Tobey holds first senate, outlines priorities
The 2025-26 Student Association held their first Senate March 24 after leadership changeover the week prior. SA President Trevor Tobey made inaugural remarks on campus change and listening to students.
“The [executive] team, as well as I, came up with an overall mission, which is to empower your voice, enact meaningful change and elevate campus life through transparent leadership, bold advocacy and student-driven innovation,” said Tobey, a Hanszen College junior.
Tobey also set priorities for the first 40 days, including creating a “responsible” budget, expanding mental health resources, passing constitutional reforms, increasing campus dialogue on political and international issues, expanding discounts and securing student printing credits.
The SA also voted for appointed positions, confirming David Lee as chief of staff, Zach Weinbrum as parliamentarian, Nathan Turman as deputy chief of staff, Chelsea Asibbey as Director of Communications, and Blanket Tax Committee members Zach Wilson, Patrick Xin, Henry Cabrera, Othniel Amanyi and Willa Liou.
A special election was also announced to fill the empty secretary position. Campaigning will begin on April 2, and voting will start April 8.
Mahtab Dastur, SA External Vice President, encouraged college senators to bring energy to their roles.
“When you’re a college senator, I expect you to give 100 percent in everything you do,” said Dastur, a Duncan College freshman.
In the rest of her speech, Dastur emphasized inter-college coordination and fostering relationships across campus.
Tobey also said he would focus on creating engagement and increasing the SA efficacy.
“The bureaucratic hurdles and lack of engagement are no longer just obstacles,” Tobey said. “They’re our responsibility to fix, and if we don’t believe in this organization, we can’t expect the student body to.”
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