see Tri-campus

stated. “The University works tirelessly to combat sexual violence through numerous initiatives that seek to educate our students, heighten their awareness and support victims and survivors. rape and sexual assault are unacceptable and are not tolerated in the notre dame community.” saint mary’s vice president for student enrollment and engagement Lori Johnson also commented on the resources the college has created.

“We are aware of our student’s posts on social media and understand the heartfelt reaction it has generated on campus,” Johnson said. “however, we cannot comment on the specifics of our student or her story. The college has worked diligently to put resources in place to support our students. These resources and initiatives are available to all students through the office of student Involvement & Advocacy and bAvo (belles Against violence [office]).”

Student leaders respond to multiple claims of sexual violence

earlier this week, saint mary’s student Government Association (sGA) posted a statement on Instagram to show their “love, support and advocacy for anyone who has endured hardships pertaining to sexual assault and sexual violence.”

The post also acknowledged that sGA leaders were in communication with the saint mary’s administration about these issues, though it would be “a process that takes time.” sGA vice president Josie haas said she takes pride in the strength of tri-campus community members.

“[sGA president] Angela [camacho martinez] and I wanted to make sure that our belles felt supported by our sGA, wanted them to feel heard and wanted to bring as much attention to their strength as possible because their stories are worth being heard and we need others to see the gravity of this issue in our tri-campus community,” haas said. notre dame student government also posted a guide to supporting survivors on their Instagram page this week. notre dame’s student body president Patrick Lee said the student government’s stance is centered on survivor support, encouraging students to be active bystanders and bringing student concerns to the office of Institutional equity.

“since everything has been going on, student support has always been on the front of our minds,” he said. belles supporting belles (bsb) president Annie maher discussed her anger about reading how survivors claimed a lack of support from tri-campus institutions.

“When I first read some of the survivors’ stories, I was angered by the lack of support these students felt,” maher said. “not only did these students go through an extremely traumatic experience that no person should ever have to go through, but then they received little to no support after that experience from institutions that are supposed to have their backs.” maher also reflected on what she perceives to be a lack of change in how the tri-campus handles sexual assault cases.

“It pained me to see another group of students have to share their story to try to ignite some action in the tri-campus community,” she said. “Talk to pretty much any student on all three of the campuses and you will understand that this is an issue.”

Leaders plan initiatives to support students

camacho martinez noted that sGA’s social concerns committee has been working on the annual support a belle, Love a belle (sbLb) week and adapted their plans to highlight campus resources.

“There have been plans on adjusting a few days of sbLb to center more on resources made available to campus, like callisto,” camacho martinez said. “I think this is a valuable resource that assists in the encounter of sexual assault and/or sexual violence faced by not just smc students but also notre dame and holy cross students.” haas also emphasized sbLb is a time where students in the community can support each other.

“overall, the purpose of this week is to show the support and love we have for one another as belles,” she said. “by being an uplifting community, we give each other strength and inspire ourselves to be the amazing belles I know we are despite negative circumstances. We can help each other overcome whatever is placed in our pathway.”

Lee said student government has been addressing the situation for the past two weeks. he outlined plans for a survivor mass at the basilica, a speak out event supporting survivors, Greendot training for students and a survey gathering information to evaluate the reporting process for harassment and discrimination on campus. student Government is also cosponsoring the panel “Walking hand in hand: navigating the sexual assault support system on campus,” with the Gender relations center, director of gender relations Lane obringer said. saint mary’s Feminists United president madison mata said the organization will continue to serve as a place for students to feel safe and become more educated about relevant issues.

“I think for Feminists United as a whole, it’s gonna be being able to open up the floor to people who want to share their stories — whether it’s sexual violence or assault or anything like that,” she said. “In general, just being able to be a safe space for them, sharing resources, staying educated and making sure that like-minded people are in the club for the right reasons.”

In addition, Feminists United is inviting local female politicians to speak to saint mary’s students on saturday about their experiences in politics and the importance of voting.

Like mata, maher is organizing specific events but encouraged students to use the student concern form on the bsb website to discuss sexual violence on campus.

“belles supporting belles is working towards creating an event to address these stories. our main priority right now is to make sure that students’ voices are heard,” maher said. “right now, we have created a student concern form that is in our Instagram bio that students can fill out regarding their concerns about sexual violence and safety on campus.”

Student leaders call for accountability

camacho martinez referred back to sGA’s initial communication with college administrators and called on them to keep creating ways to support saint mary’s students.

“For any smc administrators who will read this story, I know we are already working through this process with you, but let’s see what more we can do to be supportive of our smc students, inspire other tricampus administrators to be supportive of their respective students and hopefully evoke change in the system that fails to believe our survivors,” she said.

Lee said the issue of handling sexual violence better will require the whole notre dame community, both students and administration, working together.

“If notre dame really is going to be this really amazing community that we all want it to be, we all know it can be, as inclusive as possible, as supportive as possible, then everybody needs to take accountability for the safety of others,” Lee said.

It is a large task, but one Lee believes the community can do.

“It’s my belief that we absolutely can. I’ve seen it a number of times,” Lee said. “From my point of view, three plus years of being a student leader here, it really does start with us. We can all be responsible for our own actions.” maher also called for administrator accountability, as well as implementing more comprehensive action steps during an ongoing investigation.

“I am tired, as I am sure many students are, of basic apologies from administrators. students deserve positive action from the administration,” maher said. “comprehensive action plans for when a student reports a sexual assault, immediate probation/ academic suspension when a perpetrator is identified, and other solutions are vital in maintaining a safe campus while the investigation is underway.” she also claimed that based on the recent narratives of survivors, administrations are not believing their stories.

“The stories we heard last week are just a few of many survivors who have endured violent acts on our campuses,” she said. “our institutions need to believe survivors, and based on the stories that were shared last week, that isn’t happening.”

senate amends constitution

By KATIE MUCHNICK

news Writer

The notre dame student senate convened Wednesday night in debartolo hall to discuss upcoming campus events and pass an amendment to the constitution. student body vice president sofie stitt began the meeting with executive announcements, where she reminded senators that they are required to get Greendot certified. stitt also asked all senators in men’s dorms to fill out a survey for the department of health and wellbeing to understand the availability of period products in unisex bathrooms in men’s dorms. sophomore Jessica vickery, the senator from ryan hall, spoke about involving firstyears in student senate. she brought along two first-years to shadow her and learn how to act as a proxy for future senate meetings.

After approving the minutes, stitt moved to general orders. Jared schlachet, the student union parliamentarian, introduced a memo from the committee on the constitution. After reviewing a proposed amendment to Article XIv of the constitution — which deals with petitions, initiatives and referendums — the committee recommended that the senate split the amendment into a divided order.

The senate passed the first part of the amendment order, so 2223-10a. The order changes the signature requirements for undergraduate students signing petitions and initiatives. Previously, the constitution mandated that students include their name and local address, but the amendment stipulates that students include their name and email address. schlachet said local address was already interpreted to mean email address, but this formalizes that practice.

After a brief discussion on the parliamentary process, the amendment passed unanimously.

The senators then discussed their plans for upcoming resolutions. sophomore Keough hall senator derick Williams updated the group on his work to give band members and roTc students access to early registration.

Williams met with chuck hurley, the University registrar, but he said most of the decision making power lies with the provost’s office.

“I think having a little bit more concrete details could help us put together a resolution [and] help us get a better footing if we were to go in and try to present a plan to the provost and or whoever else could make the final decision on that,” Williams said. senior megan mikuen then updated the senate on her research into “design-your-own-ma jor” programs at other universities, with the ultimate goal of passing and writing a resolution to implement a similar program at notre dame. mikuen found that most self-designed majors are hosted in the equivalent of the college of Arts and Letters at other universities, but that more research isnecessary to understand what university and college course requirements are applicable.

Finally, students involved in various organizations across campus previewed upcoming campus events. senior connor Patrick, the president of the club coordination council, asked senators to stop by the nd cultural showcase on october 14. The event will take place from 8:3011 p.m. on Library Lawn and will showcase many of the cultural and performing arts groups on campus.

Junior class council president Paul stoller previewed the junior class game watch saturday. chicken nuggets, wings and an elvisthemed halftime show will be provided.

Finally, sophomore class council president Patrick smart asked sophomores and other interested students to stop by duncan student center and sign thank you cards for the dorm housekeepers. sophomore class council will have a table set up from 12 to 4 p.m. and will provide free Insomnia cookies.

After closing announcements, the meeting was adjourned.