diff --git a/src/auth/crud.py b/src/auth/crud.py
index eeda7a7..0c447a2 100644
--- a/src/auth/crud.py
+++ b/src/auth/crud.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from auth.tables import SiteUser, UserSession
-from auth.types import SiteUserData
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ async def create_user_session(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str, computi
         ))
 
 
-async def remove_user_session(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str) -> dict:
+async def remove_user_session(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str):
     query = sqlalchemy.select(UserSession).where(UserSession.session_id == session_id)
     user_session = await db_session.scalars(query)
     await db_session.delete(user_session.first())
@@ -74,7 +73,7 @@ async def task_clean_expired_user_sessions(db_session: AsyncSession):
 
 
 # get the site user given a session ID; returns None when session is invalid
-async def get_site_user(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str) -> None | SiteUserData:
+async def get_site_user(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str) -> SiteUser | None:
     query = (
         sqlalchemy
         .select(UserSession)
@@ -89,17 +88,7 @@ async def get_site_user(db_session: AsyncSession, session_id: str) -> None | Sit
         .select(SiteUser)
         .where(SiteUser.computing_id == user_session.computing_id)
     )
-    user = await db_session.scalar(query)
-    if user is None:
-        return None
-
-    return SiteUserData(
-        user_session.computing_id,
-        user.first_logged_in.isoformat(),
-        user.last_logged_in.isoformat(),
-        user.profile_picture_url
-    )
-
+    return await db_session.scalar(query)
 
 async def site_user_exists(db_session: AsyncSession, computing_id: str) -> bool:
     user = await db_session.scalar(
diff --git a/src/auth/models.py b/src/auth/models.py
index f342468..a428586 100644
--- a/src/auth/models.py
+++ b/src/auth/models.py
@@ -1,7 +1,23 @@
+from datetime import datetime
+
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 
-class LoginBodyModel(BaseModel):
+class LoginBodyParams(BaseModel):
     service: str = Field(description="Service URL used for SFU's CAS system")
     ticket: str = Field(description="Ticket return from SFU's CAS system")
     redirect_url: str | None = Field(None, description="Optional redirect URL")
+
+class UpdateUserParams(BaseModel):
+    profile_picture_url: str
+
+class UserSessionModel(BaseModel):
+    computing_id: str
+    issue_time: datetime
+    session_id: str
+
+class SiteUserModel(BaseModel):
+    computing_id: str
+    first_logged_in: datetime
+    last_logged_in: datetime
+    profile_picture_url: str | None = None
diff --git a/src/auth/tables.py b/src/auth/tables.py
index 9599018..b6ffe07 100644
--- a/src/auth/tables.py
+++ b/src/auth/tables.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 
-from sqlalchemy import Column, DateTime, ForeignKey, String, Text
+from sqlalchemy import DateTime, ForeignKey, String, Text, func
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column
 
 from constants import COMPUTING_ID_LEN, SESSION_ID_LEN
 from database import Base
@@ -9,17 +10,18 @@
 class UserSession(Base):
     __tablename__ = "user_session"
 
-    computing_id = Column(
+    computing_id: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(
         String(COMPUTING_ID_LEN),
         ForeignKey("site_user.computing_id"),
         # in psql pkey means non-null
         primary_key=True,
     )
 
+    # TODO: Make all timestamps uneditable later
     # time the CAS ticket was issued
-    issue_time = Column(DateTime, nullable=False)
+    issue_time: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, nullable=False, server_default=func.now())
 
-    session_id = Column(
+    session_id: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(
         String(SESSION_ID_LEN), nullable=False, unique=True
     )  # the space needed to store 256 bytes in base64
 
@@ -29,15 +31,22 @@ class SiteUser(Base):
     # see: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22256124/cannot-create-a-database-table-named-user-in-postgresql
     __tablename__ = "site_user"
 
-    computing_id = Column(
+    computing_id: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(
         String(COMPUTING_ID_LEN),
         primary_key=True,
     )
 
     # first and last time logged into the CSSS API
-    # note: default date (for pre-existing columns) is June 16th, 2024
-    first_logged_in = Column(DateTime, nullable=False, default=datetime(2024, 6, 16))
-    last_logged_in = Column(DateTime, nullable=False, default=datetime(2024, 6, 16))
+    first_logged_in: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, nullable=False, server_default=func.now())
+    last_logged_in: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, nullable=False, server_default=func.now())
 
     # optional user information for display purposes
-    profile_picture_url = Column(Text, nullable=True)
+    profile_picture_url: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text, nullable=True)
+
+    def serialize(self) -> dict[str, str | int | bool | None]:
+        return {
+            "computing_id": self.computing_id,
+            "first_logged_in": self.first_logged_in.isoformat(),
+            "last_logged_in": self.last_logged_in.isoformat(),
+            "profile_picture_url": self.profile_picture_url
+        }
diff --git a/src/auth/urls.py b/src/auth/urls.py
index af60046..290141a 100644
--- a/src/auth/urls.py
+++ b/src/auth/urls.py
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@
 import requests  # TODO: make this async
 import xmltodict
 from fastapi import APIRouter, BackgroundTasks, HTTPException, Request, Response
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, PlainTextResponse, RedirectResponse
+from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, RedirectResponse
 
 import database
 from auth import crud
-from auth.models import LoginBodyModel
+from auth.models import LoginBodyParams, SiteUserModel, UpdateUserParams
 from constants import DOMAIN, IS_PROD, SAMESITE
-from utils.shared_models import DetailModel
+from utils.shared_models import DetailModel, MessageModel
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ async def login_user(
     request: Request,
     db_session: database.DBSession,
     background_tasks: BackgroundTasks,
-    body: LoginBodyModel
+    body: LoginBodyParams
 ):
     # verify the ticket is valid
     service_url = body.service
@@ -94,8 +94,9 @@ async def login_user(
 
 @router.get(
     "/logout",
-    operation_id="logout",
     description="Logs out the current user by invalidating the session_id cookie",
+    operation_id="logout",
+    response_model=MessageModel
 )
 async def logout_user(
     request: Request,
@@ -119,6 +120,10 @@ async def logout_user(
     "/user",
     operation_id="get_user",
     description="Get info about the current user. Only accessible by that user",
+    response_model=SiteUserModel,
+    responses={
+        401: { "description": "Not logged in.", "model": DetailModel }
+    },
 )
 async def get_user(
     request: Request,
@@ -129,35 +134,38 @@ async def get_user(
     """
     session_id = request.cookies.get("session_id", None)
     if session_id is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="User must be authenticated to get their info")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="user must be authenticated to get their info")
 
     user_info = await crud.get_site_user(db_session, session_id)
     if user_info is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Could not find user with session_id, please log in")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="could not find user with session_id, please log in")
 
-    return JSONResponse(user_info.serializable_dict())
+    return JSONResponse(user_info.serialize())
 
 
+# TODO: We should change this so that the admins can change people's pictures too, so they can remove offensive stuff
 @router.patch(
     "/user",
     operation_id="update_user",
     description="Update information for the currently logged in user. Only accessible by that user",
+    response_model=str,
+    responses={
+        401: { "description": "Not logged in.", "model": DetailModel }
+    },
 )
 async def update_user(
-    profile_picture_url: str,
+    body: UpdateUserParams,
     request: Request,
     db_session: database.DBSession,
 ):
     """
     Returns the info stored in the site_user table in the auth module, if the user is logged in.
     """
-    session_id = request.cookies.get("session_id", None)
+    session_id = request.cookies.get("session_id")
     if session_id is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="User must be authenticated to get their info")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="user must be authenticated to get their info")
 
-    ok = await crud.update_site_user(db_session, session_id, profile_picture_url)
+    ok = await crud.update_site_user(db_session, session_id, body.profile_picture_url)
     await db_session.commit()
     if not ok:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Could not find user with session_id, please log in")
-
-    return PlainTextResponse("ok")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="could not find user with session_id, please log in")
diff --git a/src/database.py b/src/database.py
index c1abf41..2e872bd 100644
--- a/src/database.py
+++ b/src/database.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
     AsyncConnection,
     AsyncSession,
 )
+from sqlalchemy.orm import DeclarativeBase
 
 convention = {
     "ix": "ix_%(column_0_label)s", # index
@@ -21,8 +22,8 @@
     "pk": "pk_%(table_name)s", # primary key
 }
 
-Base = sqlalchemy.orm.declarative_base()
-Base.metadata = MetaData(naming_convention=convention)
+class Base(DeclarativeBase):
+    metadata = MetaData(naming_convention=convention)
 
 # from: https://medium.com/@tclaitken/setting-up-a-fastapi-app-with-async-sqlalchemy-2-0-pydantic-v2-e6c540be4308
 class DatabaseSessionManager:
diff --git a/src/elections/models.py b/src/elections/models.py
index 2b39614..ca7f1e7 100644
--- a/src/elections/models.py
+++ b/src/elections/models.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-from enum import Enum
+from enum import StrEnum
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 
-class ElectionTypeEnum(str, Enum):
+class ElectionTypeEnum(StrEnum):
     GENERAL = "general_election"
     BY_ELECTION = "by_election"
     COUNCIL_REP = "council_rep_election"
diff --git a/src/utils/shared_models.py b/src/utils/shared_models.py
index 121ede4..9f5766d 100644
--- a/src/utils/shared_models.py
+++ b/src/utils/shared_models.py
@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ class SuccessFailModel(BaseModel):
 
 class DetailModel(BaseModel):
     detail: str
+
+class MessageModel(BaseModel):
+    message: str