As the semester continues, many groups, clubs and organizations are still looking to recruit new members. One of those organizations is Student Senate who now have open seats after their election in April. 

Student Senate is an organization that strives to make the university a better place by creating a bridge of communication between the student body and representatives. 

“Grand Valley State University’s Student Senate works to ensure that the student’s voice is continually heard by the university,” said Executive Vice President Emma Suchecki. 

Every April they have elections to fill up 44 of their 50 senators’ seats. Due to this, interested candidates will have to apply for the remaining six open positions. 

“Each of our 50 senators serve on one of six different committees: Senate Resources, Public Relations, Campus Affairs, Educational Affairs, Diversity Affairs and External Relations,” Suchecki said. “Six senators from our body also sit on the Appropriations Funding Board and assist with the allocation of the Student Life Fund.”

The Student Senate offers a wide variety of opportunities for all students regardless of major or interest. Though the applications are only for the remaining open seats in the six various committees this year, there are still opportunities to move up to these more esteemed positions listed above through the election in April. 

Not all the roles have to deal directly with one of those committees, there are multiple opportunities. Elvin Pearson, the Vice President of Public Relations, shared that his role consists of running all of their social media aspects, including the monthly newsletter. He is also the website coordinator with goals to create opportunities for feedback and keep the student body informed. 

Student Senate is looking for people who possess certain qualities that make them a good fit for this kind of organization. One of those qualities is wanting to be active within the community. 

“It’s as much of a time commitment as you want it to be,” Pearson said. “Something I really like about it is that there are some required time commitments, but your involvement in making the university better is up to you.” 

The time commitments include being free from 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays for their general assembly, two office hours and two hours of general assembly. Students also are required to have a GPA of 2.5 or higher and attendance at a general assembly meeting before being interviewed. 

“It’s a very relaxed environment for the interview and only takes about five to ten minutes,” Pearson said.

Students that are interested in applying can visit https://www.gvsu.edu/studentsenate/ or LakerLink to find the application and read more about the organization.

“I recommend that interested students scan the website before applying just to get more of an idea about who we are and what we do,” said President of Student Senate Autumn Mueller.

There are no deadlines to apply, as applications are always open.