Karolina Guzek, a sophomore political science major, became the Speaker of the Student Senate on Wednesday in the 7th Street Underground loft. Previous speaker Jasmine Yusef’s term came to an end that same night.  

Guzek, who won the vote 15-0-1, has been on the senate since her freshman year. She abstained from voting. Guzek was on the Internal Affairs Committee prior to her appointment.  

The speaker term lasts from the final meeting of the fall semester of one year to the final meeting of the fall semester of the next year, whereas executive board positions start on the first day of the fiscal year, which is July 1. This means that the last meeting with Guzek as speaker is Dec. 6 2023, whereas president, executive vice president, vice president of student affairs and vice president of academic affairs started their terms on July 1 and will end on June 30, 2023.

Guzek detailed her plans for recruitment of student senators, which includes a stronger social media presence.  

Guzek said that she is very excited to see what the role has in store for her. She thinks there is a lot of growth in the organization.  

“I’m pretty excited,” Guzek said. “There’s definitely a lot of potential in student government. We ended on a good job. So I’m excited to see how this follows through in the spring semester.” 

Guzek, who is also a service assistant in Thomas Hall, thinks that her position is also a great way to make connections and recruit for student government. 

Being a service assistant requires employed individuals to assist with the daily functions of a residence hall, such as handing out packages to residents, putting mail in resident’s mailboxes and more.  

Many residents in Thomas hang out around the desk and chat with the service assistants, making it easier for Guzek to recruit senators. Many students in Thomas Hall are freshman, so it could be easy for them to move up the ranks like Guzek did. 

“I think as a desk assistant, especially in Thomas, you see everyone coming through Thomas,” Guzek said. “It seems like the only dining hall open for dinner sometimes too. I definitely interact with a lot of the student body just on a daily basis, so being the face of Thomas Hall and the base of student government now definitely has a lot going for recruit wise. They probably know that they can come talk to me about domestic issues, but also, student issues.” 

Senator Natalie Mitlyng, a senior biology major, and James Haddon, a freshman digital media technology major, both won awards at the meeting as well.  

Mitlyng won Senator of the Semester for her work with Rent College Pads.

Haddon won New Senator of the Semester for his dedication and hard work throughout the semester.  

Prior to her term as speaker ending, Senator Yusef gave a state of the senate address detailing her term as speaker.

Now Yusef is part of the University Enhancements Committee as she has returned to being a senator.  

Student Body President Lucy Ade also gave a state of the university address, which addressed many of the changes that the university has faced recently or will face in the next year. 

University President David Glassman announcing his retirement, and Jody Stone becoming the interim dean of students were addressed in the speech. 

Katja Benz can be reached at 581-2812 or at kkbenz@eiu.edu.