By Catherine Villa

The Student Senate at Pacific Union College is a group of students who dedicate their time solely to improving the lives of their fellow students both on and off campus. This group is made up of elected individuals from each dorm. They dedicate their funds to making improvements on campus students want to see and need. Senate works with administration and the students themselves to figure out what problems students need to see fixed.

I sat down with Taleah Tyrell, the Chair of the Senate, who helped break down the bill-making process into four, sometimes not so easy, steps:

1. Come up with an idea students actually need and could benefit from
2. Figure out who you need to talk to, both in that department and fellow students, to examine the necessity of the idea
   1. This part can be the longest and hardest part since you have to work with administration and the people in charge to see how it can be incorporated onto campus
3. Once administration or the necessary department is on your side, write that bill up!
4. The bill moves up to Ad Council for approval or modifications
5. And after that, bam! You now have yourself a working bill!

Here are some cool bills Senate has already pushed through this process for the student body this school year:

Stage Presentation Bill: Adding new technical equipment, light pillars, and a black backdrop to help make the stage at the PUC Church feel more modern and livened up during vespers and other events.

Hammock Bill: Students can now check out hammocks from the Campus Center to relax when they please.

Pots and Pans Bill: Certain girl’s dorms now have cooking supplies to check out from their front desk to cook their meals. No more salvaging for a pot to cook your ramen in!

Andre Hall Gym Bill: Adding new and replacing equipment to the Andre Hall Gym.

If you have any ideas you want to bring attention to, your Student Senate encourages you to approach your senator and talk with them about your ideas. They also have suggestion boxes around the school. Best of all, if you really want to get involved in Senate, they encourage you to run for a position yourself! Students are filled with amazing ideas for this school, make sure your voice is heard!