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Allison Campbell

Sen. Jay Thompson expresses his gratitude for being given emeritus status from the Student Government Association during his closing remarks for the session. "100 something Senate meetings ago, I began an experience that I did not realize would impact me the way it did," Thompson said. "And 100 something Senate meetings later, it's finally my turn to sign out."

Student Government Association senators and audience members alike clapped and cheered after the bill that grants emeritus status to Chairperson Jay Thompson passed without objection at Wednesday’s Senate meeting. 

Thompson’s emeritus status means he will be recognized at future events and can speak in SGA meetings in upcoming years.

Thompson, who graduates in May, has served in SGA for five years. He has held many roles during that time, including engineering senator, at-large senator, academic affairs chairperson, director of legislative affairs and policy, and government oversight committee chairperson. Thompson was the first to chair the Government Oversight Committee, which started in fall of 2023. 

Speaker of the Senate Kylee Hower said Thompson has been a mentor and a guide to her and the other members. 

“I really can’t express how necessary this is to recognize Jay for all of his work,” Hower said. “I think that even after you’re (Thompson) gone, you will continue to be a role model, and people will speak your name with honor—because they should,” she said. 

Shortly after, Thompson gave his closing remarks to the Senate. 

Thompson likened Student Government to a bonsai tree, with the leaves of the tree representing the SGA members. 

“It’s delicate, complex, stubborn, and it takes multiple leaves to make something beautiful out of it,” he said. 

Thompson said previous Student Senate members gave them a “rich foundation” to build upon. He said the job of those who remain is to continue to grow so that they can give future sessions an even richer foundation. 

One final bit of advice he gave: Don’t wait for someone else to take action on the changes you want to make—do it yourself. 

 “You’d be surprised what comes from conversations where one person changes the tone in the room,” he said.