The last Tempe Undergraduate Student Government meeting of the year simultaneously tied up the semester's loose ends while beginning a new stage in the lives of next year's USG members.
The meeting began with the passage of Senate Bill 67, which changed senate bylaws to redefine certain positions within USG in preparation of the coming year.
The activity of this semester's senate was ultimately short-lived, as following that bill's passing, current Senate President Nicholas Haney swore in the members of next year's Tempe student government.
The new senators considered three potential senate presidents for next semester: Alec Davies, Cristian Torres and Kanin Pruter, all of whom served as senators in this semester's student government.
Following pitches from each candidate and deliberation by the senators, the new senate chose Cristian Torres, who was also recommended by last year's senate.
His proposals for the coming year include increasing both senatorial autonomy and Tempe USG's visibility and outreach to the broader student body.
"I feel really good that I have such a strong senate behind me," Torres said. "Next year, we're really going to focus on outreach, and getting to the core of being a representative democracy."
This meeting also represented the end of Tempe USG President Isaac Miller's time in office.
"It's a little surreal, but I know this is the way it should be," Miller said. "I feel great about (incoming president Brandon Bishop) and I feel great about Sen. Torres. I think (Torres) has got a good level of institutional knowledge. I think USG is in good hands."
At the same time, the meeting marked the official beginning of the executive careers of Brandon Bishop and his vice presidents, Kenzie Johnson and John Lauro.
"I feel great," Bishop said. "I'm extremely optimistic about what's to come for USG. I think we have a really great group of people coming in."
Reach the reporter at Arren.Kimbel-Sannit@asu.edu or follow @akimbelsannit on Twitter.
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