There were three new appointments made during the ASWSU senate meeting Wednesday.

Brad Hawkins was appointed as the new education chair. Hawkins said he feels his experience as a Beta Theta Pi executive member qualified him for the position and that he wanted to serve a larger community.

Senator Alyssa Norris asked Hawkins what his goals were for the College of Education or WSU as a whole.

Hawkins said he believes there is a lot of turmoil right now and tension across the university.

“Anything that I’d be able to do on senate to bring together students and faculty as one and ease those tensions, that would be number one on that list, especially now,” he said.

Hawkins said making people happy, bringing people together and seeing people smile drives him.

A unanimous vote among the senate confirmed Hawkins’ appointment.

Two new members for the WSU election board were confirmed at the meeting.

Keegan Otter, a public relations major, said he is trained and has much experience in public speaking. He said it is important that the board inform and reach out to students.

“If you’re not informed on what’s going on around you, and you’re not apparent to your surroundings, then what are you?” Otter said. “I think you’re just wasting breath, and I think that you need to be informed of what’s going on around you if you want to see that change.”

Otter was appointed to the elections board with 16 votes in his favor, zero opposed, and one, Senator Garret Kalt, abstained.

Matea Ped, a sophomore marketing and finance major, said her reason for applying to the election board was that she wanted to be more involved in the community, gain a better understanding of how decisions are made and bring student’s concerns forward.

She said she has experience as the facility manager director for her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta.

“This job has taught me how to listen to multiple people’s concerns and implement solutions,” Ped said.

She was successfully confirmed to the position with 15 votes in her favor, one, Senator Josue Zuniga, opposed, and one, Senator Brad Hawkins, abstained. Both Ped and Otter were sworn in after being appointed.

Harald Hyllseth, associate director of diversity affairs, notified the ASWSU senate he is resigning effective Friday, in order to pursue an internship for the seventh Washington Representative district in Washington D.C.

“ASWSU has meant a lot to me,” Hyllseth said. “It has probably been the thing that has defined my experience here.”

He also said he hopes to rejoin ASWSU for the 2017 fall semester, bringing back the experience he will gain during his internship.

Pro Tempore Garvin Price said two senators, Senator Sam Horowitz and Senator Uriel Carmona, had resigned over the break, leaving a senatorial seat open for the college of arts and sciences and one in the college of communication.