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Volume 54, Issue 80 | tuesday, february 11, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com
Candidates discuss inclusion, protection Third, final debate hosted by Judicial Council before elections, candidates focused on community By RENEE PIERSON News Writer
The Judicial Council hosted the final debate for the regular student body elections Monday night at 9 p.m. in the Midfield Commons of the Duncan Student Center. Running for office this year are the following tickets, for president and vice president, respectively: junior Noble Patidar and freshman Connor Patrick; junior Connor Whittle and sophomore Jack Rotolo; junior Zachary Mercugliano and freshman Aviva Lund; freshmen Henry Bates and Thomas Henry; juniors Michael Dugan and Ricardo Pozas Garza and juniors Rachel Ingal and
Sarah Galbenski. All six tickets were present at the debate, which was moderated by junior and Judicial Council president Halena Hadi. Hadi began the debate by explaining the questions posed to the candidates came directly from students, and three randomly generated tickets would have the opportunity to answer each question. The pairs of candidates then introduced themselves and provided a brief overview of their platforms. The Bates-Henry ticket concluded the introductions by spontaneously ripping off their tear-away pants, much to the amusement of the crowd. The first question was in
Program aims to foster interfaith conversations
Photo courtesy of Melissa Marley Bonnichsen
Members of Better Together ND gathered for a winter celebration dinner in November. The club has its first spring meeting Thursday. By CLAIRE RAFFORD Associate News Editor
While Notre Dame is a Catholic university, the students and community members that make up the Notre Dame community are not all of one faith or background. Better Together ND, a leadership program sponsored by the Center for Social Concerns (CSC), aims to foster conversations between people of different religious and humanistic beliefs through
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workshops and events. “It’s [a] leadership program that trains and prepares students for an environment containing people with multiple intersectionalities,” sophomore and student leader for Better Together ND Meenu Selvan said. “It’s a series of workshops that teaches students how to interact with other leaders from different backgrounds to unite in solidarity for a common see DIALOGUE PAGE 3
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reference to the upcoming presidential debate that will be hosted on campus next fall and how each ticket’s administration planned to unify the campus in the midst of such a divisive political climate. Galbenski started the conversation with a proposition to include a voter registration module in the Moreau First Year Experience because of the influx of “newly minted 18 year olds” on campus in the fall. Whittle brought up his ticket’s initiative titled “Share Your Story Week.” “There would be a video booth around campus with simple questions like, ‘Who inspires you?’ ‘What’s your story?’ I think
questions like that raise an overall important way of approaching dialogue that is meaningful,” he said. Lund emphasized the “blue dot / gold dot” initiative. “Starting in the dining halls, we would want people to be open to having conversations with cool, new people by putting a gold dot on their table,” Lund said. “If you’re busy studying, you could put up the blue dot.” The next question asked candidates to explain how they would help students from diverse backgrounds feel a sense of belonging on campus. Pozas Garza discussed why increasing club funding could help promote inclusion.
“BridgeND can provide a model that suits that conversation [about diversity],” Pozas Garza said. “Did you know that Diversity Council, for example, is a club? Those are the kinds of things we want to improve our funding upon.” Diverse religious backgrounds were also a part of this conversation. Patidar suggested a method reminiscent of ConvergeND’s quiz format for pairing up students of different faith backgrounds to engage in productive dialogue. The Bates-Henry ticket chimed in as well, proposing the national anthem of every country see DEBATE PAGE 4
Judicial Council sanctions Dugan-Pozas Garza ticket Observer Staff Report
The Election Committee of Judicial Council announced in a press release early Tuesday it is issuing a sanction to the DuganPozas Garza ticket in response to multiple violations of the Judicial Council’s election regulations. The Dugan-Pozas Garza ticket is required to “cease all campaigning activity indefinitely” for the rest of its time in the election cycle, the release said. This includes, but
is not limited to, the run-off election period and debate. The group determined juniors Michael Dugan and Ricardo Pozas Garza, candidates for student body president and vice president, respectively, violated Section 17.1(h) of the student body constitution, which reads: “Candidates may not be involved in or instruct others to engage in any unethical behavior as detailed in 17.1(i).” The committee also said the
Dugan-Pozas Garza ticket violated Section 17.1(i) of the student body constitution, which states: “Candidates are expected to behave ethically at all times. Unethical behavior will be penalized by the Election Committee of Judicial Council.” Examples of such behavior include “covering or defaming other candidates’ posters, insulting or defaming other candidates and harassment or misconduct toward any election officials.”
Saint Mary’s to announce new president Wednesday Observer Staff Report
Saint Mary’s Interim President Nancy Nekvasil and other campus dignitaries will announce and introduce the incoming College president at a “special event” for students, faculty and staff Wednesday, according to a media alert. Nekvasil will be joined by Gretchen Flicker, chair of the board of trustees and an alumna from the College’s
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class of 1993, and Sr. Veronique Wiedower, CSC president of the Sisters of the Holy Cross and an alumna from the College’s class of 1970, in announcing the president-elect. The new president was chosen after a ten-month nationwide search and will be the 14th individual to fill the position since the College was originally founded in 1844. He or she will take office this summer.
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The search was conducted with assistance from WittKieffer, a national search firm specializing in “presidential and executive searches in higher education,” according to the presidential search webpage. The search committee included trustees, faculty, administrators, students, alumnae and parents. The event will take place on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the atrium of Spes Unica Hall.
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