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IN FOCUS Volume 51, Issue 66 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
SUSAN ZHU | The Observer
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In Focus
The observer | FRIDAY, december 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
ND STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
Robinson, Blais reflect on term, look ahead By RACHEL O’GRADY Associate News Editor
As they wrap up the first half of their term as student body president and vice president Corey Robinson and Becca Blais are proud of the work they have done thus far. “We’ve been able to do a lot that we set out to do,” Robinson said. “Obviously, there’s a lot more work to be done. I’m extremely proud of our team — they’re extraordinary. They’re an extraordinary team and they’re the ones all the credit goes to for what we’ve accomplished. At the end of the day, we’re always forward looking. Can’t wait to get to our next challenge.” Blais also said things, thus far, were going “amazingly.” “To echo Corey’s sentiment, none of it would have been possible without our team, and they’ve just gone above and beyond any expectation we could have had for them,” Blais said. “They’re a great group of people. Somehow, these highly talented, passionate people who are super motivated to make a change and a difference and overall improve student life at Notre Dame all got together and they all work well together, and are so excited for every project — it’s made everything to do with student government very enjoyable and very fun for all of us to be involved in.” Blais said her experience serving as vice president has been a unique and positive experience. “It’s very life-giving and energy-giving and fulfilling and
inspiring,” Blais said. “I would say it’s been amazing so far.” Since taking office in April, Robinson said they have accomplished three major things — the creating a sexual assault survivor support group, reforming student senate and implementing Notre Dame for Syria Week. “I think they did a great job of bringing awareness to a really important issue that’s thousands of miles away,” Robinson said of ND for Syria Week. “It shows what we can do here, now. We raised a couple hundred dollars and got students know what they can do in the political sphere, in the business sphere, in the nonprofit sphere, in global health to make a difference today, so that’s really exciting.” Blais said the sexual assault support group was an important addition to the University. “The sexual assault survivors support group has been incredible,” Blais said. “It’s one of those things that people will look at years later and ask why we didn’t have it before. It just makes so much sense to have it and it’s such a needed service on this campus. It’s been very helpful and healing and influential for the people involved and for people to know that, at least, that’s an option.” Additionally, Robinson said the reforms to the student senate have been vital. “I just love what Becca’s done with it,” Robinson said. “We’re going to senate and people can’t wait to hang out with each other and pick each other’s brains and tackle these big issues, like we’ve talked
about in the past few weeks, with the TItle IX reform, to figure out that structure and what senate can do to better that process for students. It’s been a great opportunity for senators to really take hold of it and own something.” Blais said she also appreciated the improvements being made in senate. “We had talked a bit before and named all of these things we thought had gone well this year and thought had been successful, and we realized a lot of them came down to what we talked about in senate and the involvement of the senators and the departments and this great relationship we’ve been forming there,” Blais said. “So that’s also why we would peg that as one of the biggest successes.” Despite their successes, Robinson and Blais have run into several roadblocks in providing rape kits in St. Liam’s, which was a major part of their platform in an effort to help survivors of sexual assault. “Basically, what happened was, with the timeline, we thought we could get it up and running by August,” Robinson said. “We spent all of May and June benchmarking and then went to Sharon McMullen of University Health Services and sat down with her. She was really receptive, but she wanted to make sure we were doing it right. With rape kids, you don’t have a second chance, you have to get the first one done the right way. So that was a really big challenge.” Blais said it was harder than they anticipated to get nurses
properly trained in St. Liam’s. “What we found was we originally, in the platform, said it only costs this much to train nurses and we’ll train our St. Liam’s nurses, but what we ran into there was that they told us we aren’t able to hire their current nurses, they’d have to hire new nurses to work on this specifically,” Blais said. “That’s adding a whole other salary, so until they’re able to get resources together with that, they can’t.” Blais said that, even if St. Liam’s did have the ability to hire new nurses, they worry about the room for error in testing. “We don’t want to risk students’ health and safety with that, especially with such a sensitive procedure and topic,” Blais said. Going forward, Robinson and Blais said they are looking to hear more student perspectives. “What we’re looking forward to is to be able to create dialogue and civil discourse is a very contentious election cycle among these issues — like race relations, like the Syrian refugee crisis — and try
to move forward,” Robinson said. “The thing is, a lot of students have come to us and said ‘you’re having these general, vague discussions and we want to see action.’ And I think that’s the next piece for us — coming together and seeing if we can hear students on what we should take action on and how we can continue the conversation, but shift more from just having people sit in a room and talk about it, to having some sort of product.” Robinson said he looks forward to hearing what the students think. “The number one thing is going to the student body and asking what they think is important,” Robinson said. “What can we work on together? And that’s going to be a big initiative we’re looking to roll out in January, to just sit down and hear students in a town hall setting, but not a speaker series or a panel — literally just us sitting down and hearing students’ concerns and figure out what we should put our effort and focus on.” Contact Rachel O’Grady at rogrady@nd.edu
SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS GROUP
Biweekly meetings support survivors of assault By EMILY McCONVILLE News Writer
A confidential support group for survivors of sexual assault has been meeting regularly at the University Counseling Center (UCC), and it has been renewed for next semester. “It’s really nice to have friends on campus who share similar experiences with me,” senior Grace Watkins, who organized the group, said. “It’s provided a really comforting support network for each other.” Watkins said the group has also received a grant from the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being for a self-care night. Watkins, student government’s policy adviser and an advocate for sexual assault victims, worked with the UCC and the Gender Relations Center (GRC) to start the group, which meets every other Friday at 3:30 p.m., in early October. The
group is meant to help survivors get to know each other, gain access to other resources and share information. It is open to women and men at Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross. “A high percentage of female students at Notre Dame experience sexual misconduct in some form, but very few know each other, so I thought a support group would give these students an opportunity to share their experiences with each other and know that they are not alone in many ways,” Watkins said in October. “A lot of the things that feel unusual about your own recovery and healing is actually not unusual, and you can find that out by talking to others.” Watkins said she began to look into starting a support group after Notre Dame released its 2015 Campus Climate survey and after she learned about similar groups at other
universities, such as Columbia’s No Red Tape. Watkins worked with the GRC, Notre Dame’s Title IX office and the UCC to decide on a time, place and model. Student government then advertised the group, which meets in the thirdfloor conference room in Saint Liam Hall. Similar programs existed at Notre Dame in the past: Over the past several years, the St. Joseph County Family Justice Center periodically organized Out of the Shadows, a support group on campus, but that group required at least five participants and was not available every year, Christine Caron Gebhardt, director of the GRC and co-chair of the Committee to Prevent Sexual Assault, said in October. Gebhardt said she and deputy Title IX coordinator Heather Ryan had been looking for a new model, especially after the 2015
Campus Climate survey results were released. When Watkins brought her idea for a support group to them, they decided on sessions that were staff-facilitated but student-driven. The group is facilitated by a counselor at the UCC who specializes in helping students through trauma, though Gebhardt said students largely decide the topics of discussion. “The idea for students is that you come and go as you need,” she said. “You don’t have to commit to a 12-week program or a 5-week program. If it’s a difficult week for you and you need to go to the support group, great. If one person shows up or 15 people show up, that’s what it is. “If you don’t need to go or you’re not in a place where that’s where you are, that’s fine. We want it to be about the choice for the survivor.” Watkins said while, unlike
Columbia’s No Red Tape, Notre Dame’s group is not focused on advocacy, the group could be a source of information on rights and resources for sexual assault survivors. “When seeking a response through Title IX or with the county, what you think is just a bad experience is actually a Title IX violation, and it’s hard to know that without a lot of background knowledge of how these cases are supposed to be run,” she said. “The best way to do that is to compare experiences and see if lots of people are having the same problems and if it is, then it’s really important to know.” Watkins said the group has been beneficial. “Increasingly, we’re becoming each other’s first phone call,” she said. Contact Emily McConville at emcconv1@nd.edu
in focus
ndsmcobserver.com | friday, december 9, 2016 | The Observer
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SMC STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
McCarthy, Dingler release progress report By NICOLE CARATAS Saint Mary’s Editor
When Emma McCarthy and Mary Joy Dingler took over as Saint Mary’s student body president and vice president, they made plans to be more visible to the student body. Dingler said she has achieved this by attending major campus events, as well as holding regular office hours. “It’s important to me that [the student body] know[s] that I support the work they do and will try to be as present and active around campus as I can,” Dingler said. “I want students to take advantage of office hours and feel free to approach me, as well as any other member of SGA they need to communicate with.” According to Dingler, visibility and transparency go hand-in-hand. She said SGA recently published an end of semester progress report checklist. “Emma and I do so many things behind the scenes when working with the administration that isn’t always immediately visible to students,” she said. “It was important too that we made this progress report so students can see that even when we’re working with the administration behind the scenes and accomplishing tasks on various committees, we always have the students’ interests at heart and are advocating for them.” McCarthy said she serves as a student voice on various administrative committees,
including the Student Life Committee for the Board of Trustees, the Academic Affairs Council and the President’s ad hoc group — which works on the shared roles and responsibilities for the College. Dingler serves on the Academic Administrative Structure Ad Hoc Working Group — which prepares for the College’s new Provost — and on the Search Committee for the Provost. “We are able to interact with President Cervelli at some of these meetings, as well as at other committees we sit on together,” McCarthy said. “[Cervelli] is very open and willing to work with SGA and become more involved with the student body. … She has shown such excitement and enthusiasm toward the student body, and I know that this is a huge testament to the kind of leader she is going to be for this campus community.” McCarthy said she has also met with students on a regular basis to hear their concerns and find areas where SGA can better student life on campus. “I continue to be humbled that the student body has selected me to be their advocate,” she said. “I hope that they know that if there is ever a problem or concern that they want to see addressed with the administration, that they can come to me and I will take care of it because I have their best interests at heart.” McCarthy, who proposed “monthly mingles” as part of her platform, said she has succeeded in having the Community Justice chairs
host two monthly mingles in an build community and aid minority students who may feel marginalized. She said she also holds weekly leadership meetings with the Student Diversity Board, Residence Hall Association, Class Council and Student Activities Board to discuss campus climate. “This gives us the opportunities to work closely with other student leaders in order to respond to student needs as we see fit,” she said. “It’s been wonderful to see all that Student Diversity Board has been doing to create a more positive environment on campus.” In an effort to increase security on campus, McCarthy said she and Dingler have worked with Student Affairs to address all safety concerns. She said the Community Committee chairs hosted Safety Day, which included self-defense classes and a discussion on campus safety issues. Dingler also serves as the new Security Liaison, meaning she works directly with campus security to address issues and concerns as they arise. McCarthy and Dingler attended monthly Campus and Community Advisory Coalition meetings in South Bend, where they meet with the student body presidents of Notre Dame and Holy Cross as well as with members of the South Bend community. “This allows us to be able to know what is going [on] throughout the tri-campus
area and in the South Bend community and voice any questions or concerns to that coalition that have been brought to us by the student body,” McCarthy said. McCarthy said they also meet with the student government representatives of Notre Dame and Holy Cross on a regular basis to discuss issues that directly affect the tri-campus community. “It is a chance for us to share ideas, brainstorm opportunities for future collaboration, talk about our respective campuses and how they interact, and share our successes with one another,” McCarthy said. “We will continue to meet with them throughout next semester. We have a great group of people this year who are all exceedingly open to the idea of collaboration and we continue to be thrilled with the support that we receive from these wonderful campus communities.” According to McCarthy, she has focused on revitalizing the Big Belle Little Belle program, which started last year to help first-year students
assimilate to college by being paired up with a junior or senior “big Belle.” “We have been thrilled by the mentorship that our junior students have offered to our first year class and hope that the re-focus and restructuring of the group will make it sustainable for many years to come,” she said.” Dingler said SGA has made efforts to become more transparent to the student body. “We recognize that sometimes it is hard for students to see the amount that we do in terms of student representation on various committees and with the administration, but we are working to increase that awareness,” she said. “Our progress report was a great start to than, and I hope we can continue to inform the student body of SGA’s accomplishments even more as we move into next semester We are open to student suggestions for what they would like to see in the coming semester and are always willing to work with students.” Contact Nicole Caratas at ncaratas01@saintmarys.edu
SMC SECURITY LIAISON
SMC introduces new security liaison role By MARTHA REILLY Associate Saint Mary’s Editor
In her new role as a security liaison, student body vice president Mary Joy Dingler voices the safety concerns of her peers to the administration and members of the security team. Dingler said she serves as an intermediary between security and students to promote a comfortable campus environment where everyone can thrive. “My hope is that the Saint Mary’s community will feel safer and heard with the creation of this new position,” Dingler said. “The security liaison position should make one less thing for the students to worry about. I hope they take comfort in knowing I am actively listening to their needs, and I use my relationship with the administration
to make sure their concerns are addressed.” According to Dingler, she and student body president Emma McCarthy decided to initiate this new position to foster open communication among members of the Saint Mary’s community. “It was the number one priority on Emma and my platform because we want every student to feel safe and heard by both security and the administration,” she said. This new responsibility allows Dingler to promote campus safety and unite the community, she said. “I think students feel a disconnect between students, security and the administration,” Dingler said. “It’s my job, not only as security liaison, but also as a student leader in general, to bridge that gap.” Dingler said she and
McCarthy decided to put the student body vice president in charge of fulfilling the security liaison position, rather than appoint a student representative who may not have as many opportunities to meet with the administration. “Our line of thinking was the vice president already interacts with the administration on a day-to-day basis, so I have more insight as to what’s happening on the administrative level,” she said. “This insight will give me more information and knowledge in my interactions with the College on safety concerns.” According to Dingler, her role as vice president is essential to the success of this new role because she can respond promptly to safety concerns that may arise. “Having the student body vice president act as the security liaison also adds a
higher level of accountability to the position,” Dingler said. “Some safety concerns can be addressed just by talking with members of the Student Affairs division, so it’s nice that I have a working relationship with members of the administration.” The security liaison position should help alleviate any worries students may have regarding safety on campus, Dingler said. “It’s obviously important for every student on this campus to feel safe, no matter what,” she said. “Security shouldn’t be a concern for any students, so it is my job to make sure that Saint Mary’s students are comfortable approaching members of security.” Dingler said this new responsibility increases productivity and efficiency because she can streamline
many students’ questions or issues and address them promptly. “Safety on campus is an allinclusive issue,” Dingler said. “By addressing various safety needs and concerns … I am acting as a voice for the student body.” Dingler said she has already responded to concerns about limited lighting in the parking lot at night and clowns on campus, and she will continue to address issues as they arise. “My job as the security liaison, and all future security liaisons, should help promote a more positive and safe environment all around campus,” Dingler said. “Safety concerns are always an issue on every college campus, and ours isn’t any different.” Contact Martha Reilly at mreilly01@saintmarys.edu
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in focus
The observer | friday, december 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
INNOVATION
SAFEBOUND
Student government emphasizes innovation By COURTNEY BECKER News Writer
This year’s student government administration is focusing on highlighting a previously unexplored aspect of student life at Notre Dame: innovation and entrepreneurship. Student body president Corey Robinson said this issue first came up in discussing what the administration’s report to the University Board of Trustees should be because it applies to all areas of problem solving at Notre Dame. “Entrepreneurship is something that is very important to me,” Robinson said. “Not just because of wanting more students to get businesses started, but rather just because if you look at the problems in a new, innovative light — multidisciplinary — and current students say, ‘Look, we have the resources to do something now,’ … that’s kind of the idea.” Robinson said the history of the University also inspired the administration to examine how well the community is upholding Fr. Sorin’s original vision for Notre Dame. “We wanted to connect to our tradition of, you know, Fr. Sorin with seven Holy Cross brothers coming to the middle of Indiana in the middle of a wintery mix,” he said. “ … He said right at the beginning, ‘I believe this University has the power to be one of the greatest forces for good in our country.’ Two hundred years later, here we are. We’re doing it, and we’re trying our best to fulfill that vision. “I think that the vision is innovation.” Using innovation in the administration’s approach to running student government gives them a new perspective on student issues, Robinson said. “What we’re trying to say is,
‘Okay, well how can we look at these same tried and true issues in a new light?’” he said. “Looking at it through something no one ever thought about pursuing it before. Maybe that’s a better way if it’s different and correct; it can’t just be different for the sake of being different.” In an interview last month, Robinson said this administration has been working toward integrating this initiative into the culture of Notre Dame since the beginning of their campaign. “What we’ve been trying to do in student government … was how do we continue to push innovation and entrepreneurship to the forefront in everything that we do?” he said. “And that’s just how do we structure student government to do that? [Student body vice president Becca Blais] has been restructuring senate so we’ve been trying to change these little pieces throughout the past eight months now to get more students to be thinking about it.” Blais said the changes within student government go well beyond her restructuring of the student senate. “I would say most of the departments have really incorporated innovation as part of their drive and what they’re doing,” Blais said. “A lot have come up with these new ideas. I mean, look at community relations, for example. They’ve been next-level with the things they’ve been involved in, and they’ve reached out to the community in ways that I don’t think student government has done before.” One of the biggest examples of this administration making innovation and entrepreneurship on campus more visible, Robinson said, is the addition of an entrepreneurial space to the Duncan Student Center. “We’ve done different things like … bringing in the student perspective to the Duncan Student
Center,” he said. “We said we wanted a space, and there is going to be an entrepreneurial space in the new Duncan Student Center.” Having input in the Duncan Student Center was one of the administration’s “first big successes,” Blais said. “When we looked at our platform pretty much everything — we had a very low-cost platform,” she said. “ … There were only a few big-cost items. We perceived this to be one of them — this innovation lounge — and then, I think before we even officially got into office, we started having meetings on it and they were like, ‘Done. We’ll put it in [Campus] Crossroads.’ So that was awesome.” Blais also pointed to additional forums for discussion about diverse issues on campus as more examples of the initiative’s impact on campus. “The Sexual Assault Survivor Support group — that was the first time that had ever been done,” she said. “And then ND for Syria — that was the first time. … These conversations that people have been having about race and diversity and relations on campus, [we’re] encountering them in a new way.” In last month’s interview, Blais said the administration has always and will continue to keep entrepreneurship and innovation in mind with every decision it makes. “Entrepreneurship and innovation can be integrated into everything you do,” she said. “So far in our administration we have really tried to live by that principle. Every project that we’ve done has integrated some principle of innovation, so integrating it into your life and accepting the challenges and the risk that it entails [is part of it].” Contact Courtney Becker at cbecker3@nd.edu
SafeBouND replaces O’SNAP By LUCAS MASIN-MOYER News Writer
One of Student Government’s early initiatives this year was to help phase out Notre Dame Security Police’s (NDSP) old evening transport system, Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol (O’SNAP) and replace it with a new service that brought the focus back to safety instead of just giving rides to students. “No one really knew what O’SNAP stood for,” NDSP captain Tracy Skibins said. “[So] Student Government and I got together over the summer and we tried to figure out a way to bring the safety piece back to it.” Student Body President Corey Robinson said students’ failure to use the program for its intended purpose also contributed to the desire for change. Robinson said Student Government and NDSP wanted to “make sure this project towards those who it’s intended to help — individuals who feel unsafe heading back to their dorms and not necessarily a party shuttle.” Student Body Vice President Becca Blais also said the golf carts, which had been central to O’SNAP, weren’t working as well as hoped. “It was a big failure,” Blais said. “None of them worked in the snow gear and they didn’t charge and it was a mess.” The result of Skibins and Student Government’s work to improve safety transport was SafeBouND. “SafeBouND is a safety escort service for evening hours,” Skibins said. “We assist those students who feel unsafe crossing campus by walking or giving them a ride from one point of campus to the opposite side of campus or wherever they might be going during the evening hours, seven days a week.” According to Skibins, approximately 60-70 students use SafeBouND each week, with
Wednesday night seeing the heaviest traffic. Skibins said SafeBouND expanded upon the services O’SNAP offered. “We have students on walking patrol,” Skibins said. “They wear reflective vests, they carry radios, and they have constant contact with NDSP, and they will check more isolated areas in their down time. ... If they find a problem like maybe a student who needs a ride or an overly intoxicated student or they see something suspicious, they use their radios to contact NDSP and our officers go to assist them.” Robinson said the initial transition from O’SNAP to SafeBouND was met with disappointment from the student body. “I think a lot of people were really disappointed with the golf cart services being taken away but I think there was a misunderstanding in terms of marketing. ... There was a lot of miscommunication about the service and what it offered and what we were doing,” Robinson said. Despite this initial push back, Blais said “within a two-week period it blew over, and I haven’t heard anything recently about problems with it. Skibins said she believes the overall transition has been successful in creating a service that truly values student safety. “I have no doubt in my mind now that when people use SafeBouND they know it is a safety service because safe is in the title of the program, so I think that’s helpful,” Skibins said. Skibins credits some of the success to Student Government’s efforts. “Student government has done a great job of promoting the service this year as a safety service,” Skibins said. Contact Lucas Masin-Moyer at lmasinmo@nd.edu
IN FOCUS
ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, december 9, 2016 | The Observer
5
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Student government seeks to promote diversity By MEGAN VALLEY Associate News Editor
During their campaign in the spring, student body president and v ice president Corey Robinson and Becca Blais stressed diversit y and inclusion as one of their top priorities. Before the school year started, student government directed much of their attention to addressing v iolence from and against police officers, Robinson said. “This year — after this summer — a lot of our efforts have been on police brutalit y and the unjust reaction, as far as the v iolence toward our law enforcement officials and officers,” he said. Blais said the political climate — including police brutalit y and concerns post-election — was hav ing a heav y inf luence on how student government was approaching diversit y and inclusion, especially when it came to students protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). “I would say, especially this fall, that has become something that we’re focusing a lot of attention on,” she said. “How do we make our DACA students feel comfortable? How do we make them feel safe? And not only DACA students, but just students who feel marginalized, especially follow ing the election.” Robinson said Race Relations Week was intended to directly engage with and start dialogue around political issues. Race Relations Week included a showing of the one-man play “The Cop” and a panel exploring racial justice in the context of opportunity. The panel included David Robinson, former NBA player and father of Robinson; David Krashna,
Notre Dame’s first AfricanAmerican student body president; Christina Brooks, the City of South Bend’s diversity and inclusion officer; and Maria and Gabby Muñoz, undocumented students at Notre Dame. Originally, Race Relations Week had two more events — a talk on the intersection of race and sexual assault and a mock presidential debate — but they fell through. Both events occurred later in the semester. “We did have a lot of mishaps, and there’s no excuse for that,” Robinson said. “There’s no excuse that we had four events planned and two fell through. That was a week before. We packaged it as a four-event week and then a week before, turns out some things had to be changed.” In spite of the scheduling issues, Robinson said he thought the week was a success, in terms of starting dialogue on campus, a sentiment that Blais echoed. “To be fair, it was the first of its kind in terms of student events, so I think it’s a good starting place and hopefully it’s continued,” she said. Robinson said that if Race Relations Week were to become an annual event, it would be a “ver y nice compliment” to Walk the Walk Week in Januar y. “We really talked about a breadth of issues,” he said. “ … It could encourage campus to talk about diversity and inclusion year-round.” Student Union representative to Diversity Council Rachel Wallace, a fifth-year, acts as a liaison between the cabinet for student government and the Diversity Council board. She said she was especially pleased with the turnout for “The Cop.” “Our target for that was really majority students and
ROSIE LoVOI | The Observer
Student body president Corey Robinson addresses the crowd at Legends during a showing of the play “The Cop” on Oct. 25. The play was part of Race Relations Week at Notre Dame at the end of October.
white students and thinking about ‘how do I have different biases,’ but it applied to ever yone,” she said. W hile Wallace has worked with other student groups the last four years, she said working with student government was a “completely different experience.” “We bring a new advantage to events because we have access to more students,” she said. “We represent the whole student body. So do other groups, like Diversity Council … but sometimes people see Diversity Council and think it doesn’t apply to them. So for student government to be on an event, it’s helpful because people feel like they’re included in the conversation. “ ... We program things, but we had a focus on supporting groups who have been doing this and who have expertise in the field. For example, [Multicultural Student Programs and Ser vices] and Diversity Council have expertise on diversity and
inclusion, so if we can support what they’re doing, that’s where our focus has been.” W hile student government is planning more programming for next semester — including an event for Walk the Walk Week and a town hall meeting — Wallace said much of their involvement has been centered on supporting existing programming through cosponsorship. “The students who are in the trenches, doing the groundwork, we’re going to support them any way that we can,” she said. “ … We tr y to stand in solidarity as best as we can, with the presence the student body has authentically built up.” As someone who is involved in both student government and Diversity Council, Wallace said each side has different goals for next semester. “One thing [to improve on] from the senate perspective, that I agree with, is bringing
in people who might not be interested inherently,” she said. “We’re hitting an audience with these events, but they’re people who already care about these issues, who are already actively involved, and we want to figure out how to reach the general student body. “ … I know from the Diversity Council perspective, one thing we want is more action based on the dialogue we’re having. One thing we’re interested is to partner with other organizations to take action on these issues and not just talk about them forever.” Diversity and inclusion are critical to forming the community of Notre Dame, Robinson said. “I think Fr. Jenkins said it the best,” he said. “Notre Dame is for all students and if we don’t do that, we’re not Notre Dame. We’re either all Notre Dame or none of us are.” Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu
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in focus
The observer | friday, december 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
Senate
Group revises procedures, passes resolutions By RACHEL O’GRADY Associate News Editor
Student body vice president Becca Blais’s goals for this semester included some major reform of the Notre Dame student senate, including eliminating some aspects of parliamentary procedure and generally promoting greater efficiency of the body. “[Parliamentary Procedure] being removed from Senate has facilitated discussion,” Blais said. “We did retain the basic outline of meeting structure that [Parliamentary Procedure] provides and we do use it when it comes to voting, but other than that, it is totally out. We no longer have to deal with tedious motions of moving in and out of discussion, and Senators don’t have to be self-conscious about using the wrong motion or speaking out of turn in a debate. The removal of [Parliamentary Procedure] has definitely had a beneficial impact on Senate, especially in regard to flow of and access to discussion.” The first change Blais made was organizing senate into a number of smaller committees, each of which has a chairperson and meets weekly, beyond the senate meetings. “The committee structure has provided a critical lens for senators to view their topics, a small group for break-out discussion, and a bond between the senators,” Blais said in an email. “The four committee focuses have been applied to the topics that we discuss in senate, and they have been used to spur additional policy research by the senators outside of the larger senate meeting time.” Every senator sits on two committees, according to Blais, unless they are on the Campus Life Council. “Committees meet once a week to work on policy, and I meet once a week with the committee chairpeople to discuss those ideas and plans,” Blais said. “The break-out discussions have facilitated better large-group discussion within Senate, and they provide a forum for everyone to bounce ideas and have their voice heard. The bond has formed due to them having another level of interaction — the
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Holiday
sustained interaction among the senators has facilitated some awesome friendships in senate.” with Each committee has a clear, articulated vision and the refor form has been effective in setting meaningful policy agendas in a smaller group setting, Blais said. “Structurally, I think that senate’s greatest accomplishment has been the reconfigure of what is means to be a senator and student leader at Notre Dame,” she said. “Senators have taken on huge leadership roles, and they have brilliantly risen to occasion.” In the 16 meetings since the Robinson-Blais administration took office, the student senate has passed 16 resolutions on a variety of topics, ranging from the elimination of some elements of parliamentary procedure to a resolution calling on University President Fr. John Jenkins to make Notre Dame a sanctuary campus. The student senate has also 2016 2015 heard several presentations throughout the year and were one of the first student groups to hear about the upcoming reno127 N. Main Street, Downtown, South Bend 103 W. Colfax Ave, Downtown South Bend vations to North Dining Hall. (574) 232-2853 (574) 232-9200 Additionally, they heard from repwww.fiddlershearth.com www.tapastrie.com SB-160467-1 resentatives from the Title IX office, the Career Center, the Office Paid Advertisement of Community Standards and the Office of Student Enrichment, among others. Outside of the weekly senate meetings, a number of student senators have begun getting dinners together in order to discuss a their different ideas, Blais said. All senators have undergone GreeNDot bystander training this year, which has yielded a positive reaction from the senators on the whole, according to a midterm survey Blais issued to the senators. Student body president Corey Robinson said senate had been undervalued, but he said he appreciates the reforms that were ADVERTISER: FIDDLERS HEARTH SALES PERSON: Maggie Rozek made. “When you see what [Blais] START DATE: 12/01/16 did with it — giving senators autonomy, giving them DELIVER TO: - responsibility and telling senators they TO: HTTP://TAPASTRIE.COM/ SIZE: 4.887 col X 4.82 in can addressEMAIL any issues they want to — they’re excited to draft FAX TO: PUBLICATION: SB-MAIN resolutions.”
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IN FOCUS
ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, december 9, 2016 | The Observer
7
STUDENT UNION BOARD
SUB increases programming, hosts concert By NATALIE WEBER News Writer
Commemorating its 50th anniversary this spring, the Student Union Board (SUB) has seen increased turnout at a number of its annual events and has collaborated with other organizations across campus, according to SUB executive director Louis Bertolotti. SUB sold possibly a record number of tickets to its fall concert, featuring Hoodie Allen and Sammy Adams, and was successful at retaining the crowd, Bertolotti said. “We sold about 1,800 tickets, which is just about our record, or it is the record since recent memory of anyone here,” he said. “They put on a really good show, and we were really happy working with them. “We had a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of people stayed for the whole time which is really good too because in past years sometimes people left after the opener.” After inviting Ollie Vue, the Instagram-famous threelegged golden retriever puppy, to Notre Dame, SUB also saw record turnouts at Dogs
and Donuts. “Dogs and Donuts this year had like five times the number of attendees it ever has,” Kelly Monahan, co-director of programming, said. “We had like 500 people come out. It’s usually a really casual event so that is also just really cool to see how adding in something innovative and new to one of our standard events can really change the vibe and attendance.” In order to increase collaboration with Student Government and other groups, SUB created a new position: collaborative liaison. According to Bertolotti, the collaborative liaison, Neil Joseph meets with the student body president and vice president each week to integrate Student Government policy with SUB planning (Editor’s Note: Neil Joseph is a Viewpoint columnist for The Observer). “This year, actually, we started a new position,” Bertolotti said. “His job is specifically to identif y areas for collaboration where we can put on events with other different groups or things on campus. “So, most notably, he sits on cabinet, which is the
executive board of student government and so he is every week talking to Corey and Becca kind of about what they’re planning and what their goals are so that we can infuse policy within our programming.” SUB has also created a new branch, First Year Student Union Board (FYSUB), to increase freshmen participation in SUB. “W hat we’ve done with FYSUB [is] it’s just a new program in which [freshmen] get to learn the skills, kind of similar to FUEL or FCC, of planning events and sort of what SUB does, as well as being more integrated into the committees,” Jackson Herrfeldt, SUB director of operations, said. Continuing to increase its visibility, SUB has begun using MailChimp to email students about SUB events each week. According to Patrick Tinsley, director of publicity, the emails get around 1,500 views per week. “The idea to start using MailChimp was actually inspired by TheWeek@ND,” Tinsley said. “We wanted to start a newsletter that looked appealing, yet still conveyed all the information about our
events.” SUB has also utilized Facebook Live this year to allow more people to watch AcoustiCafe, as some aren’t able to see it in person. “In case you can’t make it to the show but you still want to see your friend perform, you can watch it from your room, or a lot of people’s parents are really excited about Facebook Live so we’re hoping to continue that,” Aline Irihamye, another co-director of programming, said. For the upcoming semester, SUB is in the early stages of planning AnTostal, which will also celebrate its 50th anniversary this spring. “We are working on getting some sort of maybe art installation piece or some sort of display that commemorates
the 50th anniversary, but not something static that just we make and put out but something that the student body can interact with,” Isabel Piechowicz, director of art, said. Logan Bridge, another codirector of programming, said he feels SUB’s members have continued to become closer each year. “Each year there’s more camaraderie within SUB so it feels less like a club where we’re just planning things and more like a group of friends that would hang out once a week at our club meetings, and we just happen to put on a lot of events that school year,” he said. Contact Natalie Weber at nweber3@nd.edu
Hall presidents’ Council
HPC encourages conversation, dorm leadership By ALEX MUCK News Writer
As co-chairs of the Hall Presidents’ Council (HPC) Elizabeth Feeley and Christina Fernandez said they are focused on making HPC more well-known on campus. To reach this goal, they said they are incorporating more leadership development into the program while also working to foster a strong sense of community in HPC by encouraging hall presidents to learn about other hall events during the HPC weekly meetings. “It’s a bigger job than I think people realize when they’re elected,” Fernandez said. “You’re working with your rector and your hall staff as well as your hall, so you’re maybe that gap between your
hall staff and your residents.” To help the presidents and vice presidents with this task, Fenandez and Feeley introduced HPChat, which is a conversation time that HPC members can use to discuss problems or situations in their halls that they may want guidance on. Another new program in HPC is a GreeNDot bystander intervention training. “If we’re going to be a leadership development platform, we have to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk,” Feeley said. “All the hall presidents have to be those people in the hall who have the training necessary to be a student leader and a good face on campus.” Fernandez and Feeley also kept several aspects of HPC that were introduced last year, including Hey Hall, a
part of HPC meetings where hall presidents talk about the history and culture of their hall, and hall council visits. “That’s our purpose, and our job is to knock on the doors of the halls and see what’s actually going on there,” Feeley said. One of the most wellknown aspects of HPC is deciding Hall of the Year, a decision made by the HPC chairs, along with the four HPC board members, two senators and a judicial council member. Forty-five percent of the Hall of the Year score comes from the Rockne reports hall presidents turn in each month. In these reports, hall presidents have the opportunity to ref lect on their goals for the month and whether they achieved them and set goals for the next month.
The remaining 55 percent of the Hall of the Year score is from a presentation each hall president and vice president gives at the end of the year. In the presentation, each hall has 15 minutes to recap their year. Last year, a new component was added where two to four residents could give testimonials. Fernandez and Feeley both said they loved their
experiences as hall presidents and hope the current hall presidents have the same experience. “It really is a transformative experience [being hall president],” Feeley said. “You become the person you’ve always wanted to be in terms of leadership.” Contact Alex Muck at amuck@nd.edu
8
IN FOCUS
The observer | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 | ndsmcobserver.com
DEPARTMENT REVIEWS ATHLETICS REPRESENTATIVE Athletics Representative Drew Recker has worked mainly on an effort to increase the presence of GreeNDot bystander training on campus. The model he developed regarding GreeNDot is a “grassroots” campaign that aims to first educate leaders within different student groups. The hope is these student leaders will cultivate a culture in which GreeNDot is prioritized. Pertaining to athletics, this campaign will focus on having leaders on athletic teams become GreeNDot certified. Since the initiative kicked off in the fall, many campus leadership positions have made GreeNDot training a requirement, and the number of GreeNDot trainees has increased as a result. In achieving the goal of having 15 percent of the student body GreeNDot certified within five years, Notre Dame is well ahead of schedule.
DEPARTMENT OF GENDER ISSUES
DEPARTMENT OF CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY
CAMPUS MINISTRY REPRESENTATIVE
The Department of Gender Issues has focused on raising awareness for gender equality on campus, and also on the sexual assault problem and possible solutions for the future. During this semester, the department continued the “It’s On Us” campaign to bring an end to sexual assault on campus through a Gelato social on Fieldhouse Mall in September. Further, the department has worked with GreeNDot and the Gender Relations Center to promote gender equality and sexual assault awareness. Currently, the department is working on an initiative to recognize existing gender stereotypes and break down gender barriers. This initiative will begin in the near future with a “What does gender mean to you?” photo contest. The launch event will feature a speaker discussion, as well as the announcement of the winner of the contest.
Department director Bryce Badura has focused on receiving input from students on what they would like to see from the technology department. With this in mind, the Department of Campus Technology implemented the first campus-wide undergraduate Campus Technology survey, to find out what students thought of current technology resources, as well as future projects students wanted the department to pursue. In responding to the student’s needs, Badura said the department has worked on several projects. One of the main projects has been in adding a NOVO registration tool that will allow students to create a schedule ahead of time next semester and simply submit this schedule at their registration time. In addition, he stressed the importance of cyber security, pushing for a two-step verification login that would protect against ever-increasing cyber attacks. He has also worked to increase participation in Computer Science and Engineering Service Projects, which are one-credit courses that allow tech majors to help the South Bend community.
Campus Ministry representative MaKenna Siebenaler has been acting as a bridge between Campus Ministry and the Student Activities Office (SAO) in order stimulate collaborative events between the two organizations. Siebenaler planned an Executive Cabinet Retreat to allow Student Government leaders to better understand each other and work together. In addition, Siebenaler was responsible for planning the two sexual assault prayer services this semester. Siebenaler also assisted in preparing “ND for Syria Week,” and in particular the prayer service that was a part of the week’s events. Siebenaler has reached out to all the class councils and many different organizations in order to offer them the resources necessary for planning any future spiritual events.
B+ DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS The Department of Community Relations has worked on several different projects with the goal of integrating the Notre Dame community and South Bend. During Welcome Weekend, the department organized a Quad Market, a small on-campus farmer’s market. The market introduced students, and freshmen in particular, to local vendors and their products. To make transit into South Bend easier, the department created a survey in order to gauge Transpo ridership and to get suggestions for improvement. The department also oversaw the “Flourishing Communities” event series, which highlighted attempts to build community and address local problems. The department is working with Downtown South Bend to plan upcoming events, provide student discounts and offer internships in the city. Back the Bend, the department’s largest event, is already being planned, and will take place next spring.
B+
This department acts as a support tool for other departments, helping to design and market events other departments hold. This semester in particular, the department has tried to create an open dialogue between students and the executive cabinet so students have a true voice. Distributing information regarding Student Government events and operations is one of the departments main functions, and it been turning more and more towards social media to achieve this goal. In addition to the very active Student Government Facebook page, the department created a Snapchat to get information to students as quickly as possible. The department has assisted in running numerous events this semester, such as the Financial Wellness Taskforce’s monthly events and Race Relations Week.
ADEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS The main goal of Internal Affairs has been to make Senate more accessible and efficient. To meet this goal, the department conducted a workshop for Senate concerning the drafting of amendments. In addition, the department presented a resolution to simplify the parliamentary procedure used in Senate to cultivate a more relaxed and participatory environment. Further, the department added the newly created Policy Liaison ad-hoc position to the Student Union Constitution and added various student and faculty awards to it as well. The department is currently finishing formulating a resolution that would amend the Non-Discrimination Clause in the Student Union Constitution to better comply with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination and Spirit of Inclusion statement. In the near future, the department plans to restructure the current chart describing the organizational flow of Student Government in order to make the structure and workings of Student Government clearer to students.
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DIVERSITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE
DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
FIRST UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE IN LEADERSHIP (FUEL)
Diversity Council representative Rachel Wallace serves as the liaison between the Diversity Council and the Executive Cabinet. The department’s main event thus far has been Race Relations Week, which was the first of its kind in Notre Dame’s history. The week, which occurred at the end of October, featured a performance of a play about racial discrimination and bias and a panel discussion within the context of racial justice. Wallace has also given two presentations to the Note Dame student senate on diversity and inclusion. Through Student Government, Wallace has assisted in sponsoring the Solidarity for Racial Justice events, including a vigil and march for racial justice in September. Wallace is also helping organize Walk the Walk Week, which will take place in January and is focused on reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King’s values.
The department has continued to evaluate academic resources at Notre Dame in order to determine areas for improvement. In October, the department helped bring New York Times journalist Binyamin Appelbaum to campus to speak on the economic stakes of the 2016 presidential election, and it is working to establish a partnership with the New York Times for future events. The department has also been working to revamp Majors Night, which will take place in late January. The revamp is aimed at maximizing attendance by partnering with the First Year of Studies Moreau Seminar. The department has also done significant research into the current tutor situation and has met with the Deans of several different departments to gain feedback on tutoring programs. One issue in particular the department is concerned with is unregulated tutor pay, and it is looking to change this in the near future.
FUEL began the year by selecting 30 freshmen to be members of the program through a highly selective process. These members then ranked their top three department choices and were placed based on this. Since placement, each member has been attending meetings for their department. FUEL has also been taking feedback from its freshmen members on necessary changes at Notre Dame. The freshmen named sexual assault and dorm stereotypes among areas where change is necessary, and they have been tasked with determining the role of student government in aiding these issues. FUEL meetings this semester have featured guest speakers as well as department updates in order to give students an idea of what’s happening throughout Student Government. Toward the end of this semester, the heads of FUEL are meeting with each student individually to build relationships with them and accrue feedback.
B+
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS
B+
B+
B+
DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH
DEPARTMENT OF RESIDENCE LIFE
With the fall semester running concurrently to election season, the department focused on engaging students in politics. In late September, the department hosted a watch of the first presidential debate on South Quad. The event, which featured a large projection screen, food trucks and a booth for registering to vote, drew over 1,500 students. The department also helped bring Alexander Heffner, the host of “The Open Mind” on PBS, to campus for a political conversation and played a part in getting New York Times journalist Binyamin Appelbaum to come to campus and provide commentary on the economic ramifications of the election. In addition, the department held a mock debate between a student representing College Democrats and a student representing College Republicans. The event drew a crowd of over 250 people and was live-streamed online as well. The department also held a mock election that almost 800 students participated in.
The department has been working to improve residence life and provide a greater sense of community within residence halls. The main event the department has been planning is Dorm WeekeND, a spring event that will allow each dorm to showcase what makes it great. The department hopes to make the event a Notre Dame tradition and intends to stimulate dorm spirit and interhall camaraderie. Additionally, the department is planning Diversity Dialogues in dorms in order to facilitate a discussion on the experiences of international students on campus. In October, the department partnered with class councils to host a game watch of the Notre DameNorth Carolina State football game. The department has also tried to incorporate student input into their actions. As a part of this, the department has presented student perspectives and opinions to Campus Dining regarding the renovation of North Dining Hall and the new eateries coming to the Duncan Student Center.
A
B+ DEPARTMENT OF UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
B+
The department has concentrated on promoting student safety and improving student life on the whole. The main focus this semester has been to install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in dorms to enhance the emergency response system Notre Dame has in place. The outcome of the department’s advocating for AEDs in dorms has been the commission of a taskforce of different administrators and students to work on the implementation of AEDs in residence halls. The department is also working on improving building access on campus at night, since the lack thereof can provide a safety risk to students when there is inclement weather. Another current endeavor of the department is in pushing the off-campus housing contract signing to junior year in order to decrease two-year-old contractual obligations. Additionally, the department is attempting to expand dining hall hours on the weekends in order to help students who have obligations during the normal dining hours.
B+
DEPARTMENT OF CONSTITUENT SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL CONCERNS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS
The department has put on several events this semester, and has also attempted to obtain student feedback in order to catalyze change at the University. The main event the department conducted so far this year was the 9/11 Memorial, which featured a flag plant on South Quad, a prayer service and a procession to the Grotto. The department also organized Dogs and Donuts in October, which acted as a stress-relieving event for students and plans on having another Dogs and Donuts event before finals. Further, the department has focused on Onward, which is an online forum where students can post suggestions for the University. Some ideas from this forum that the department is looking into are larger recycling bins in dorms and requiring textbooks to be put on print reserve in the reference section of the library for students who are unable to purchase them. Next semester, the department is planning to begin an Unsung Heroes of Notre Dame Facebook page to highlight some of the exceptional staff members on campus.
This department has been conducting research and events in many different areas, particularly sustainability, international outreach and the local community. To promote sustainability on campus, the department sponsored the Farmers’ Market portion of Sustainability Fest in October. In addition, the department collaborated with GreeND to sponsor a rainforest talk from Tim Keating, the director of the Rainforest Relief non-profit organization. In order to make Notre Dame more sustainable, the department is currently conducting research on campus recycling and how it can be improved. In terms of international outreach, the department organized a Help Ecuador Heal fundraiser to benefit victims of the countries recent earthquake and raised over $9,900 for the cause. The department also helped organize Syria Week, which featured events to raise awareness on the current situation in Syria and prayer services for those affected by the violence in Syria. A project the department is working on currently is a new guide to South Bend for students looking to interact with the local community.
This semester, the department has worked to encourage healthy eating and exercise habits for students. In September, the department organized an alcohol-free tailgate for the first home football game to allow students, and freshmen in particular, to participate in the tradition of tailgating without feeling pressured to drink. In October, the department helped the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) club in hosting Irish State of Mind week and ran the Mindfulness and Yoga session during this week. The department is currently working to instate a Wellness Ambassador in each dorm and is also looking to bring a speaker to campus for Eating Disorders Awareness week next semester. Another future goal of the department is to make the nutritional information of dining hall food more readily available to students.
B+
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