Student Senate Chief of Staff Addison Henson became the new Student Body Vice President following an unopposed special election during Wednesday’s Senate meeting. Henson said the next few months will be her last in Senate and withdrew her presidential candidacy from the KUnity coalition last Monday. 

With Henson becoming the new Student Body Vice President, a new Chief of Staff will need to be hired. Hussain said KU Human Resources will put out an application for the position, and following interviews, Mishra will present his nomination to Senate for confirmation.

After the meeting adjourned, Henson said the events with Daily were being investigated by the office of Institutional Opportunity and Access. In a statement to the Open Kansan, Henson said additions to the Senate agenda will include preventing the recurrence of actions she is not at the liberty of explaining. To accomplish this, Henson said Senate will work to establish better communications and enhance the current Senate conduct reporting system. 

Some of the planned changes include an anonymous method of reporting and working to make sure the IOA and Student Conduct hear all occurrences of an issue to establish a pattern.

To hold people in Senate accountable, Henson said Senate will be conducting exit surveys and will create a guideline for accountability measures. Senate will also be working to connect senators with Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Services, and case managers.

Senate will establish closer links to Student Conduct and have more active involvement with the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity along with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to give more proactive training to senators. 

Henson hopes to set a better tone for the next administration. “I hope to just do as much as I can to kind of fix things and then part ways.”