I would like to welcome the new Student Senate Executive Board for the 2014-2015 school year! They will be guiding Student Senate in the new school year to continue to tackle student issues and concerns and make sure the student voice is heard!

President: Jared Rixstine

Vice President of Student Affairs/Student Representative to the Board of Trustees: Kalyn Miller

Vice President of Academic Affairs: McKenzie Sauer

Vice President of Communication: Jared Britton

As well, this means my days, and column submissions, are drawing to a close. Soon Jared Rixstine will be taking over the weekly duties of President and this column. I wish them all of the luck in their new roles!

Speaking of new leadership, Student Senate has also completed our second annual Emerging Leader Retreat! This has held a special place in my heart over the years and it is bittersweet to know that this will be my last Emerging Leader Retreat. It is a fantastic moment when you reach out to these up-and-coming leaders and show them that it is possible to take on these positions. There is no secret formula to being a leader. Often times, people think that in order to take on these leadership roles, they need to have a bunch of knowledge and skill in order to do it. In reality, it is mostly mental. Just by having confidence and feeling like you have support you can accomplish great things as a leader. I cannot wait to see what the new group of mentors will accomplish next year with Emerging Leader Retreat under the guidance of Jared Britton!

Finally, I wanted to address some rumors going around campus that hit close to home for me. As many of you have probably heard, Dr. Bobbi Gentry will not be returning to Millikin in the fall in order to take a new position at a college in Virginia. The university will not be hiring a full time professor in the fall to replace her, relying on adjuncts and current professors to take over educating these students so they can graduate with a Political Science degree. To be quite honest, I do not think anyone on this campus actually knows what this will mean to the future of the Political Science major. Currently, the Political Science majors have many questions about the future and the answers are not known at this time. One of the biggest concerns for Political Science majors have is not necessarily about whether or not they will graduate with a Political Science degree, but rather if they will graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to compete in the Political Science field, or if they will simply be graduating with a piece of paper. Hopefully soon these answers will be figured out and Political Science majors will be able to make the decisions that are in the best interest of their individual futures.