The Undergraduate Student Senate passed two bills creating and funding a new Senate agency last week on a trial basis for the rest of the school year. The Student Educational Resource and Advocacy Council (SERAC) will serve as the Senate’s research and advocacy arm-with a special focus on higher education policy affecting UMass Boston students at the state and federal level. SERAC is modeled on the UMass Amherst Undergraduate Student Government’s successful Student Center for Educational Research and Advocacy (SCERA) that has served UMA students well for over 15 years. An open hiring process for a half-time UMB SERAC Director position will be announced shortly.

***UMB students Rachel Ottaviano and Laura Paz were recognized for excellence in diversity/inclusion scholarship at the Second Annual Kingston-Mann Students as Scholars banquet on Oct. 13th. Ottaviano, a Sociology major, wrote an award-winning submission and Paz, an English major, received an honorable mention. Other undergraduate winners honored came from Lesley University, Rhode Island College, Emmanuel College and Massasoit Community College.

***Deadline to register to vote in this upcoming statewide election is on October 18. Massachusetts’ law requires that all voters be registered 20 day before the election they wish to participate in. Registering to vote is very simple; you can download a registration form online and send it in to your city or town officials. You can also go to your town or city hall in person or to your local registry of motor vehicles to register. MASSPIRG has been on campus providing forms for eligible voters and sending them in. If you are 18 and have not registered to vote feel free to contact MASSPIRG to register or use a computer on campus to print out a form.