Return of lost study day hopeless, calendar blamed
By FINN PRESSLY
Senior Staff Writer
Citing time constraints and lack of flexibility in the academic council, the Academic Council has refused to give further consideration to a Student Senate proposal to add the customary fourth study day to the Fall 2001 exam schedule.
O'Neill senator Bill Ferreira reported to the senate that upon meeting with the undergraduate subcommittee of the Academic Council, efforts to add an additional study day to this fall's calendar would have to be abandoned.
"It's not Notre Dame's fault. It's just the way the calendar falls," he said. "While they did not feel we had bad ideas … they felt we didn't have enough time to change the final exam schedule."
Starting the year a week earlier would mean bringing resident assistants, professor, and other campus personnel back to campus abnormally early, he said.
Adding extra days at the end of break, meanwhile, would flirt dangerously close to the Christmas travel season, resulting in possible headaches for students and professors flying home.
The Senate approved a letter to the Academic Council stressing the need for consistency in the number of study days from year to year.
In other Senate News:
u Lewis senator Luciana Reali presented information gathered by the Gender Relations regarding Freshman Orientation activities. She said future input might come in the form of small, student-led groups, rather than information reported directly from the students to the administration.
Reali highlighted student reaction to Domer Fest, the successor to the now defunct Graffiti Dance.
"There was mixed reviews on the Domer Fest," she said. "A lot of students think it was a good idea, and a lot offered suggestions of how to improve it."
u Pasquerilla West senator Audra Hagan reminded senators of official protocol regarding the election of senators who plan on going abroad. Senators who plan on going abroad must run individually – that is, students going abroad for different semesters may not run as one ticket.
"If you know you're going abroad, that's fine, but then your dorm will just have to have a new election when you leave [campus]," she said.
u Alumni senator Jeff Stuffings announced his resignation from the senate, due to a time conflict.
"Going into this, I heard some good things and bad things about the Senate," he said, "and leaving, I only have good things to say."
Stuffings will be replaced by sophomore Matt LaFratta.
Wednesday's meeting was also the last for Fisher senator Dan Barrabas.
Elections for a new Fisher Hall senator will be held in the near future.
All News Stories for Thursday, February 8, 2001
