Notre Dame student government launched a new Web site Sunday in an effort to facilitate communication with students.
Chief executive assistant Sheena Plamoottil produced most of the material on the new site, which she began planning in the spring when Liz Brown and Maris Braun took over as student body president and vice president.
Plamoottil said building a new Web site was long overdue.
The previous student government home page alienated users, she said, since it was "not updated at all, and sort of archaic."
"One of the hallmarks of this new administration is to be more accessible to students, " Plamoottil said.
The actual construction of the site began when Plamoottil and Braun contacted junior Adam Lusch, a computer science engineering major, to help them design and build the Web pages.
"Initially when we were planning it, the Webmaster did not come through," Plamoottil said. "We found Adam and were able to start really putting things together."
Lusch had taken a class with Braun, and she remembered he had already put together various Notre Dame Web sites, including the homepages for the Student Union Board, the Class of 2009, The Show and Morrissey Manor.
Plamoottil said Lusch gladly volunteered his time during the summer to help them with the project.
The finished product boasts a layout that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also user friendly, Plamoottil said.
"I wanted it to have a Notre Dame identifying theme," Lusch said, referring to the gold and blue font and the Dome icon at the top of the home page.
Plamoottil said the site has links to the Student Government Constitution, updates from various committees and groups - including the Student Senate, the Council of Representatives and the Center for Social Concerns - as well as an online application for students who wish to become involved with student government.
The site also contains the minutes of Senate and COR meetings and a calendar of upcoming events - information not readily available to students before.
Student government will "continue to make changes to improve our capacity to accurately represent and respond to student concerns," Brown said.
