Ben Strand/Winonan

Winona State University Student Senate met for a weekly meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.

With a month of meetings complete, Nicole Zimmerman, a representative of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said senate is going well so far this year.

“Having a new senate has been very refreshing,” Zimmerman said. “We hit the ground running this year and have been dealing with some important things right away.”

She added a goal for herself, as well as the rest of the senate, is to have a senate that is “financially responsible” without restricting funds to students and organizations who are representing the university in some way.

So far this year, some namely accomplishments have been funding the RE-Initiative in a project to facilitate a safe homecoming. Their Inclusion and Diversity Committee is also organizing forums about the Confederate flag and issues that have recently occurred surrounding it.

As for upcoming events, senate discussed the blood drive next week.

“It’s a great opportunity to donate blood, but also volunteer if you’re not able to physically donate,” Zimmerman said.

Among issues discussed at the last meeting, the senate addressed the complaints raised by many students at Winona State about the “cost, quality, facilities, and responsiveness of the Student Housing and Resident Life department.” It was resolved that the senate would resurrect a “Housing and Residents Life Task Force,” and the vote passed unanimously.