Five new officers have been elected to the Baker University Student Senate executive board. Junior Rachel Haley will serve as the 2014-2015 student senate president and hopes to help student senate have more of a presence and awareness on campus.

“That’s one of my main goals is to have a little bit better, just kind of face value, for what senate is and have people know what senate is,” Haley said. “I feel like sometimes … it’s more of a closed door and we want to kind of open that up a little bit more.

She hopes the class officers will have more of an active role in senate, senate functions and class events, and that they will “help find a way to be able to answer that (student body) voice.”

With a new university president soon to be on campus, Haley hopes next year will serve as an opportunity to recreate the brand of student senate, something that can be both beneficial for the senate and for incoming University President Lynne Murray. Haley said Murray met with the senate and is “very willing and openly excited” to get acquainted with the students in order to find out their needs.

Haley will take over for junior Owen Lewis, 2013-2014 student senate president, and said she plans to build upon the successful organization he has set up.

“I really want to build upon and just kind of bringing back the ownership and what a senator is at Baker University and student senate,” Haley said. “I think that’s something that we can really just start to layer on and build toward being a better organization and how student senate can be better.”

Also named to the executive board: freshman Lauren Freking, vice president; sophomore Connor Middleton, treasurer; sophomore Andrew Poindexter, secretary; freshman Luke Miltz, public relations.

Class officer elections will be held April 15.