There are still positions available on Student Senate, which was established to provide fair representation of the student body and provide experience to those involved.

Photograph by Brady Terry

“You get to see how UW-Platteville works,” Frank Moullet, Student Senate president, said.

Moullet said those involved with Student Senate get to make decisions that impact fellow students on campus and the future students of UW-P.

Members of the Student Senate get to see a project start to finish, Moullet said. People involved will participate in the projects from forums to goal setting.

“Students involved with Student Senate will learn a lot of transferable skills,” Moullet said.

The experience people involved with Student Senate receive will help them develop skills that they can’t develop in the class rooms, Kenneth Brotheridge, student senate vice president, said.

“I’m not going to lie, but it feels good to be a student senator,” David Dregne, BILSA student senator, said.

Candidates or people thinking about applying for a position should not be afraid to apply no matter what kind of experience a person has had, Brotheridge said.

Moullet said people wanting to apply or thinking about applying should be willing to commit the time. They should also be willing to develop their speaking skills and step outside of the box to think.

There has been butting of heads at times but everything is out of constructive criticism.

A person must be able to address key issues for the student body and not address personal issues that might not interest the student body, Moullet said.

Issues this year handled by Student Senate ranged from creation of a referendum to ban smoking and making mental health and depression issues important by creating a greater awareness for these areas, Brotheridge said.

Moullet said being in Student Senate and having the option to put it on a person’s resume will look nice but shouldn’t be the reason why someone applies for a Student Senate position.

Brotheridge said people who are interested in joining Student Senate or are candidates are encouraged to go to a Student Senate meeting on Mondays at 5 p.m in the University Rooms of the Pioneer Student Center.

Candidates will also be asked to participate in a short interview that should be no longer than five minutes and require business casual attire, Moullet said. The candidates can ask for more information about the interview.

Moullet said the meetings are meant to make everyone comfortable, including the members of Student Senate and the candidates.

“A candidate or people interested in joining Student Senate shouldn’t sweat this part of the process,” Brotheridge said.

Nominations for candidates wanting to apply for a position in Student Senate were due prior to Spring Break, but the Student Senate will still except nominations for open positions Moullet said.

If a person still wishes to apply for a student senator position or a position that is open, the person can still apply by April 22, Moullet said. A person interested can talk with someone from Student Senate in the Pioneer Involvement Center for more information or go to uwplatt.edu/org/ssenate/ to get the form.