The Student Alumni Ambassadors joined the ranks of chartered student organizations at last night’s Student Government Association meeting.

Senators voted overwhelmingly to charter the group, which previously had solely been an arm of the Office of Alumni Relations.

“We want to build relationships between alumni and students, and we want to have better visibility on campus,” said SAA President Robert Moehle regarding the group’s motivation for seeking CSO status.

During the meeting five members of the SAA executive board gave a presentation outlining the group’s mission and areas of work. They also explained how they network with students and alumni.

At first many senators questioned why SAA sought to be chartered considering its relationship with the University administration.

“SAA will still be associated with the Office of Alumni Relations, but we want accesses to the resources that are given to other CSOs,” Moehle said.

As a CSO, SAA members will have more opportunities to promote their organization around campus and to communicate with the student body. SAA’s leadership said that they will not seek funding from SGA, however, because they will continue to receive funding from the Office of Alumni Relations.

SAA holds events every year, such as Senior Night at the Ballpark, a fall retreat and Billiken Blue Out.

“One of our top priorities is networking between students and alumni; we do a lot through academic colleges and also campus-wide events,” said SAA Secretary Amanda Mason.

Also during yesterday’s meeting, Assistant Vice President of Student Life Leanna Fenneberg spoke the senate about the possibility of creating a new branch of the Student Success Center on the medical campus. The Student Success Center currently has a single office, which is located on the third floor the Busch Student Center.

“We have heard a lot of feedback from medical students and staff about how it is difficult for them to utilize these services because of the location,” Fenneberg said.