Student Government Association is finally back in full swing.

After two meetings that only accomplished a few orders of business, SGA can now start fulfilling its duty to the student body now that it has bodies.

SGA successfully filled 28 of the available 32 open seats and the new senators were sworn in on Wednesday.

“I feel honored to be on Senate, and I think it will go really well,” Jonathan Serpas,  John Cook School of Business senator. said.

David T Black, a senior Village Apartments and Laclede Houses senator, also expressed his anticipation for the new senate.

“I was doing the interviews and I can tell they’re really excited. It’s going to be a great year,” Black said.

Not only did new and current senators say that they are looking forward to being members of Saint Louis University’s largest assembly of student leaders, but SGA President Courtney Anvender said that she is also eager to see what how the new senators take their charge to represent the wider student body.

“We strived to find senators who were passionate and who would create a diversity of thought in senate,” said Anvender.

She also expressed that the new crop of senators will only help facilitate her goal of creating the best legislative body possible for SLU.

Due to the seating of the senators having been SGA’s first order of business for the night, all old and new senators in attendance were able to vote on the new legislation for being presented for the week.

Both the bill and the resolution revolved around monetary topics.

Financial Vice President Tim Janczewski introduced a bill that would allocate funding to one of SLU’s newest charted student organizations—Active Minds.

A CSO based around mental health awareness and advocacy, Active Minds went through the CSO chartering process last year, but was unable to apply for funding by the deadline. In order for them to have programming and events this school year, SGA apportioned $2,381 to the student group.

“We are very thankful we got funding and are looking forward to the national conference that we can now attend,” Carole Dobbins, the group’s secretary, said
“We are happy to be an official CSO also,” Dobbins said after the meeting.

The resolution that Janczewski also presented was one that dealt with the annual acceptance of spot funding regulations.

Very few major changes were made to the regulation   guidelines, but Janczewski expressed that the guidelines should make clearer the fact that SGA only funds 60 percent of travel expenses for student groups, including  expenses  for traveling to national championships. The groups and their respective members must provide the remaining 40 percent.

“It’s an encouragement that groups invest in themselves,” Janczewski said in response to SGA not funding the full costs of attending a national championship or an invitational.

No other new business was presented at the meeting, but Anvender did provide updates to current in-process SGA initiatives.

The Pius XII Memorial Library survey that SGA sent out on Sept. 1 has received 1,200 responses from students.

Anvender said that she was pleased with the volume of student input but still hopes to still gather more before the end of the month.

SGA will present its research, including the student responses, to the President’s Coordinating Council at their next meeting later on this month.

SGA has been taking efforts to reestablish a strong relationship with the student public. One way they are planning on doing so is through their first meet- and- greet of the year.

Instead of a standard town hall meeting, SGA will be holding a senatorial barbeque.

Anvender stated that she hopes this will allow for more students to feel comfortable approaching senators and expressing their concerns as opposed to the more formal setting in a town hall.

The barbeque will take place Thursday, Sept. 23 at 5pm on the Quad.