After roll call, five minutes of inspiration and approving the previous week’s minutes, Wartburg Student Senate dives into topics such as new student organizations, recipients of awards, concerns from constituents and reports from various committees and advisors within the Senate. Here is some insight into what the Wartburg Student senate does with some comments from the Student Body President, Tony Hobson.  

The student senate’s mission is to filter concerns from students to groups on campus that can resolve issues. Senate creates committees to work alongside dining services, maintenance, residential life and the three deans on campus. After receiving concerns via email, social media or face-to-face, senate takes suggestions and reviews them within these committees. 

Student senate also funds and ratifies various student organizations on campus by reviewing their requests and their constitutions.  

Typical meetings involve reports from the deans and the senate president, along with announcements and concerns that are sent out in the weekly minutes. During some meetings, senate will welcome guests and speakers from other departments, such as Wartburg President Rebecca Ehretsman and student representatives from the Strategic Plan Committee. 

To ensure a variety of students are represented, each senator receives a constituent list, broken up by residential buildings and floors. These senators are required to send out weekly emails for minutes and are meant to be a point of contact for Wartburg students. For clubs, liaisons are assigned to different student organizations on campus.  

“I think students taking ownership over their day-to-day need to, would be better off realizing that any concern that they have is important,” says Hobson. “Anything that could improve a week at Wartburg for one student I’m sure could improve it for many.” 

Amy Tucker, the staff advisor for the Wartburg Student Senate, talks about her role in student senate. She says her role is to provide guidance and oversight regarding student organizations. She works with student organizations while student senate approves and funds them. When organizations want to be approved, Tucker helps review their application.  

Tucker believes that the student senate is the voice of the students and a good source of information for staff members.  

“You can kind of get a good pulse for what is important to students, what are the hot topics,” she explains.  

Tucker says that her role is more behind the scenes. She explains that she works with the senate executives and committees to make sure things keep moving forward. She describes her role as supportive and holding student senate accountable. 

Tucker encourages students to get more involved with student senate.  

“I think senate is a really great organization to be involved with cause there’s different ways to interact with not just fellow students but your faculty, staff [and] administrators to make Wartburg better for everyone,” Tucker says.  

Executives within student senate have their contact information available on the Wartburg website to field questions, and students can also reach out through email, social media or their assigned senator. Student senate meetings are also open to the public and are held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays in Buckmaster.