Kateri Johnson addressed Winona State University’s Student Senate concerning the shortage of counselors as well as the extended waitlist last semester. Two new counselors have been hired, one being a full-time permanent hire and the other being an emergency part-time hire. The six-session protocol is also being experimented with this semester to evaluate whether if it should be continued in the coming years.

A new task force is also being discussed by Student Senate to help deal with supporting sustainability as well as the right way to recycle. It has been found that students do recycle, however, it’s rarely done properly. The task force would take charge in helping educate students in what can be recycled and what cannot. To do this, the task force would help make signs to be placed above trash and recycling bins with pictures of what can be placed in these bins.

There was also discussion of a second train being brought to Winona.

First year student, Abigail Oldenberg, majoring in public relations, serves on the student senate board as the freshman representative. She commented on the possible implication of a second train in Winona.

“I thought this was a really interesting project because we typically focus on campus-specific topics, but this benefits both our students and the community,” Oldenberg said.

Other topics discussed includes a 3% tuition increase for tech support. Tech support has not requested a tuition increase since 2007.

Winona State is constantly looking at how much students utilize textbook services, however the software that was used to do this electronically broke down. Steps are now being taken to figure out the numbers manually.

The Ducks Unlimited club, which focuses on the conservation and well-being of aquatic life, is taking an excursion to learn more about new technology helping wildlife and several other topics with the financial help of the Student Senate board.

The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Winona State University, the Minnesota State Colleges and University system, or the Winona State University student body.