The 59th session of Wichita State’s Student Government Association began Wednesday, with cabinet appointments and the swearing in of the new Student Senate.

The general mood of the meeting was excitement, with several veteran senators expressing joy about the progress being made in the meeting.

“I’m really excited about what happened this evening,” At-Large Sen. Paige Hungate said. “I think the 59th session has a lot of great potential with all the new members, all the new senators, all the new ideas and voices.”

Katie Deutsch, who was appointed campus issues chair, had similar sentiment.

“I’m definitely excited by how things went,” she said. “I think we already had a lot of resolutions that have been brought to the table in this very first meeting. That is a clear indicator for how this session will be run.”

In addition to appointing new cabinet members, SGA also denied two appointments: Ashwin Govindarajan as SGA treasurer and Misha Nazir as director of public relations. 

Student Body President Joseph Shepard said those actions show Senate is prepared to do its job, regardless of senators’ personal relationships.

“I think that’s evident that we have a very good senate that’s not going to vote based on the relationships that they have with the cabinet, but will vote based upon what they feel is ethical and moral and who they want to see be their representatives,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this new senate for starting off on the right track and seeing that students come first.”

Several senators spoke in favor of appointing outgoing treasurer Mariah Smith. They spoke of her experience handling student fees earlier semester as her biggest qualification for keeping the position. The position remains vacant and SGA will move forward with making another appointment.

“I think that’s the best for this Association and the best for Student Government at Wichita State,” Hungate said. 

Shepard said he is proud of the new Senate.

“I think that the 59th session is going to be one of the most successful sessions in the history of Student Government Association,” he said.

Marché Fleming-Randle, SGA’s outgoing adviser, plans to keep an eye on SGA to make sure Senate knows administration cares about its affair.

“I will always be involved in SGA,” Fleming-Randle said. “Regardless if I’m the adviser or not.”