October was the last time the MSMS Senate made public its affairs known in its monthly, school-wide email. Though passed bills are posted in the Hooper first floor hallway, the events of November and December have largely remained quiet. With the arrival of January and another semester of debate and discussion on how to improve the school already in progress, Secretary Ella Stone provided The Vision with a recap of recent events and major bills passed.

Some major events in November, according to Stone, included Senator Angie Harri’s bill to add a student bill of rights to the handbook, Senator Dilraj Sidhu’s bill on walking and driving sign-outs, and Senator Ariel Williams’s bill to change the restriction on posters in the residence halls. Senator Harri’s and Sidhu’s bills were both rejected by administration.

In December, the senate had one meeting because of exams and the following holiday break. Senator Griffin Emerson introduced a bill that would require teachers to give notice 24 hours in advance of any syllabus changes. Senator Katelyn Jackson introduced a bill to make known that walking sign-outs do not require a partner. Both of these bills were passed by the senate and are pending administrative approval.

Secretary Stone also expressed a confidence in the senate’s abilities, “It’s really due to the cooperation of the senate members.  They focus on getting bills and resolutions through and don’t lose time arguing over petty things.  We have gotten to the point where we generally can criticize up to three different bills within the hour that we meet, and I feel like that’s a great improvement from last year’s productivity rate.”

The sentiment of a productive two months was continued by Senator Sidhu, a senior who is serving his first as an MSMS senator. “We actually accomplished a lot in November and December,” said Sidhu. “All of the new senators, including myself, finally got into the groove. We knew what was expected from us at each meeting.”

Junior Senator Braeden Foldenauer echoed this sentiment and also emphasized the activities that senate has been organizing outside of the regular meetings every Tuesday, “Aside from the handbook, we’ve also tried benefitting the school in other ways such as decorating Hooper for holiday season. Overall, I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made our first semester in.”

Senate has traditionally undertaken the responsibility of decorating the Hooper building for the holiday season. This year they continued in that tradition, while also continuing to strive to update school legislation.