Norton/Moscona plans year's activity
By ERIN LaRUFFA
Associate News Editor
After assuming their positions at the middle of last semester, student body president Brooke Norton and vice president Brian Moscona said they are ready to put their plans for the Notre Dame community into action.
"We got things together rather quickly," said Jonathan Jorissen, Norton and Moscona's chief of staff. "It was a natural progression this semester."
According to Norton, the office of the student body president has four goals for the year: to increase campus unity, to improve communication with the student body, to develop the ideal servant leadership within the office of the president, and finally, to increase collaboration among different groups within the Student Union.
"We think all these things go hand in hand," Moscona said. When they ran for election last March, he added, everything on their platform related to these four goals. Now that they are in office, pursuing these objectives, according to Norton, will "make Notre Dame a better place and help us reach the students."
In relation to their first goal, Norton, Moscona and Jorissen said they believe student government can play a role in increasing campus unity by providing opportunities for students to learn about other cultures.
"You can't force people to do things, but you can act as an initiator," Jorissen said.
The office of the president plans to rely on its diversity division, one of its several specialized divisions. The diversity division, they explained, is planning several events, including discussion groups in dorms and a multicultural fair.
Although Norton said she does not believe Notre Dame lacks unity, she added that she hopes her office can foster an even greater "sense of inclusiveness here on campus."
"We're already a very unified student body," said Norton. "But there is always room for improvement."
The multicultural fair, scheduled for November, will feature ethnic student groups from campus. Jorissen said he hopes that incorporating a variety of cultural groups into the fair will encourage all students to attend the event.
"I think that when people see an ad for a multicultural event, they think it's just for people of that group," Jorissen said. "The multicultural fair will help address that."
Groups will serve ethnic food and distribute educational information on their cultures. After the fair, there will be a salsa dance.
"That's going to be fun," Moscona said.
Another diversity-related event is also in the works for the spring, although plans have not been finalized yet.
When it comes to their second goal, Norton, Moscona and their staff have developed several initiatives that they believe will allow them to increase communication between their office and the student body.
"We're trying to reach out to students," said Norton. She added that her office wants students to share their ideas for what student government should be doing.
Those ideas will be given serious consideration, added Jorissen. He pointed to Kim Howe, a member of Students for Environmental Action, who approached the office of the president last year with an idea for reusable Grab and Go bags. Howe's initiative resulted in mesh bags being available for students to purchase this year.
Holding monthly town hall meetings will be one way the office will try to reach students, Moscona explained. The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. in LaFortune's Notre Dame Room.
"A lot of students feel either they don't know what's going on or they have ideas to share," Moscona said. "It will be a good forum for open discussion."
In addition, Norton, Moscona and Jorissen plan to attend a hall council meeting in each dorm over the course of the semester.
"That would compliment the town hall meetings. They come see us, then we go see them," said Jorissen, adding that the three have already attended a Hall President's Council meeting.
In addition, the three say they want to make the student government office on the second floor of LaFortune more open to students as well. They recently began displaying calendars of upcoming events so students can find out what student government is planning.
However, according to Norton, she and her staff realize that when students spend time in LaFortune, they are usually on the first floor. As a result, the office of the president will soon open a student services center on the first floor.
"We know that being up on the second floor, we're not as visible. We want to be where students are," said Norton.
Her own office, she explained, will use the new room for a variety of purposes. For example, members of her staff will conduct focus groups and surveys from the office. She added that she would like to see the room available for all groups within the Student Union to use, including for holding office hours.
The office of the president's third object centers on the concept of servant leadership. Staff from the office of the president attended a retreat Sunday to work on that area of their goals.
Finally, in relation to their fourth goal, Norton said she and her staff would like to work more closely with other campus groups, particularly those within the student union.
For example, one of the earliest collaborative efforts of Norton and Moscona's administration was Saturday's Nebraska Game Watch, which the office of the president planned in conjunction with the Student Union Board.
"We tried to think of a way to get all the students together in one place," Norton said.
The office of the president is also working with Notre Dame Security and the South Bend Police Department to plan a student safety workshop. The workshop will incorporate safety information for students living both on and off campus.
"There have been a lot of burglaries lately in South Bend," Norton said. "In light of recent events on and off campus, it's really timely."
The office of the president will also be working with the Center for Social Concerns and other service groups on campus to develop a service campaign. The campaign will especially focus on working with children in the local community.
"We can really reach out to the community, to the children that live around here," Norton said.
This semester will also mark the beginning of a trial of Midnight Breakfast, an initiative the president's office has been developing with the dining halls. During the initial trial period, according to Moscona, North Dining Hall will open for three hours starting at midnight one Friday night a month. Opening North on a weekend night is intended to be an alternative to students living near North Quad from having to walk to Recker's on South Quad.
Continuing an event initiated by last year's student body president Brian O'Donoghue, the office of the president has also been planning the second annual Founder's Day on Oct. 11. The day's events will include a talent show and a special dinner in the dining halls, according to Jorissen. Displays around campus will also teach students about the history of Notre Dame, Norton added, to reflect the purpose of Founder's Day.
"It's to celebrate what we're all about as a campus and what we stand for — our history, our faith," she said.
The office of the president will also continue to study interaction between students and faculty. After conducting surveys and doing other research, the office will compile a report within this school year. Based on that report, the office will decide on how it can best encourage increased faculty and student interaction.
Furthermore, in honor of the 30th anniversary of women being admitted to the University, Norton said her office would be planning an event for the spring.
The social concerns division will also be looking into Notre Dame's recycling program.
"There are opportunities to recycle, but its not easily accessible," Moscona said.
In regards to LaFortune Student Center, Norton said her office would be seeking student feedback on possible changes in how the building is used, and will also be working with Student Activities director Brian Coughlin and assistant director in charge of LaFortune Mary Edgington.
"They seem very open to student desires for that to happen," Norton said.
All News Stories for Monday, September 10, 2001
