BY CALLIE CONERTON
For the UAS Whalesong
As your Student Senate, we want to make sure that you know what is going on at Student  Government and what changes are happening on campus. As representatives of the student body, YES THAT IS YOU, we want to always have our doors open to whatever issues you may have with your education and the University. Our goals as a senate is to help you not only succeed with your education but also really enjoy your education and experience at UAS.
We have had an active start to the semester with a small senate and we are really happy that we shared it with you. We started off with hosting the Welcome Back Bonfire at Noyes Pavilion. It was a blast and we got to hear one of our clubs, Alaskapella, perform some lovely songs. We are really thankful to GCI, who sponsored the event for the students. Campus Kickoff was a BLAST! The Photo booth was a great success and it was great to meet so many of the students and have that fun interactive moment. It was amazing at how many clubs and community organizations came out to kickoff campus right!
We are really excited to work with the 3 new senate members! Speaking of elections, we are  looking for some questions for the municipal election debate that will be happening on campus on the 29th in the Egan lecture hall at 5:30. If you have any questions, please email them to krhood@uas.alaska.edu.
We hosted a club fair on the 15th of September and had over 15 clubs show up and tell students about what they are doing on campus. This was a great way for students to get another chance to see what clubs are on campus and how they can get involved. We will be hosting another club fair in October. If you are still interested in starting an official club at UAS, please come down and talk to us. There is still time!
Fred Meyer’s Night this year was hosted by your Student Government and boy was it a blast! We had over 300 people come into Fred’s and student government gave over 30 prizes to students! We are so thankful to the Student Services and Campus Life Staff as well as Chancellor Caulfield for helping us staff the event!
The University of Alaska Board of Regents met in Juneau on September 17th and 18th. Many students testified in front of the board about tuition, bringing diversity to campus and about programs that mean something to them and how it will benefit the university.  Welcome to the new Regents and UA President Jim Johnsen. The naming of the John R. Pugh Hall was held on the 17th with the Regents and it was truly an amazing event that honored such an amazing man that gave his all to UAS!
Brief notes on what is happening with the senate and what bills were passed. Coffee services will return to Student Government – We do encourage students to bring their own cups! A resolution was passed to honor Indigenous People’s Day on the second Monday in October. Student Government sponsored Campus Kickoff because we do think it is the best way to start our year! Student Government also contributed to the cost a new copier for clubs, SAB, and Student            Government to use. It also has scanning for those who need to scan in their assignments!
Please always feel free to come and talk to us about your problems or ideas at UAS! We represent you and want you to have the best experience you can at UAS! Our office is located in the bottom of Mourant right across from SAB!