According to a previous Post report, former Senate treasurer, Simar Kalkat, was removed from her position by a vote of no confidence on February 16. However, her removal was rescinded on Feb. 23.
Amid the drama of Kalkat’s removal, multiple other Senate members resigned including former Director of Public Relations Emily Ertle and former Chief Justice Hannah Fleming. Additionally, former Honors Tutorial College Senator Rhyan Goodman resigned from the Senate in March, according to a previous Post report.
Luvina Cooley, a junior studying anthropology, was elected as vice president this spring. She chose to run to help other students learn about Senate and what it can do for them, she said. Additionally, she wants to rebuild the connection between Senate and OU administration.
Looking to this fall, Cooley wants to focus on reforming the image of Senate, given the troubles it faced throughout the past year. It is not uncommon for students to be unaware of the Senate and what they do, Cooley said, but those who do know of it often mainly hear about the negative situations.
“I also want to really focus on uplifting others’ voices,” Cooley said. “It would be really easy for me to sit in the office and just do nothing, to sit in the background and let other people do everything. What I really want to do is utilize the position that I have in order to uplift others and bring them into conversations with those administrators.”
Moving forward, the focus of the Senate as a whole will be to “revamp” their image and ensure meetings and procedures are carried out according to the rules, Carson Sarver, a junior studying political science and psychology and serving as the Senate director of public relations, said.
Echoing Cooley’s concern over students viewing Senate in a negative light, Sarver emphasized the new executive board’s goal to increase openness and confidence in the Senate. There are no solid plans yet, as the executive board is still planning and discussing the upcoming year, she said.
Sarver joined Senate as the director of graphic design halfway through the Spring Semester, she said, right in the midst of the Senate’s struggles this past year.
Following the controversial events, Sarver chose to continue to work with Senate due to her faith in the new executive board, she said. She believes the new board will do well this fall and has faith in its ability to shine a new light on Senate.
Cooley also expressed great faith in the new board’s capabilities, as well as her excitement to work with the new president and treasurer, Dayna Shoulders and Trinity Robinson, respectively.
“We have not only folks returning to their roles, but we also have so many new folks coming on to Senate,” Cooley said. “I'm really excited to get the opportunity to work with them to help support them in any way that I can and also just see what they're able to accomplish.”
Addie Hedges contributed to this report.