With little more than a minute past 5:30 p.m., the Student Senate opened its first business meeting of the year Sept. 22.

Junior Spanish major and Senate president Eric Ducommun led the way for the new senators this semester.

“I’m a pretty lax guy,” he said. “But I like to see order during the meetings.”

The senators’ first order of business was filling the vacant seats left after a lack in turn out during the election process.

One freshman seat, two sophomore seats, two junior seats, and three senior seats were open for anyone who showed up to be voted in.

All seats except two, one sophomore and one junior, were filled. The openings will be filled by anyone whom Senate selects during the next Senate meeting. They will not be filled by class, but rather at the Senate’s discretion.

One new member voted into Senate is freshman secondary education major Hector Amaya.

Amaya worked on several councils in high school and wished to join the Senate when he came to Missouri Southern. He has several hopes for this year’s Senate.

“I hope they finish anything they start,” Amaya said. “The worst thing you can do is not finish what you start.”

Ducommun said Senate has several issues to look into including the reviving of the electronic sign project from last year.

“I look forward to the ideas the senators have during the year,” Ducommun said.

One of the ideas to come out of the meeting was the possibility of looking into an ATM on the residence hall side of campus.

Ducommun said the senators seemed to be looking forward to the year as well.

Amaya agreed with Ducommun.

“I figure Senate is a servant to the students,” Amaya said. “The students should not be afraid to come up to us. We want to make student life easier.”

Senators had mug shots taken after the meeting for a poster to be placed in the Billingsly Student Center for students to get to know their Senate representatives.

The meeting ended just after 6 p.m.

“I hope to become a little more fluid in the meetings,” Ducommun said.

He said he would like the meetings to flow easier and hopes every senator complies with the rules.

All students are welcome to come to the meetings.