At press conference, Student Senate discusses changes to its constitution

Changes to the constitution would have to be approved by the Senate body, the student body  and the Board of Trustees.

[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83" style="dropcap1"]S[/dropcap]tudent Senate executives delivered an update Thursday about the reconstruction of the Senate’s constitution as well as discussing the search for the student trustee.In the past three weeks, Student Senate has passed resolutions that approve portions of its new constitution, which is set to replace the current constitution. Student Senate has already passed 10 of the 14 resolutions that approve the articles found within the constitution, with the remaining four being slated to pass at the next Student Senate meeting.One of the most notable changes in the new constitution is the inclusion of a conduct and ethics portion that clarifies ethics to which senators are expected to adhere. The previous rendition of the constitution was unclear and needed clarification, Student Senate President Landen Lama said.Another notable addition to the constitution is the inclusion of a student bill of rights. It includes a provision that would give students “the right to discuss campus issues with the university administration without the fear/threat of retaliation.”Another change targets the language that clarifies the roles of the executive members. The current constitution mentions the titles of the executives, but does not specify their roles.It also requires senators to complete at least two hours of community service per semester.“We’re asking for a lot already, but at the end of the day, how we've modeled our new constitution, Faculty Student Senate has power to do whatever they want, while we have relatively little power,” Lama said.The Senate constitution must be approved by the Senate body, the student body and, ultimately, the Board of Trustees. The student body vote will be administered via email the day after the constitution is fully approved by Student Senate, which is expected to be next week.If approved by the student body, it will be sent to the Board of Trustees for overview and approval. Student Senate executives also discussed the progress made in the search for the new student trustee.The student trustee position is selected by the governor and is a representation of the student body on the Board of Trustees.Four of the eight applicants have already been interviewed by a committee headed by Student Senate Vice President Nicole Schneider. The remaining four will be interviewed Thursday and completed by 4 p.m., and then five finalists will be announced, Schneider said. Then, there will be a public town hall where members of the public can meet and ask questions to the finalists. From there, the five finalists will be sent to the governor for interviews and selection, Schneider said.