The outgoing members of the Student Senate began Wednesday’s meeting with words of wisdom for their replacements.
Some simply thanked their fellow senators for their time together, while others offered more practical advice.
“Check your e-mail,” Sen. Bryanna Mannis said before turning EMU Board Senate Seat 4 over to Kate Jones. “I had no idea how important e-mail was to this job.”
After the transition, six of the eight new senators took their place at the table and heard their first special requests.
The senators allocated $2,700 from the Senate surplus fund to the International Resource Center.
The IRC requested the funds to go toward its grand opening in October. Although the request was originally for $5,000, the amount was amended to $2,700 after Sens. Athan Papailiou and Neil Brown expressed concern that some of the funds would go toward alumni instead of current students.
Some senators expressed concern that the IRC had yet to do any fundraising for this particular event, which will not be held until October, and others commended the fundraising that has already been done for the construction project as a whole.
The senators also nominated Jones and Brown for the position of Chair of the Summer Senate. Elections for that position will take place at a short meeting next Wednesday.
There are still five open positions on the Senate, as some graduating senators did not complete paperwork in time for the positions to be on the ballot.
Sen. Keith Bassett, who was elected to Programs Finance Committee Seat 1 in the April election, will be unable to serve because he will be next year’s Residence Hall Association president.
PFC Seat 2, EMU Board Seat 5 and academic seats 10, 12, and 17 are also open.
During the meeting, ASUO Vice President Chii-San SunOwen said she and President Emily McLain are in the process of looking for people to fill the vacancies before the regular Senate meets again in the fall.
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