Student Government President Jacob Ludwig said the current freshmen class is the most diverse in Iowa State’s history during his State of the Body address.

Ludwig, a senior double majoring in economics and political science, said the landscape, direction and makeup of the Iowa State community is in flux, citing the 8,492 new students admitted this fall. He added that Iowa State has students from all the counties in Iowa, all the states in the union and students from 114 different countries.

“With roughly 1 in 5 of the first-year class identifying as multicultural, this is the most diverse class in Iowa State’s history,” Ludwig said.

Looking at the past year

In reflection on what Student Government has accomplished in their current term, Ludwig mentioned doubling the sustainability committee’s budget. He said the funds will go toward addressing the projects on their docket. Ludwig also mentioned the passing of the bill to fund Black Homecoming, the menstrual equity project and the semester’s first multicultural town hall.

“Now, I know many of the people in this room know most or all of what I just shared, but it’s really critical that we recognize the good work that we’ve done over this year,” Ludwig said. “It’s really great work, but there is more to be done. Looking forward, there is a lot of work to be done, actually.”

With there only being less than a semester’s worth of meetings left in the current elected Student Government member’s terms, Ludwig said it is important members of the body do not fall complacent with the nearing end of their terms.

“I know it’s hard, and I’ve been guilty of it myself, but we have a job to do these last couple of months,” Ludwig said. “Until the next group is sworn in, we are responsible for making a change on this campus.”

Ludwig said Student Government still needs to focus on improving international student career services, promoting mental health needs to the state legislature, explaining composting services and overall community outreach.

“These are just a few of the many areas of work that deserve our attention, and I have little doubt that everyone in this room has their own list of projects and initiatives they would like to see done before the end of the year, and the only question is whether or not we will commit ourselves to their completion,” Ludwig said.

Actions taken

The Senate unanimously approved the finance committee’s recommended changes to the Senate’s Priorities and Criteria (P&C) document. Finance Director Kit Clayburn, a senior majoring in animal ecology, said most of the revisions made were to the structure of the document, with the intent of making the document more streamlined and clearer.

“So P&C is the sole governing document of finance committee,” Clayburn said. “It is how we determine who and what to fund, what is funding-eligible, what is funding-ineligible and how our tiers are kind of set up through partnered funding.”

Clayburn said partnered organizations are organizations that impact students with the Senate’s mission, such as the Election Commission. The tier beneath partnered organizations are sponsored organizations. These are intended to build a sense of community around Iowa State and the larger Ames community, such as Winterfest.

Funding-eligible student organizations, according to Clayburn, are “run of the mill” student organizations that run on daily operations. Student organizations can be deemed funding-eligible by meeting the requirements listed in Student Government’s Priorities and Criteria. Funding-ineligible organizations are student organizations that are not deemed eligible for funding due to not meeting the requirements found in the aforementioned document.

The Senate unanimously approved the Election Commission’s reviews and revisions to the election code, a process which is done annually.

Election Commissioner Cody Neeper-Burris, a senior majoring in political science, said there were only minor changes made to the election code, with an amendment being unanimously passed in the Senate to identify Iowa State’s chapter facilities properly.

The Senate also unanimously moved to approve an act that would penalize Senators and executive cabinet members that fail to meet the requirement of two outreach credits per semester.

Confirmations

The Senate unanimously voted to confirm Director of the Public Relations committee Jamie Hoss, a senior in communication studies, as Ludwig’s senior director of communications.

“I would like to continue the plans of the last senior director of communications, as well as strengthen the communication between all three branches of Student Government, and the Student Government committees,” Hoss said.

The Senate also confirmed Vaidehee Bahirat, a senior majoring in industrial engineering, as Ludwig’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion.