic career during the school year because horses are unfortunately very expensive,” Jezioro said. “That way, these students can enjoy and keep learning without having to deal with the finance of owning a horse.” 

Iowa State is one of three schools in the team’s region that is capable of hosting an event. The team needs to attend events to be eligible for the regional event.

The Senate saw a bill to fund the same event last year. The price on the bill this year is $500 less than last year due to a decrease in the rental cost of the arena.