Communications

The Communications Committee promotes Student Senate activities, manages Senate social media accounts and the Student Senate website, designs the annual Senate apparel and marketing items, oversees the use of the Student Senate logo, and facilitates communication between the Senate, the student body, and the SMU community.

For more information, email the Communications Chair, Emerson Mason, at masonmason@smu.edu.

Diversity, EQUITY, & Inclusion

The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee reviews all interests directly related to the issues of diversity on the SMU campus. These interests include, but are not limited to, minority student admissions, minority student retention, and the needs and issues of organizations defined as Multicultural, Religious, and/or Special Interest. Many members of the committee sit in on meetings of organizations defined under these categories. The committee is also tasked with representing SMU to the outside community, going out into Dallas, and providing service and recruitment. Finally, the committee defines “diversity” through actions that show issues of diversity at SMU are beyond that of just race or ethnicity and encompass a much larger realm.

For more information, email the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Chair at Shreeya Prabu studentsenate@smu.edu.

Finance

The Finance Committee oversees the Senate Funding Process which is available to student organizations and individuals across campus. This process includes reviewing semester budget requests from chartered organizations every semester as well as seeing funding requests during weekly meetings throughout the semester. Requests that the Finance Committee funds have included campus-wide events, sports, and academic competitions, organizational conferences, individual research conferences, and operating expenses including meeting food and office supply costs for individual organizations. The ultimate goal of the Finance Committee is to ensure that the student fees allocated to the Senate are spent responsibly and in a way that brings the highest return back to SMU students and the SMU community.

For more information, visit the Finance page or contact the Finance Chair, Oscar Chen, at studentsenate@smu.edu.

Membership

The Membership Committee coordinates and conducts student body elections. Additionally, the committee screens and recommends qualified students for vacancies within the Senate and for general members of Senate committees. The committee also holds periodic bonding events for Senate members and works to increase general member engagement with the rest of the Senate. Each spring, the Membership Committee reviews and revises the Student Senate Election Code before the annual spring elections.

For more information, contact the Membership Chair, Jude Lugo, at studentsenate@smu.edu.

Organizations

The Organizations Committee reviews groups applying for chartered status. The committee makes recommendations concerning those organizations in the process of becoming officially recognized by the University as a fully chartered organization. The committee reviews, oversees, and makes recommendations regarding all SMU student organizations.

For more information, visit the Organizations page or contact the Organizations Chair, Griffin Vail, at gvail@smu.edu.

Scholarship

The Scholarship Committee is responsible for awarding the Student Senate Scholarships to SMU students. There is an initial screening process for all applications and a deliberation period, after which the finalists are contacted for an interview. From these interviews, the scholarship recipients are chosen by the students on the committee and confirmed by the Senate.

To apply for a scholarship, click here.

For more information, contact the Scholarship Chair, Anika Krieger, at studentsenate@smu.edu.