Student Body President Carson Gordon went over plans for Student Senate events taking place during Mental Health Awareness week, at the Wednesday evening Student Senate meeting.

The events will take place during the week following its nationally recognized counterpart.

Student Senate is partnering with the student athlete advisory committee for the events over the course of the week, Gordon said, before outlining the plans for the third week of October.

Monday will feature an informational table set up at both Lantz Arena and outside of the food court in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union; senators will be talking with students about mental health awareness and will be passing out mental health resources from noon to 2 p.m.

Suicide Awareness Day takes place on Tuesday; students and community members will be able to pin hearts on a board to remember those that have been lost to suicide.

A speaker from Life Links, a mental health clinic out of Mattoon, is being brought in on Oct. 16 in the Grand Ballroom at 7 p.m. Rachel the comfort dog will also be in the Academic Services Center in Lantz from 9 a.m. to noon.

Oct. 17 is Sexual Assault Awareness Day; more informational tables will be set up and manned by student senators in Lantz Arena and outside of the food court in the Union. The last event of the week will see student athletes wearing green to practices to increase awareness for mental health issues and resources.

Executive Vice President Kathleen Conlin went over her reports from the EIU Votes program.

The weeklong program saw 60 people registered to vote on campus.

Conlin said they will be continuing the programs once a week each month until February and encouraged student senators to become election judges in the upcoming elections. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Noor-ul-Haash, reported on plans for the “Pumpkin Palooza” and the caramel apple station that will be manned by student senators and University Board members. The event will take place on Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

University Enhancement Chair Zack Archey’s committee report included the potential for a “Panther Patro,” following the incident of female students being shouted at and groped on campus.

Speaker of the Senate Michael Perri also went over voting procedures at the beginning of the meeting for non-emergency bills, RSO charters, resolution voting and emergency bill voting, as some of the senators are still new to Robert’s Rules of Order and parliamentary procedure voting.

Senator Justin Richards was appointed to Executive Board as Parliamentarian.

Zoë Donovan can be reached at 581–2812 or at zedonovan@eiu.edu