The Undergraduate Student Senate is reaching out to students with the USS Street Team, a brand new group aiming to research campus issues.

The team is the brainchild of Michael Hammond, senator for research and development, who formed the group after he noticed that most students didn’t recognize USS.

“I was running (for election), and I asked people to vote for me, and they were like, ‘Sure, I know you, but I don’t know what you’re running for,'” he said. “The Street Team will put a face to USS because a lot of kids don’t know who we are, and that’s frustrating.”

Members of the Street Team will also poll students about campus issues while promoting the senate.

“They’ll find out what students would like to see on campus,” Hammond said. “Then I’ll work on research and see what can be done.”

What a lot of students don’t know, he said, is that the USS is available to help them, and if more people knew about the senate, more things could get done to better their college experience.

For example, Hammond has worked on two ongoing issues already this year: dining services and recycling.

Boca Grande, the burrito bar located in Prentice Café and the second floor of the Student Center, was formed after Hammond researched what students wanted.

“Everybody loves Chipotle,” he said. “We brought something like that to campus.”

Hammond also noticed a need for recycling. He said he talked to environmentally conscious students and acted on their suggestions. More recycling bins are being placed around campus because of his investigation.

“A lot of students have problems (with the university),” he said. ‘We can discover them through polling, and then research to get results.”

Hammond said students should join the Street Team because it can benefit them in the long run, and it’s an easy way to get involved.

“You could join the team as a freshman and work your way up to eventually a senator position,” he said.

The senate is also offering prizes and giveaways to those who join the team.

“I can’t offer financial incentives,” Hammond said, “but free pizza and pop is something.”

The senate would like to have the team launched by November and fully running by the end of the semester.

Those interested can pick up an application in the USS office on the first floor of the Student Center.

Contact politics reporter Kelly Pickerel at [email protected].