Members of UTM’s winning political party, Effective Connections, as well as senators, were sworn into office during the Student Government Association’s inauguration Thursday.

The event, which took place in the UC, brought the newly-elected officers together to promise to “support and defend the needs, concerns and general welfare of the student body” of UTM, according to the oath.

Liz Craig, outgoing Vice President, opened the meeting by thanking outgoing members of the organization and congratulating the winners of the elections, noting that the inauguration is a “very momentous event.”

After the brief swearing-in of the senators, the newly-elected Vice President, Rachel Hammond, and Secretary General Rachel Mansfield, also newly elected, each thanked SGA members and expressed excitement about the coming year.

President James Orr motivated the new officers to fight for the student body of UTM while stressing the importance of positive changes around campus.

“Last year’s EC [Executive Council] laid a great foundation. Make no mistake about it, we’re gonna fight for the students, reinforce things that are positive for our campus and come together as a team to be proactive and serve students first.” Orr said.

Orr plans to lead a more student-oriented SGA next year by forming an advisory council to meet with various organizations and find out how they can help, as well as being highly involved with activities such as Freshman Week and Diversity Week.

The most important thing, he said, is allowing every student to have a voice and influence in what goes on around campus.

“While I know being SGA president will be very time-consuming, I know it will be well worth it,” Orr said.

The last SGA meeting of the year will be April 28 in the legislative chambers.