On Tuesday, the Student Senate held its final meeting of the semester, officially voting on a proposed constitution and welcoming its newly elected senators.
Throughout the year, senators have discussed internal changes, beginning with the organization’s governing documents.
Student Senate currently operates under two governing documents: its constitution and bylaws.
Edward Lopez, ‘27, outgoing Student Senate president, said the constitution broadly outlines the functions of the senate, while the bylaws focus on more specific issues, such as delegating responsibilities to committees and outlining rules senators must follow.
After finalizing the last of the proposed edits, senators voted on whether to ratify the constitution.
According to Student Senate rules, a majority of 36 senators needed to vote in favor of the new constitution for it to pass. However, fewer than 36 senators were physically present at the meeting.
To account for absent members, Student Senate distributed an online voting form through Slack for senators not in attendance. Voting remained open for 15 to 20 minutes. After both in-person and online voting concluded, the motion failed, with only 29 senators voting in favor of ratifying the constitution.
Because there will be no additional Student Senate meetings this academic year, there will be no further opportunities to vote on the proposed changes.
Drew Smith, ‘27, incoming president, said he expects Student Senate’s to continue examining and restructuring its internal bureaucracy next semester.
“I can guarantee that we will continue to examine our own legislative procedures and founding documents, especially to update them and edit them in the best way possible, to ensure we have representative students in the best way possible,” Smith said.
In addition to voting on the constitution, Ryan Hatfield, ‘26, vice president of engagement and chair of the club affairs committee, presented the committee’s recommendations for approving and denying club applications.
Hatfield said clubs may be denied based on criteria such as a lack of clear benefit to the Lehigh community or failing to sign up for a final interview.
The committee recommended approval for the Psychology Club, Pep Band, Industrial Designers Society of America of Lehigh, First Person View Club, Color Guard Club, Lehigh Impact Finance Association, Financial Literacy Club, Inspire Her Lehigh, Lehigh Aerial Swarms Clubs, Autoimmune Disease Club and Pokemon Club. The committee didn’t recommend approval for the Humanoid Robotics Club, Open Court Tennis Club, Women’s Wrestling Club and Financial Modeling Organization.
Senators ultimately voted to approve the motion, upholding all of the club affairs committee’s recommendations.
After concluding the official meeting, current senators invited the newly elected senators for the fall semester to join them.
Smith said this incoming cohort is defined by its desire for change.
He said this year’s campaigns reflected a stronger push for change rather than simply listening to student concerns. He said the newly elected senators recognize existing issues on campus and are motivated to address them directly, signaling a shift in the Student Senate toward a greater focus on policy change.
María Garcia, ‘29, a newly elected senator, said she chose to run for Senate with the goal of eventually serving on the Diversity & Inclusion committee. She said she hopes to encourage her peers to learn from new perspectives.
“I guess through all the major things (that) have been going around campus — like diversity or transportation –— hearing students complaining or wanting a change makes me realize that I also want to advocate for what I think it’s going to make Lehigh better,” she said.
Similarly, Emma Jovanovic, ‘27, another newly elected senator, said she hopes to make a difference at Lehigh by promoting mental health awareness. After experiencing the pressures of attending an academically rigorous institution, she said she wants to create more support for students on campus.
“Lehigh could be improved by trying to have more support, like wellness weeks or just more around campus to make it feel more loving again,” Jovanovic said.
After the conclusion of his last meeting as president, Lopez said he’s hopeful for the future of the Student Senate because of the initiative he’s seen from his peers this year.
“Senate has finally spoken up,” Lopez said. “They’ve expressed their opinions, their thoughts, what they like, what they don’t like, and so I think that that’s going to continue.”
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