In the first meeting of the new Student Government session under President Colby Brandt and Vice President Will Vlasek, Josie Pursley and Claire Hartley were appointed Speaker and Vice Speaker of the Senate, along with several other positions in a meeting that adjourned after 11 p.m.
Former Sen. Ryker Markus, a first-year student in agricultural and life sciences education, was nominated and confirmed by unanimous consent to serve as a United Residence Off-Campus Senator.
Several members voiced their support and shared positive experiences working with Markus. He was officially sworn in following the confirmation.
The Senate then moved to the election of the Speaker of the Senate, opening the floor for nominations.
Pursley, a senior studying political science and the previous Vice Speaker of the Senate, along with Sen. Erik Rolwes, a junior studying industrial design, and Sen. Noah Kammeyer, a junior in political science, accepted nominations for the role.
Each candidate was given five minutes to speak on their qualifications before the floor was opened for questions. Multiple senators posed questions to the nominees, seeking to understand their visions for leadership in the coming session.
“I definitely think conflict resolution is a huge part of this role,” Kammeyer responded following a question regarding conflict resolution. “It is easy to go into every situation and be like ‘I’m right, the other person is wrong,’ about everything, but especially this past year, I have learned that that is obviously not the case.”
“I have been so inspired in my time as Vice Speaker, and I am ready to commit more to this organization,” Pursley said when asked why she wants this position. “I have handled my responsibilities as Vice Speaker. I think I have done it really well, and I am ready to take on more responsibility.”
Sen. Muhammad Azhan, a continuing graduate student in chemistry, asked each nominee to share what makes them stand out and what they like about the other candidates.
“I do have to agree with the dedication they have, and they are both very outgoing,” Rolwes said. “Both of them are amazing at it, and I feel like that makes them really good at their job too.”
After the nominees exited the room, the Senate entered a debate period, followed by one final round of clarifying questions and closing remarks from the candidates.
The vote concluded with 21-0-6-3 in favor of Sen. Pursley, and the result was approved by unanimous consent.
The Senate then turned to electing the Vice Speaker of the Senate. Four senators were nominated and accepted: Sen. Abhiraj Agarwal, a sophomore in supply chain management, Hartley, a sophomore studying political science, Sen. Ella Aiono-Dimoff, a junior studying political science and Rolwes.
Following the same structure as the Speaker election, each nominee presented a statement of qualifications and answered questions from the Senate. The Senate then held a debate while the candidates were excused.
Former President Martin Hursh, a junior studying economics, voiced his support for Aiono-Dimoff, highlighting her dedication. Senators also spoke highly of the remaining nominees, sharing positive experiences and approval of their work ethic. Pursley chose to remain neutral, noting that all four candidates would make great Vice Speakers.
With no clarifying questions raised after the debate period, the nominees proceeded directly into closing statements.
Following their remarks, the Senate voted 1-19-2-3 in Sen. Hartley’s favor, which was accepted by unanimous consent.
Chloe Rhoads, a sophomore in supply chain management, was nominated by the executive branch to serve as Director of Finance, a key position overseeing budget allocations and financial operations within Student Government. Senators were given the opportunity to ask questions regarding her qualifications.
Sen. Samantha Jones, a sophomore studying elementary education, raised concerns about Rhoads stepping into the role with limited experience in annual allocations.
“I do think it is important with me coming in with a little less experience to work on things over the summer,” Rhoads said. “I am a very fast learner, I’m good at figuring things out when I get put in a role that requires me to learn things.”
Azhan also expressed reservations, noting that other committee members had more experience within Student Government and could have been considered for the role.
Rhoads agreed that this situation would be disappointing as a committee member, but she is open to these members remaining on the committee if they desire to.
Hursh asked several questions about Rhoads’ knowledge regarding the role of the Finance Director and how the student activity fee works with Student Government.
“I do think it is really important to be able to delegate different things as Finance Director,” Rhoads said. “It worked out really well in the finance committee to be able to let the senators do a little bit more, so I think that is something I will definitely be doing next year as well.”
Several other members reiterated Azhan’s concerns regarding the lack of experience and questioned how Rhoads would be able to overcome this.
Following the final questions, with a vote of 3-21-7, the order was denied.
