During the fall semester of 2025, Student Senate encountered changes including John Britton stepping down from his role as Senate advisor, welcoming new senator Ama Reitsma, and a change in their mission statement for the 2026 spring semester.
John Witte, dean of students, and Annie Mas-Smith, director of the Service-Learning Center, will be stepping in as Senate advisors, a role previously held by Britton. Both Witte and Mas-Smith are Calvin alumni who served as student leaders during their time at Calvin. According to Witte and Mas-Smith, Witte’s first leadership experience at Calvin was as the treasurer of Boer-Bennink, and Mas-Smith’s first leadership role was as the multicultural activities coordinator in Schulze-Eldersveld, the dorm organization before SET.
Student Senate is an organization independent of the university administration that works to highlight student voices, as well as “to advocate for student concerns, [and] to generate ideas that benefit students and the university as a whole,” as stated by Witte. According to Witte, when Britton left, Senate felt the loss because “he was a dynamic leader.” Witte, who worked closely with Britton for the last 10 years and who has been working at Calvin for 33 years, brings institutional knowledge and history to his new role as advisor of Senate.
Mas-Smith hopes to lean into the relational dynamic of Senate as an advisor. She said, “[I hope] to pour into them so they feel supported to then pour out into the campus community.” Mas-Smith stated that she wants to act as guidance in a professional development setting, helping Senators navigate how to translate what they’re doing now “to what’s next in their life.”
Senate is also excited to welcome new Senator Ama Reitsma. Reitsma serves as a tour guide at Calvin and works with Knightathon, among other involvements. Pauline Lu, vice president of Senate’s marketing and communications, expressed that Reitsma is a “really great student leader,” and that Senate is excited for the new ideas Reitsma is bringing.
Lu, who has been on Senate since her freshman year, explains that Britton was “not only an advisor, but he was also very involved in personally mentoring us … he would oversee cabinet to empower cabinet to lead Senate.” Amidst the changes, Lu views Senate as very adaptable and self-motivated, and feels that this change doesn’t shift Senate’s goal to “bridge the gap between administrators and the student body.”
Lu expressed her excitement for Witte and Mas-Smith taking on positions as advisors by saying, “we’re really grateful for their wisdom and the guidance they’re able to offer us.”
According to Lu, every semester Senate has a mission statement, and this semester’s mission statement is “to advocate for the student body with administrators.” She stated, “Last semester we focused a lot on transparency and open communication and really advocating for underrepresented groups on campus, especially helping our student body go through academic changes that were happening.” This semester, the other part of the mission statement is to “pursue positive change on campus” through physical projects, similar to past projects such as the Spoelhoef Fieldhouse flags and the Hekman Library fireplace, Lu told Chimes.
While still carrying out the advocacy and transparency from last semester, Lu looks forward to seeing what it will look like to apply that advocacy and transparency when it comes to physical changes on campus, as well as how Senate can improve the student experience through everyday experiences.
Although semester goal projects have not been proposed and approved by Senate yet, Senate teams have named general goals. These include listening to the students, collaboration and high-impact projects, as well as specific potential projects related to Campus Safety, dining hall advocacy, the Spoelhof Fieldhouse, water bottle fountains in the Covenant Fine Arts Center and continuation of previous projects including the provision of feminine hygiene products on campus, according to Lu.
Lu encourages students to come into the Senate office located in Commons Square, because Senate ultimately can’t “advocate well if we don’t know what to advocate for … and we love hearing directly from friends and classmates and fellow students.” Lu believes that the vision for the semester could change, and that the “student body has the power to change that.”
In relation to Senate leadership opportunities that will open at the end of the semester, Witte and Mas-Smith “encourage those interested in this kind of leadership, who are serious about it and care about the institution, to consider applying,” whether that’s for the executive team, the president, vice president, cabinet or senator positions.
With the semester ahead, Senate looks forward to the gifts Witte and Mas-Smith are bringing to the table, as well as the space for projects that illuminate Senate’s mission of advocacy, transparency and positive change.
