Student Senate held the second-to-last meeting of the semester on Wednesday, April 24. The meeting was Christina Melecio’s last meeting as president of senate.

For the last meeting of the semester on Wednesday, May 1, Ben Ellgen will preside over the meeting for the first time as student body president.

During the meeting on April 24, the new executive team presented their proposed budget for the next school year.

The proposed budget had a 50% increase in the president’s salary, from $5,000 to $7,500. The budget also included 20% increases of the vice president position from $3,750 to $4,500, and the treasurer position from $3,750 to $4,500.

The budget proposal featured several cuts for other programs.

One of the programs that had the largest cuts was Special Projects which showed a $4,640 decrease. Welcoming Week also received a proposed budget decrease of $700, and another notable decrease was administrative expenses with a $620 decrease.

Ellgen said he was not sure if this budget was likely to pass. This budget proposal was not confirmed and its debate is still ongoing.

When reflecting over the past year, Melecio talked about how Student Senate was more involved with the student population than in previous years.

“For things we did well, I would say we had more of a presence on campus this year, like showing up for Warrior Game Day Experience,” Melecio said.

When talking about Student Senate for next year, Melecio said she was looking forward to seeing new people take on the leadership roles for Winona State students.

“I’m excited to see the new leadership and see what they can do with their tasks and what they focus on,” Melecio said. “A lot of the time you get half returning people and half new people. To see some of those rising stars that we don’t know they are yet. And to some of those more experienced folks to come back for their second year around.”