Senate optimistic about next year
Wade reviews less legislation than Klenz
DJ Slater
Issue date: 12/9/04 Section: Campus News
By DJ Slater
slaterdj@uwec.edu
It has been a challenging yet rewarding experience for Student Senate President Chad Wade thus far, he said, after leading the Senate since March 4.
"There were times when I was frustrated with Senate ... but overall, I think it's been good," Wade said. "We've accomplished a lot."
Wade and Vice President Meredith Marx took office after winning the Senate elections last March with 493 votes in their favor. Seniors Bob Bourgeois and Lindsey Nelson finished with 433, while seniors Scott Olson and Dawn Synder took 290.
Since that time, Senate has dealt with 21 resolutions and 16 bills, passing many with some or minimal debate.
Last year, under the direction of then-President Adrian Klenz and then-Vice President Kate Demerse, Senate dealt with around 52 resolutions and numerous bills over the entire year, Demerse said. This year's Senate, she said, had more of a rebuilding year, because the amount of new members outweighed the veterans.
"The new people haven't taken ownership of (Senate) yet," Demerse said. "It's still kind of just an organization, but to the older people, it's been our lives."
Wade said that although this year's Senate hasn't seen as much legislation compared to last year's, it still has accomplished many things.
"The less legislation has allowed people to focus more on doing the day-to-day (things in Senate)," he said.
Other reasons why Senate didn't have an abundance of legislation, Senator Matt Wisnefske said, was that many new senators may not have been comfortable with writing legislation and that Senate had a difficult time with retaining its attendance. Some of the older senators also are close to graduating, he said, and are dealing with other issues within Senate.
"We're rookies with a lot of people close to retirement," Wisnefski said, making the analogy of Senate as a football team. "The legislation we have passed ... have been debated very intelligently. I'm hopeful."
One of the main resolutions Senate passed, Wade said, was the support of the service learning ban, which stated that religious proselytization would not count for serving learning credit.
With regard to Wade's platform, he said he has accomplished most of what he set out to achieve. The only exception, he said, was the issue of conditional-use permits for fraternities and sororities, an issue he intends to hit hard before the end of his term.
Student Senate's advisor Jodi Thesing-Ritter said even though this has been a rebuilding year for Senate, it has made some positive strides.
"While there may not be a lot of debate on the Senate floor, a lot has happened in commission," she said. "I think it's a young Senate that has room for growth, but I'm not at all disappointed in how hard they've worked this semester."
slaterdj@uwec.edu
It has been a challenging yet rewarding experience for Student Senate President Chad Wade thus far, he said, after leading the Senate since March 4.
"There were times when I was frustrated with Senate ... but overall, I think it's been good," Wade said. "We've accomplished a lot."
Wade and Vice President Meredith Marx took office after winning the Senate elections last March with 493 votes in their favor. Seniors Bob Bourgeois and Lindsey Nelson finished with 433, while seniors Scott Olson and Dawn Synder took 290.
Since that time, Senate has dealt with 21 resolutions and 16 bills, passing many with some or minimal debate.
Last year, under the direction of then-President Adrian Klenz and then-Vice President Kate Demerse, Senate dealt with around 52 resolutions and numerous bills over the entire year, Demerse said. This year's Senate, she said, had more of a rebuilding year, because the amount of new members outweighed the veterans.
"The new people haven't taken ownership of (Senate) yet," Demerse said. "It's still kind of just an organization, but to the older people, it's been our lives."
Wade said that although this year's Senate hasn't seen as much legislation compared to last year's, it still has accomplished many things.
"The less legislation has allowed people to focus more on doing the day-to-day (things in Senate)," he said.
Other reasons why Senate didn't have an abundance of legislation, Senator Matt Wisnefske said, was that many new senators may not have been comfortable with writing legislation and that Senate had a difficult time with retaining its attendance. Some of the older senators also are close to graduating, he said, and are dealing with other issues within Senate.
"We're rookies with a lot of people close to retirement," Wisnefski said, making the analogy of Senate as a football team. "The legislation we have passed ... have been debated very intelligently. I'm hopeful."
One of the main resolutions Senate passed, Wade said, was the support of the service learning ban, which stated that religious proselytization would not count for serving learning credit.
With regard to Wade's platform, he said he has accomplished most of what he set out to achieve. The only exception, he said, was the issue of conditional-use permits for fraternities and sororities, an issue he intends to hit hard before the end of his term.
Student Senate's advisor Jodi Thesing-Ritter said even though this has been a rebuilding year for Senate, it has made some positive strides.
"While there may not be a lot of debate on the Senate floor, a lot has happened in commission," she said. "I think it's a young Senate that has room for growth, but I'm not at all disappointed in how hard they've worked this semester."
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