Illinois Wesleyan’s 2020 Student Senate board started in January and the main goal set by the executive board was to improve the Senate’s communication with the rest of campus.
“I am excited to bring a new wave of energy to the Senate and finally bring transparency to the student body,” Senate President Freya Jennison said.
Jennison represents the interests of the student body on various committees, such as the Campus Life Committee and the Council on University Programs and Policies, as well as overseeing the Senate Executive Board and running General Assembly meetings.
The president and vice president represented the student body in front of the Board of Trustees when they came to campus this week.
Chief of Staff Kelly Kitahata organized elections at the beginning of the semester to fill the vacant senator spots that were left open in the transition to the new semester. Recently, Kitahata has been planning the process for selecting the Outstanding Faculty and Advisor of the Year elections that are annually run by the Senate.
Civic Engagement Commissioner Wah Chook has recently been planning the Give-a-Day campaign and the Civic Engagement Banquet.
“I’m excited to promote the Give-a-Day Champaign and to push our campus in reaching 25,000 hours of civic engagement,” Chook said.
Sustainability Commissioner Ankush Kecht has been further developing the plans left to him by the previous occupant of his position to make Wesleyan a “bee campus.” A bee campus promotes the local sustainability of pollinator populations through creating habitats and for IWU moving an apiary onto campus. Kecht assisted in the rebranding of “Meatless Mondays” to “Mindful Mondays,” but noted that it is still a sustainability focused initiative.
“We still want students to see that one can decrease their carbon footprint up to 73 percent by switching to a plant-based diet, and just by decreasing your meat consumption by one day a week your actions will play a profound effect on helping to reverse the damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions,” Kecht said.
Director of the Campus Activities (CAB) Board Hannah Horn has been working with the CAB executive board on multiple events such as CAB’s bingo night and “Roller Rave.”
The Senate has also been making efforts to show support by attending other campus events, including the Lunar New Year celebration and the PossePlus Retreat.
For those interested in seeing the Senate in action, General Assembly meetings are open to the public. The next two meetings will take place on February 23 and March 1. They are held in the Vinyard (formerly Davidson) Room in the Memorial Center at 6:00 pm.
The Senate is looking forward to continuing its efforts to make campus a better place, according to Jennison. Students are reminded to never hesitate to contact a Senator with their concerns about campus.
“The Senate is the voice of the students,” Jennison said.