Week acknowledges Palestinian struggles

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of

Talent and i nclusion a s part of p alestinian l iberation w eek, s tudent voices for p alestine ( svp ), will be hosting a p alestinian cultural cafe, a documentary screening, a talk by activist l esley w illiams and a mutual aid fundraiser m onday through Thursday.

Traditionally, this week is known as i sraeli a partheid w eek ( iaw ) across the world. The observance originated in 2005 at the u niversity of Toronto doing the p alestinian “ b oycott, d ivestment and s anctions” ( bds ) movement.

“ iaw aims to raise awareness about i srael’s decades-old regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid over the p alestinian people and to mobilize global action to help dismantle it ,” the bds movement’s website conveys. s enior Thanh n guyen, a leader of s tudent voices for p alestine explained the use of the name “ p alestinian l iberation w eek,” as opposed to iaw

“ i n our conversations, we wanted to center policy narratives to … turn our gaze away from the oppressor and towards p alestine and p alestinian communities,” n guyen said. g raduate student d aniel b annoura, who is from p alestine and is another leader of s tudent voices for p alestine, highlighted the importance of the week’s events in an a merican context.

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peters-Kaczor win saint mary’s sga election

Observer Staff Report

Friday morning, the saint mary’s community received an email announcing the results of the student g overnment a ssociation election. scarlet peters and hannah Kaczor, who ran unopposed, will be 2023-2024 student government president and vice president, respectively.

both rising seniors, peters and Kaczor have been a part of sga since their sophomore years, working within various committees. peters and Kaczor based their campaign platform on five goals. The first goal aims to improve the quality of education among saint mary’s students, and they plan to do this by advocating for proper funding to all departments.

Their second goal focuses on building relationships within the tri-campus community.

The pair’s third goal is centered around inclusion and diversity. They plan to do this by working with other committees and organizations on campus with a similar goal, as well as listening to student voices. campus they feel are safe spaces that allow them to be their true selves. s ophomore c onnor m arrott explained how he was able to find a sense of community at n otre d ame by getting involved with lgb TQ+ advocacy groups on campus.

For their fourth goal, peters and Koczor talked about their plans to reward students’ work with more fun events and giveaways.

Their last goal is to be respectful of student voices, aiming to be driven by student suggestions and feedback.

“ i t is possible to find your community here at n otre d ame, you just have to want that reality,” m arrott said. “a nd meeting people that have really similar experiences kind of creates a sense of solidarity.” s enior Francine g raham said she appreciates s how s ome s kin, an organization that performs monologues written by students about experiences of discrimination or feeling like not belonging on campus, whether that be due to race, ethnicity, language barriers, gender identity or sexuality.