The first Student Senate meeting of the 2008-2009 school year proved a successful start to a presumably successful year. The meeting was held in the Wege Ballroom on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10. Although the meeting was short and somewhat casual, it allowed members of the Student Senate Cabinet to present an idea of what Senate members should expect this year.

“We’re anticipating a productive year for every aspect of our Student Senate, and we’re trying to set the bar high as far as goals are concerned,” said John Kalinowski, this year’s Senate Chair. “We have a new Diversity Committee, which will be working in conjunction with Diversity Initiatives.”

Some other new developments were discussed at the meeting, including a new section of the regular agenda to provide an open question forum. This will guarantee an opportunity for students attending Senate meetings to voice campus-related questions or opinions.

The possibility of installing new lights behind the Bukowski Chapel was also mentioned. We may see some new lighting in that area by the end of the school year.

The Sustainability Director, Colin Knue, announced that President Balog recently signed a contract in order to try and cut carbon emissions from our campus within the next several years, so students may see gradual changes in making our campus more sustainable.

“We are continuing our emphasis on making our campus a model for sustainability in the community,” continued John Kalinowski. “I think we do need, however, to be better at responding proactively to student needs than we have been in the past. In that respect, we need to stay focused on our role as servants to the student body as a whole.”

The next Student Senate meeting will be an official, elongated session held on Wednesday, September 17 in the Wege Ballroom from 12:00to 3:30. As all Senate meetings, it will be open to the Aquinas community.