The Eureka College Student Senate elected four new members for the upcoming semester, including Hannah Brocksmith as Vice President, Austin Bristow II as Freshman Class President, and Sam Gafford and Alex Lesones as senators-at-large. Brocksmith previously served as a senator and wants to increase representation of underclassmen on the Senate. Bristow was not initially planning to run but wants to ensure the freshman class has a strong voice. He aims to start a fundraising effort for the class of 2018's senior year. The new senators hope to take on new projects this semester to improve the college.

1. New Senate // 3-3
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New Faces, New Ideas, New Senate
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(Eureka, Ill.) Eureka College Student Senate elected and appointed a total of four new
members for this semester’s term this January, including a student body vice president, freshman
class president and two senators at-large.
Student Senate’s newest elected Student Body Vice President is Hannah Brocksmith, who
is transitioning from her prior role of senator-at-large. Previously she worked on projects such as
gender neutral housing and student-faculty relations.
“I really enjoyed learning more about the college and how it runs and meeting more
people,” Brocksmith said.
These people she met through senate are part of the Student Allocations Agency.
As Senate vice president she is the head of the Student Allocations Agency, or SAA.
Brocksmith, the Business and Accounting double major is excited to oversee the finances of
student senate. She also hopes to change SAA in a vote regarding the Constitution that SAA will
hold four more spots for voting members. Her vision is that each class vice president will be a
voting member of the senate, while decreasing the amount of senators from eight to six. By
doing this the senate will have 15 voting members instead of the current 13. This will give
underclassmen more representation in the senate. Currently, there is one voting freshman on
senate. This amendment will allow for two. One of whom is Austin Bristow II.
Bristow, the newest elected freshman class president and manager of Undergrounds
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2. New Senate // 3-3
Coffee House, hopes to serve his peers.
“I wasn't planning on running for the position, until I realized I wanted to make sure the
Freshman class was taken legitimately in the eyes of the senate,” Bristow said.
Bristow’s goals include a fundraising effort for the freshman class in conjunction with
other students on a committee put together by freshman, Johnny Tran. Through their work
researching ways to fundraise they were told that this is the first time in 16 years that the
freshman class is interested in fundraising for themselves before their senior year. The funds will
be put into an investment account through the business office where it will accrue interest until
the class of 2018’s senior year. The funds in the account will then be used for a senior gift. In
addition to his goals for the freshman class he also has some goals for Undergrounds too.
“As underground's manager I want to improve sustainability of Undergrounds Coffee
House,” Bristow said.
Undergrounds, which is in stage two of its process, will be looked at to figure out how to
shake things up to always keep it fresh. He is open to any and all ideas. Bristow hopes to hear
from his peers on what they want to see and hear in the coffee shop.
“I will listen to anyone who is willing to talk to be heard through all the right channels,”
Bristow said.
In addition to Brocksmith and Bristow’s elections, Sam Gafford and Alex Lesones were
appointed to the senator-at-large positions that were open. With these four positions filled come
four new voices on the campus that will have an effect on each student. Students are encouraged
to talk to their representatives to have their voices heard through the appropriate channels. In
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addition, senate meetings are at 7p.m. every Wednesday and are open to the public for students to
voice their opinions, concerns and visions for the college as a whole. This upcoming semester the
new senators and elected officials hope to select new projects to begin pursuing on campus.
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