Aidan Thomas will take over the seat once again as the undergraduate Student Association Senate chairperson for the 2026-27 year.
Elected Wednesday afternoon, Thomas ran uncontested for the position. He promised to oversee an active Senate that holds the SA e-board accountable, hold more open discussions and encourage senators to start their own advocacy initiatives.
“One of the issues I saw with last year’s Senate is that we had been an absentee Senate,” Thomas told fellow senators. “I’d like to see changes to that. We’re definitely going to instill better oversight to make sure everyone’s doing their jobs, and the student body has more faith in their student government.”
The Senate acts as the main voice of the Student Association on behalf of the undergraduate student body. With 24 total senators — half of them elected — they push resolutions that often publicly engage the university in advocacy issues. It also holds the SA e-board’s powers in check, where the Senate can change SA policy, e-board wages or even impeach a member from their role.
In recent years, the Senate has struggled to maintain visibility in the Student Association and towards the student body. Elections for Senate terms chronically draw low turnout in candidates and voters, with this year’s accepting all 12 candidates for the 12 available seats.
Last year had drawn fragmentation in the Senate, including tensions over the LGBTA club’s fight to keep a student-run queer community space open last fall, clashes with former SA Senator Grant Peterson and three failed attempts to raise e-board wages.
Thomas does not anticipate last year’s “unnecessary drama” carrying over to this year.
“I think that everybody’s a little bit more aligned in what we want to see the organization do,” Thomas told the Senate. “A little bit more level-headed. In that respect, I think we’ll be more effective.”
Mylien Lai is the editor in chief and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com.
The news desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com.
Mylien Lai is the editor-in-chief at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @mylien.lai on Instagram.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons | Courtesy of Quintin Soloviev
