Joe Robbins, speaker of the Student Senate, assured senate members that the state of the senate is “brighter than people realize” in his final State of the Senate address at Wednesday night’s senate meeting.

Robbins commended all members of the senate on their hard work this year in his motivating address, and he had encouraging words for the committees that have formed to make life better for students.

“Whatever the case may be, if you look at senate as a machine, each committee represents a critical and necessary component for the machine to function,” he said.

“Without one committee, certain needs of the student may go unheard.”

The Housing Committee was able to reach a compromise that would give RHA members and student government members equal say in housing rates, Robbins said. Through this new involvement, the committee found that housing rates here are better than most other public universities in Illinois.

Other parts of senate that Robbins highlighted in his speech were the Tenant Union, the Shuttle Bus Committee and the Noise Control Committee.

The Tenant Union is a developing organization that would allow students to voice their concerns about rent and living conditions.

“This organization could truly mobilize the students of EIU to avoid being the targets of over-zealous landlords,” Robbins said.

The Noise Control Committee, which works with Charleston residents to reach a compromise on house party issues, is also getting started, and Robbins originally felt this project “could provide the solution to revive the dying social life of the EIU student.”

Now Robbins said both the Noise Control Committee and Project 21 are two concerns that negatively affect college students and urged senate members to fight against it.

“I strongly feel that my beliefs are correct, and that this decibel meter system could be a catastrophic disservice to the student body,” he said.

Robbins spoke about the Shuttle Bus Committee and the challenges it faces in trying to revamp a system that he feels adequately serves most students.

As far as other senate achievements go, Robbins cited a controversial bylaw that requires members to attend diversity-themed events as a step in the right direction.

“Concerns about forcing people to become diverse were discussed but, in the end, two-thirds of you voted to enact this requirement,” he said.

“This is yet another example of Student Government responding to and taking positive steps to help correct this situation.”

Robbins proposed a way for student government members to better represent students and get them more involved in the Student Senate. His plan involves using a system in which senate members and Recognized Student Organization members work together to make sure students get heard.

Robbins hopes these new efforts will affect student apathy and change life at Eastern for the better.

“No matter if you receive little feedback from RSO’s, students chastise your efforts or voter turnout suggests that no one cares, do not stop caring,” Robbins told the senate. “We make life better for the students in a number of ways, and I have only named a few.”