James Zanayed won the position of senate speaker at the Student Association (SA) Senate meeting Sunday.

The senator won against his opponent Senator Mike Theodore. As the SA senate speaker, Zanayed will manage all the affairs of the Senate. The Senate is one of the three branches of the SA, which includes the executive and Supreme Court branch.

Theodore won the election during the last elections for the speaker on Nov. 11, but another election had to be held because Senator James Alford received less votes than Zanayed and Theodore. At the last election, there was a tie between Zanayed and Theodore. Alford was excluded from the vote to break the tie. SA Senate Speaker Austin Quick, who will graduate this semester, said Alford being removed from that vote was against rules and procedures.

Alford withdrew from the ballot from Sunday’s election, leaving Zanayed and Theodore as the candidates for senate speaker. Both candidates spoke on issues concerning the senators and encouraged them to give input on any issues they may have.

The senate passed a resolution to support legislation allowing people to carry concealed weapons. Senator Kelsey Shockey said it’s unfortunate every other state in the U.S. decided the legislation was a good thing and Illinois has not done anything about the issue. Theodore said the crime rate in Florida was reduced significantly after carry legislation were approved.

“I think the main thing here is we want the people of Illinois to be able to protect themselves,” Theodore said.

The SA mass transit committee reported the weekend route for the Huskie Bus system will now be called the evening route. The committee also reported the fees for the Elburn train station shuttle will change. Students will pay $5 instead of $4. Staff will pay $7 instead of $5, and community members will pay $9 instead of $7 to use the service.

The SA university services committee reported it is still trying to extend library hours, and would like to work on extending hours for the Campus Recreation Center.

Brian Troutman and Anthony Sarna were appointed Senators. Four senators were dropped from the Senate for lack of attendance.