What Happened at the UCOSA End of the Year Banquet?

The University of Central Oklahoma’s Student Association hosted an end-of-year banquet on Monday in the Nigh University Center Ballroom C to present awards and review the previous year.

UCOSA held its first banquet in three years, highlighting both its achievements and plans. Luke Underwood, the outgoing vice chair of Congress and vice president-elect, said the purpose of this UCOSA banquet was to recognize achievements this year, bid farewell to outgoing members, and welcome the new executive team.

“This has been the most rewarding experience of my collegiate life,” Underwood pointed out. “Not only because of the progress we’ve made but also the people I’ve worked with to make changes.”

One of the main purposes of the banquet was to recognize Senators of the Week, who, according to Underwood, can be nominated by other senators and selected weekly by the executive board for exceeding expectations in serving students. 

Senators of the Week this year include:

• Riley Robertson
• Bennett Wolff
• Joshua Albright
• Hawkel Clemens
• Lukas Lentz
• Lillian Du
• Sophie Greenley
• Grace Gregory
• Efren Llanes
• Livia JoJo
• Soha Jawaid
• Kya Carpenter
• Bonnie-Grace Payne
• Daniel Meyers
• Johnny Butler
• Madison Hoover

Among other achievements, event attendees received some awards based on participants’ votes. Bennett Wolff was chosen as “Most Likely to Be Late”; Daniel Myers was elected “Most Likely to Stand to Make a Motion”; Efren Llanes won the award of “Most Likely to Object to a Budget Bill”; Livia JoJo was awarded “Most Positive in Congress”.

The outgoing Student Body Vice President, Emma Martinez, gave an evaluation of her tenure. Specifically, she mentioned that her primary aim was to make all students feel comfortable on campus.

“I want everyone here to feel like they belong in this university,” Martinez claimed.

 Martinez thanked her colleagues and urged the future officers of UCOSA to “serve wholeheartedly”. 

According to Underwood, he and the incoming Student Body President, Jake Eades, will be working on solving students’ problems this year. For example, the possibility of creating a UCOSA discount card partnered with local businesses to give UCO students a discount on goods

“The UCOSA banquet was very bittersweet,” Underwood pointed out. “It was an occasion to commemorate the success of our year but also anticipate the upcoming academic year.” Underwood hopes that UCOSA will continue having its annual banquet after the previous 3-year hiatus

Outside the banquet itself, UCOSA ran several programs this year to engage students and gather feedback. The association held weekly tabling sessions in the Nigh Center, where senators encouraged students to voice concerns and learn about UCOSA initiatives as well as other community events.