It’s Senate Ad-Hoc Time!
How Student Senate is addressing student concerns
By M Yeager
Every academic year after Senate elections, the College for Women Student Senate compiles the responses from their Student Concerns form and creates three ad-hoc committees dedicated to addressing the most prioritized issues for students on campus. The issues are things that can be addressed within the academic year. This academic year, the three committees are focused on mental health and well-being, student accessibility and spaces on campus.
Student Senate has always had goals that it has worked toward during the academic year, but ad-hoc committees as they are today were created more recently to provide structure for Senate’s year-long goals. Due to the ad-hoc committees being created to address the issues that are important to students, “there have been a lot of repeats, especially in recent years,” says Student Senate President KaZong Vue.
The Spaces on Campus ad-hoc is co-chaired by First Year Representative Ella Tracy ‘26 and Senator Madeline Bjonskaas ‘26. Since the Oct. 21 email from Provost Anita Thomas concerning student focused spaces in the Couer de Catherine, the goals and objectives of the campus spaces ad-hoc have been “in limbo” as Tracy put it. One of the spaces the committee has been focused on is the all-faith prayer room in the chapel. The committee will work with the Center for Spirituality and Social Justice to both bring more awareness to the existing space and find a possibly better, more accessible space for the room.
The accessibility ad-hoc is fairly self explanatory and is a repeat from last academic year. It is co-chaired by Sophomore Representative Jamie Buckler ‘25 and Senator Fiona Murphy ‘25. Their goals for the year are to schedule a campus walk to find what needs immediate attention accessibility-wise and address those needs as well as publicizing the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. One of the main objectives of the committee is to offer support for those with physical disabilities and mental health issues. One of the projects is to look through St. Kate’s 2019 Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) report and try to find the places where the campus scored lower and make sure that those issues are being addressed. “We recognize that the campus is inaccessible for a lot of students, and we want to fix that; we want to address that,” Murphy says.
The chairs of the ad-hoc committees have various reasons for deciding to chair these committees. Buckler had chaired the accessibility ad-hoc committee last year and wishes to continue the work that was done. Murphy was a resident senator last year who worked a lot with the Americans with Disabilities Act and had heard how hard it is for students to function at St. Kate’s. She feels that getting involved is the best way to make a positive difference and change. Tracy chose the campus spaces ad-hoc because she felt that “this would be the best committee for me to have a productive impact on” with her skillset. All in all, the chairs of the committees wish to help and address the student body’s needs in any way they can.
A group of people sharing feedback. Credit: Pixabay
The ad-hoc committees are open to the entire student body, not just Senate members. “It's a great opportunity for students to advocate for their own voices, and also other student voices to make positive changes for the St. Kate's community,” says Student Senate Official Malodi Yangwaue. Don’t hesitate to be involved within these committees. As Murphy mentioned, “Committees work best when there’s a mix of representatives.”
Spaces on Campus ad-hoc meetings: Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m.
Campus Accessibility ad-hoc meetings: Fridays at 4 p.m. in front of the Senate Office. Hybrid options are also available.
The chairs of the mental health and well-being ad-hoc were not available for comment. For further information, contact Grace Brunstad (gmbrunstad293@stkate.edu) or Olivia Braaten (ombraaten559@stkate.edu).
