Got a problem you need solved?
Call the Student Senate.
The Student Senate represents students and wants lots of communication, said Ben Sanders, the Student Government Association vice president.
“A main focus of mine is communication,” Sanders said. “If students see a problem that needs to be fixed, then they should go to their senators and let them know.”
Sanders said he would like to ensure the senate accomplishes things that are beneficial to students and needs input in order to do that.
One new way to increase communication is through the President’s Roundtable, he said.
SGA President Elizabeth Clement has formed the President’s Roundtable in order to improve communication between campus organizations and the UT administration. The presidents of all committees throughout the campus are invited to attend these meetings and provide input to the SGA.
Though no date has been set for the first meeting, Clement said the Roundtable will meet at least twice a semester and possibly once a month.
“(The roundtable) will help coordinate everything around campus,” she said. “It will create more unity.”
Clement said she already has a distribution list for all the organizations and will soon be sending out a message concerning the first meeting.
Sanders said he would like to see the senate work hand-in-hand with the President’s Roundtable.
“We’re all here. We’re all students,” Sanders said. “It’s really no secret that individually you can’t accomplish anything.”
One of Sander’s goals is to make the senate more efficient.
“We need legislation to be passable as well as beneficial to students,” Sanders said.
This senate term started controversially with campus political parties Student Action and Team Tennessee challenging the election results. The election results stood, but the senate remained in a political stalemate.
The stalemate resulted when Tennessee Now, Clement and Sanders’ party, won 24 combined seats in the senate compared to Team Tennessee’s 25 and Student Action’s 27.
This friction revealed itself early with Clement and Sanders’ appointments for student services director and secretary/treasurer being denied. The student body president appoints the positions of freshman council chairperson, secretary/treasurer, city/county liaison and historian.
“Initially it was divided, but as time went by they did accept (the appointments),” he said.
Sanders said he had faith the senate would work together. The senate is the legislative body of the SGA and deals with all issues concerning students. The senate is composed of 44 members chosen by geographical district and 14 members representing student organizations.
