New senators said goodbye to the outgoing senators of 2011-12 at the DASB Inauguration in the Fireside Lounge Tuesday, June 5.
Each of the former chairs of the six committees in DASB spoke in honor of their members and the success of their committees for the 2011-12 term, reflecting on quirky as well as serious times throughout the year.
Shreya Shankar, the former vice chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee was described by Adrian Asbun, the former chair of Environmental Sustainability, as “the fuel to my motor” who kept him motivated about committee work.
Guests at the inauguration included college president Brian Murphy, student trustee Emily Kinner, dean of student development Michelle LeBleu Burns, and college life advisors La Donna Yumori-Kaku and John Cognetta.
Meera Suresh, the former chair of the student rights and services committee honored Talaat as “on point” in her work as a first-year senator, and Talaat was later awarded the glass plaque for “Most Inspirational Senator.”
As a final word on behalf of former senators, senator Leela Tanikella told the new senators of their impending experiences in the DASB: “It ultimately comes down to what you make of it and how much heart you put into it,” despite what other senators have said in the past.
During the inauguration, all of the former senators, including those who had resigned mid-year, received medals to honor their work within their committees.
Four senators were given additional awards for senator of the year, being the most trustworthy, having outstanding leadership, and being the most inspirational, while the former president of the DASB, Arvind Ravichandran, received a special award from advisor Cognetta, an honorary clock monogrammed with Ravichandran’s name and the senate term.
The commemorations ended with a closing slideshow of the former senate during its term before commencing with the process of swearing in the new senators.
Ravichandran first swore in the new DASB president, Pablo Zamorano, who swore in the rest of the new members, each reciting the DASB Oath of Office to uphold senate codes and bylaws.
The new senate met for its first official meeting in Student Council Chambers on Wednesday June 6, the day after the Inauguration, to proceed with public announcements, discussions, motions, amendments, approvals, and objections.
The new senate dealt with its first controversial task of the term: approving the chair election procedure for each committee. After three proposed amendments, the senate was finally able to agree almost unanimously on the proposal that all senators participate as a group in electing each of the six chairs, giving each nomination two minutes to speak and three minutes for a Q & A session afterwards.
Committee membership and chairs of the committees will be chosen next week in the second official meeting. During the warm-up exercises for members to select potential committees of their interests, senators discovered that two committees are in danger of being underrepresented: environmental sustainability and marketing.
With a host of duties waiting for the new senators in the summer, incoming president Zamorano hopes to get the chairs for each committee elected as soon as possible and for the spaces within each committee to be adequately filled.