Senators work to improve quality of student life
By ERIN LaRUFFA
Associate News Editor
Tackling topics ranging from curriculum review to possible parietals extensions to the amount of chicken served in the dining halls, members of Notre Dame's Student Senate have dealt with numerous issues that senators believe affect students on a daily basis.
"If we can improve the quality of life for students in any way, we feel like we're doing our job," said Brian Moscona, who as student body vice president chairs the senate.
To some observers, however, it might not seem as though the current senate, which began its term in April 2000, has been very productive. That assumption is incorrect, according to Moscona, because he said senators have been busy conducting background research and learning how to go about accomplishing their goals.
"The first semester is spent learning the process," Moscona said. "Right now, we definitely have the process nailed down. We know what issues we want to focus on."
This semester, senators will continue working on the issues they have identified, but the work will primarily occur within senate committees, not at the weekly meetings of the full senate, according to Carroll senator Jesse Flores.
"Most of the work is done outside the Wednesday meeting," he said.
Each senate committee focuses on a particular area of student life at Notre Dame. Although committee members are primarily senators, all students are welcome to join them, and there are currently 12 non-senators serving on committees, according to Moscona.
Academic committee
The senate's academic committee has dedicated most of its time to curriculum review. According to committee chair Pat Hallahan, the University has established a nine-person committee, led by Father John Jenkins and consisting of administrators and faculty members, to look into Notre Dame's curriculum and possible changes to it.
"There are a lot of changes that can happen," said Hallahan. "We've been trying to give students a voice in that."
To get a sense of student opinion on the current state of curriculum in each college, Hallahan and his committee surveyed students in the dining halls. The surveys also collected student ideas on the direction changes to the curriculum should take. The committee also conducted focus groups to get in-depth information from students. At the end of fall semester, the senate sent a letter to Jenkins describing what the academic committee had learned from the student surveys.
"The academic committee put in a countless number of hours doing that research, and I think it will lead to the enhancement of academic life at Notre Dame," said Moscona. He explained that to the curriculum review committee, the information from the senate represents the opinion of the student body.
This semester, Hallahan said his committee will continue working with Jenkins and the curriculum review committee. The committee also plans to continue studying interaction between students and faculty, another topic the committee began addressing in the fall.
"Some people think it's lacking," Hallahan said, adding that his committee is looking into ways it can improve intellectual life at Notre Dame through increasing student faculty interaction.
"Notre Dame is a top-notch university, but it might not have that edge that Harvard or Yale have," he said.
The committee will also try to get more student representation on the Academic Council, which currently has three students out of 30 members.
Diversity Committee
One of the diversity committee's goals for last semester was to network with other entities on campus that address similar issues, according to committee co-chair Elizabeth Lenn. The committee started by meeting with groups including the diversity division within the office of the student body president, as well as Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS).
Part of the committee's work last semester also involved creating a resolution, which the full senate passed, requiring that the Celebrating Diversity Workshop be held twice a year, instead of just once. All senators are required to attend the workshop at least once.
"The workshop opens your eyes, and you become aware of a lot as a student leader," said diversity committee co-chair Nikki McCord. "We think diversity is very important, both for students and for the senate in particular."
This semester, the diversity committee is holding a workshop for dorm multicultural commissioners.
"A lot of times, the multicultural commissioner is the hardest commissioner position you can have on campus," said McCord. She explained that most dorm commissioner positions, such as dance commissioner, have specific goals. However, multicultural commissioners have a more difficult time determining what direction to take their position, she said.
To address that challenge, according to McCord, the workshop will make these commissioners aware of resources available on campus.
Gender Relations
Much like the diversity committee, members of the gender relations committee started by talking to several people who deal with gender issues on campus, according to committee chair Mary Mullen. The priorities that the committee developed out of those conversations have guided the committee's work throughout the school year.
At the end of last semester, the senate passed a resolution from the gender relations committee calling for more lighting in certain locations around campus, including along the paths around the lakes. The committee created the resolution after meeting with campus administrators to discuss the possibility of additional lights.
"I think that resolution and their work with Security will benefit students now and in the future," Moscona said.
Another committee project is to create a list of steps a person should take if he or she has been the victim of sexual assault. The committee plans to put the lists in every dorm sometime this semester, said Mullen, who became committee chair in January when former chair Jeanine Valles left the senate to study abroad.
The committee is also working on the issue of parietals. Last semester, a resolution to extend parietals failed to pass the Campus Life Council (CLC). Several CLC members who voted against the resolution claimed that "ROTC students and athletes were not interested in extending parietals," Mullen said.
Prompted by that claim, senators on the gender relations committee are conducting a survey of student athletes and ROTC participants to gage how both groups feel about extending parietals.
"We want to make sure people aren't misrepresenting what students want just to vote a certain way," said Mullen.
In addition, committee members are currently working with the office of the president on its winter Board of Trustees report, which focuses on freshman orientation. As a final project for this senate term, the gender relations committee is also planning retreat for female Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students in March.
Oversight
The oversight committee is currently working on reviewing the senate's constitution, said chair Jim Ryan. While the review involves primarily organizational changes, the committee is also considering adding an important clause about fiscal responsibility.
That clause would address the fact that campus clubs currently draw money from the same account, with no mechanism in place to prevent a club from drawing more than its allotted share of funds, according to Ryan.
"As of right now, there's nothing to say, `You owe money,'" he said. His committee is trying to hold clubs accountable.
Residence Life
"We put a lot of effort into initiating a dialogue with the dining hall," said residence life committee co-chair Aldo Tesi.
In addition to talking to dining hall managers, the committee has also conducted student surveys to find out what students changes students would like the dining halls to make.
So far, the committee's work has been responsible for several changes, including an increased amount of chicken and a new location for soup in North Dining Hall. The committee was also able to get the dining halls to sell special guess meal passes, according to Tesi. The passes, which are sold in the card services office of South Dining Hall, allow students to purchase a book of five meal passes for less money than if they purchases the meals separately.
Members of the residence life committee have also been meeting with campus security. Discussion with security has mainly involved making it easier for students to get onto cars when they need to.
In addition, committee member Padraic McDermott did extensive research on water quality last semester. As with several other issues the committee has studied, however, senators realized that there was nothing they could do to improve water quality.
"Older pipes are gradually being replaced. We're satisfied with what the University is doing," Tesi said. "A lot of our actions so far have been finding out what we can't do."
Similarly, the committee researched how the University waters its lawn in hopes of finding a way to avoid walking paths being in the trajectory of sprinklers. However, as with water quality, committee members realized that there was nothing they could do to address the issue.
"It looks like the University is doing it in a way that gets the minimal amount of people wet," said Tesi.
The committee has several projects planned for this semester as well. For example, Tesi said the committee wants the University to post its e-mail monitoring policy posted on the WebMail Web site. The University already includes the statement in DuLac, but Tesi said posting the policy on the WebMail site would make more students aware their messages are being monitored.
The committee is also working with the people who handle Notre Dame's Freshman Register to see if it would be possible to print a similar book for students at the before the beginning of their junior year.
"So I can find a date to a dance or something," Tesi said.
University Affairs
Much like the residence life committee, the university affairs committee has undertaken several, wide-ranging projects.
Last semester, the committee conducted a survey to gain student opinion on vans at the Center for Social Concern. The survey focused on issues such as the process of loaning out the vans and the condition of the vans.
The committee also established two ad hoc committees, one to investigate faculty-student interaction and one to investigate gender relations. Committee co-chair Jesse Flores said both are areas of interest to him.
In addition, committee member Kim Milford is looking into the University's health services to see if resources could be made more accessible to students.
The committee is also continuing to study social space, particularly in relation to LaFortune Student Center.
This semester, Flores said the committee is brainstorming ideas based on the University's mission statement.
"Our projects will be more focused on the mission statement and its impact on student life," he said. Such a focus, Flores added, will require the committee to consider "what kinds of things we can do to help students realize their maximum potential."
All News Stories for Wednesday, January 23, 2002
