Wayne State College students will be given the opportunity to influence the members of student senate March 25 through the 29 on eCampus, and in doing so, they will choose who makes decisions on the allocations of a $300,000 trust fund used for services to the students including Intramural Programs, Student Activity Board events and Wildcat Wheels.

“The student senate provides an official voice for the student body, decides how Student Activity fees are spent and works to improve the college policies, programs and facilities for the benefits of students,” Jeff Carstens, Director of TRiO Student Support Services, said.

So why would a student want to become a part of student senate? What roles can the senate take part in on campus? According to the president and the vice president, there are plenty of opportunities for change.

“Student Senate is the voice of the student body,” Student Senate President Kody Wageman said. “We have the power to change policy, approve organizations or clubs, and work with professionals on campus to solve issues. In the past year, Student Senate has listened to a student with safety concerns and has proposed recommendations to solve the concern to the WSC President. We have approved a multitude of new student organizations, including the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, the Martial Arts Club and the Political Science Club to name a few.”

Wageman also stated that the student senate has been responsible for the creation of a new representative in the name of the students.

“This past fall, we were able to create the Student Inclusion Representative,” Wageman said. “This is an individual chosen by Student Inclusion Committee to represent the interest of all of the multicultural organizations on campus. Its purpose is to promote inclusion among students, organizations, and the Wayne State College community as a whole.”

Vice President Ashley VanMeeteren was very pleased and proud of the senate’s accomplishment in creating this representative. In addition she enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the college and its operating system.

“Some of the most important parts of being on student senate are the decisions you get to make for the student body,” VanMeeteren said. “In order to make those decisions we ask that our senators get to know the students they are representing and understand their needs. I would like to challenge each and every person to think about their role on campus. If you see yourself as a leader and someone who wants a chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself, I encourage you to apply.”

Any student who would like to apply to be a student senator candidate must be enrolled for at least 12 hours, have completed 12 hours at WSC at the beginning of your term of office, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above, not be on disciplinary probation and be pursuing a senator position for the academic school in which the student is a declared major. Petitions of application are available from [email protected] and are due on March 15, to the office of Student Activities by 5 p.m.

“Student senators take their responsibilities seriously, genuinely seek the input and opinions of the students they represent and take pride in improving WSC,” Carstens said.

With the large amount of responsibilities placed on the shoulders of the president and the vice president in the decisions they make, they recieve leadership scholarships in the form of a tuition waiver of up to $500 for President and up to $375 for VP per semester.

The WSC Student Senate Constitution states that the goal of student senate is to, “(…) provide a forum of the expression of student rights; to improve student cultural and social welfare; to develop better educational standards, facilities and teaching methods, and to foster recognition of the rights and responsibilities of students to school and community(…)” because of this, students are given power to apply, to vote and to influence.