In a unanimous decision by the Student Association Senate, Viqar Hussain was elected on Tuesday to be Senate chair, making him one of the select students in charge overseeing and organizing SA's nearly $3 million budget.
As the face of the Senate, one of Hussain's main duties is to supervise any financial decisions made by the SA treasurer, including budget allocations for this year and planning for next year.
"Any penny spent by SA is overseen by 22 senators," Hussain said.
The job also means dealing with the administration in hopes of improving student life both on and off campus, and approving resolutions from the SA Assembly.
"The Senate is the voice of UB and we stress to the administration the issues that need to be worked on to improve the student experience," Hussain said.
The vote for Senate chair followed SA President Dela Yador's 'State of the Union' address at Tuesday's meeting, where all 22 senators convened for the first time this semester.
The Senate breaks down into 17 voting members and five nonvoting members. The nonvoting members consist of Yador, SA Vice President Sonia Kang, Treasurer Mazin Kased, Assembly Chair Hassan Shibly, and now Senate Chair Hussain.
"There is no bias in senate, all students in senate represent all students at UB," Hussain said.
Hussain, a junior biomedical science major, began as a member of the Assembly as a freshman and continued his service to SA by becoming a senator.
"I was a senator last year," he said. "We did a lot of things to make student life better for students."
As Senate chair, Hussain's said he plans to work on extending operating hours for both the Capen Hall library and Alumni Arena.
"People in dorms have nowhere to go to study on the weekends because none of the libraries are open," he said. "We need to get a spot for them to go."
"Many people agree with the idea of extending weekend Alumni hours," he added.
According to Hussain, the Senate is thinking of ideas to help staff the weekend shifts at Alumni.
"Supervisors should work there on weekends," he said. "We need to take advantage of these free facilities."
Hussain said he also hopes to conquer the constant issue of on-campus transportation and bring in more vegetarian food to campus.
"If the Assembly finds a problem with transportation, we will think of solution," he said.
All of Hussain's plans for his term rely on the approval of the administration.
"We can change all the aspects of student life as long as the administration and faculty of UB agree with our plans," Hussain said.
As the former SA Senate chair, Kased said he believes Hussain is a good person for the position.
"He is very dedicated to the Senate," Kased said. "There are many projects that he wants to tackle and I think he is going to do a great job."
When comparing Hussain plans with his own term, Kased said it seems the new chair is going to focus on more outside issues than he did.
"I focused more on finance than really anything else," Kased said. "It is very important for him to look at the issues that affect the students."
Yador also said Hussain should prove to be an effective leader.
"Their leadership traits could be similar," said Yador. "They are both leaders in their own right."
Hussain said he believes this year's Senate will excel due to both the diversity and experience of the staff.
"Mazin did a great job with Senate but we didn't have the experience in the senate that we do now," Hussain said. "
"Hussain wants to have an organized and efficient senate that will make things happen," Yador said. "He is a young motivated person with a lot to offer to the position and I'm looking forward to what he is bringing to the table," he said.
