The Student Senate welcomed its newest members on April 1. The meeting began with the newly-elected student body president, junior Elijah Jones, and student body vice president, sophomore Riley Evers, taking an oath of office. The new senators were sworn in shortly after.
Nominees for cabinet positions were also approved at the meeting. The process began with vote on junior Kaeliegh Picco’s nomination to the chief of staff position. During debate, nominees are asked to leave the room, and members of the current administration were given the opportunity to endorse or criticize the nominee.
The vote passed, and Picco became the first nominee confirmed. She reentered the room to applause. The second vote concerned the student union secretary nomination of sophomore Michael Budd, and he was also confirmed.
The Senate then voted on parliamentarian nominee Kyle Lauckner. The nomination passed after an endorsement from outgoing parliamentarian Sam Robinson.
The last vote was taken on the executive controller nomination of Kevin White, and it passed as well.
After approving the new staff nominations, the Senate voted on bestowing emeritus status on the outgoing administration: student body president Jerry Vielhauer, vice president Sonia Lumley and chief of staff Ethan Chiang. Unlike previous items, Evers asked if the Senate could refrain from voting to dispense with the reading out of respect for the former administration. All three administrators were granted emeritus status.
Vielhauer’s reading cited multiple accomplishments, including his time as sophomore class vice president and his leadership of the Class of 2027’s athletic committee, where he served alongside current student body president Elijah Jones. Vielhauer will return to helping with class council after his term as student body president.
During debate, Vielhauer received multiple endorsements, including from class of 2028 president-elect Catherine Morrissey.
“He is a gem of a human being,” she said.
A request was made to dispense with the vote to read Lumley‘s address for the sake of time. The motion did not pass and the reading proceeded.
The reading described Lumley as “a true servant leader to the people” and “a fearless advocate for the overlooked and underestimated.”
Chiang, who the reading said “loyally, efficiently and compassionately served his president and vice president,” was also endorsed by Morrissey, Vielhauer and Lumley.
Vielhauer said Chiang “spent more hours than Sonia or I on student government,” but without the same recognition or title.
The Senate voted on Jones’ emeritus status as well. His commitment to student government, service as vice president of his class council and dedication to increasing voter turnout were all cited during the reading. The vote passed after an endorsement from Vielhauer, who discussed Jones’ humility and commitment to his faith.
“Riley and I have an ambitious platform, so even if we don’t accomplish every single bullet point on our agenda, we want to be able to say that we truly made sure that every student’s voice was heard. Whether it’s extended Grab N Go hours, more club funding, or Walk the Walk Week programming, I want every ND student to be able to say that we did something for them,” Riley wrote in statement to The Observer.
In a statement to The Observer, Vielhauer wrote, “I’m excited for Elijah, Riley and Kaeliegh and their new administration and I’m very confident in their ability to find success and serve the student body very well.”
