Six Student Union senators have resigned from SU since the beginning of the term in March. The resignation of these senators mirrors difficulties that last year’s Senate had in maintaining a full legislative body.

Last week, the latest vacated seat in the Senate was filled after remaining empty for more than a month.

Though the resignations have left empty chairs or untrained senators in their places, the leaders of SU are unconcerned.

Mamatha Challa, speaker of the Senate, attributed the mediocre retention largely to the fact that Senate terms start in March and November, and various issues often arise over the summer.

“I would say that I’m not overly concerned about it because a few of the reasons were reasons that really couldn’t be helped, like students going on medical leave or transferring to a different [college] within the University,” Challa said. “Overall, I don’t think it’s been a huge problem at all. On the other hand, it makes it hard though, that there’s a lot of turnover.”

Senior Alex Christensen resigned after serving as senator since his freshman year.

“I had different priorities, being a senior, and I felt comfortable leaving the body at that time with the people there,” Christensen said. He also said that he has seen the body grow during his tenure as a senator.

When new senators replace those who have resigned, there is an appointment process through the particular school council, usually involving an interview.

“We really get really strong candidates who get here through the appointment process,” Challa said.

Kirsten Miller, vice president of administration, believes that having this intra-term rotation of members can really benefit the Senate.

“We hate losing members of our family, but it gives us an opportunity to foster some younger leadership on campus,” Miller said.

According to Challa, the seat that was open until last week took an unusually long time to fill because the architecture school had difficulty finding somebody to take the position due to its small class size.

The Senate is not taking an entirely passive role in the situation. Last year, SU revamped its Recruitment and Retention committee to try and keep representatives content.

“I think the largest problem is them feeling like what they want to do on campus can’t best be done on Senate, or that they feel like they can do better outside of Senate,” said Miller, the committee’s chair. “There was frustration with the process, and it ties into overall not feeling like part of Student Union or not getting all of the resources that Student Union has.”

The committee is working hard to inform members about what avenues they should pursue and who they can contact to carry out specific changes. Its members are also trying to highlight the Senate’s contributions to campus externally and internally to make senators feel appreciated and proud of their accomplishments.

The Senate has also added social chairs to create a more sociable atmosphere that bonds the group into more of a family that people are happy to be a part of.

Fall elections for the Senate are on Nov. 10 and 11, and campaigning starts next Monday. Half of the seats will be up for the vote, and members are hoping for strong races.

“A lot of people always apply, but when actual Senate elections come up, they’re not nearly as competitive,” Challa said. “I think that when you get more competitive elections, you get the best people who are aware of what the commitments are.”