Student Government (SG) Senate was postponed an hour to accommodate for RIT President David Munson’s open forum.

This week, Senate focused heavily on appointing a new Women’s Senator, after the previous senator decided to step down. Three candidates were considered: Hannah Schewtschenko, a third year Political Science major, Sandy Wu, a second year Management Information Systems (MIS) major and Haley Terhaar, a first year Biomedical Engineering major. Each was given time to present in front of Senate their goals and aspirations as Senator, and were subjected to questions at the end. Terhaar submitted a video as a substitute since she was unable to make it to Senate due to class scheduling.

By the end of the meeting, Sandy Wu was elected by closed ballot to become the next Women’s Senator, serving for the Spring 2018 semester.

Wu, president of Women in Business, had already begun working toward integrating the various women’s clubs in different colleges, promoting cooperation and inter-club support. Before being approached to become Women’s Senator, she had already organized a Women’s Club Mixer to be held this February. She hoped to encourage other women’s clubs to work together to promote each others’ success.

As senator, Wu aims to establish a Women’s Conference, in which the various women’s groups will gather to help one another by sharing contacts and inviting other women’s clubs to their own events. Overall, she will be working to increase involvement in women’s clubs.

Additionally, she looks to take a concept found in her time in the Saunders College of Business (SCB) and expand it campus-wide. During Accepted Students’ Open Houses, Women in Business are invited by SCB to set up a panel for students to interact with them, asking questions and making connections. Wu states that she’s found many new students have come up to her and her fellow Women in Business members and stated they remembered them from the open house. She considers it a great way to establish connections with freshmen before classes even begin.

These, among other initiatives, set Wu apart and earned her a seat in SG.

In other news, SG is less than $2000 from establishing a study abroad scholarship for short-term programs.

Staff Council has unanimously passed support for the Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee (SRIAC), sending the proposal further towards university acceptance.

Senate closed with a reminder that FreezeFest is fast approaching and the events itinerary is currently live online.