Who They AreReish, junior class president, is a finance major living in Sorin Hall. Schmidt, sophomore class president, is a psychology major living in Knott Hall.
In Their Wordsu Top Priority: Organize a Midwest Intercollegiate Council of student government leaders from universities throughout the region. u First Priority: Enact free DVD rentals through student government. And conduct in-depth surveys of student bodies to find out what students want.
In Our Wordsu Best Idea: Off-campus discounts - low prices and prompting students to get off campus is a winning combination. Also, the Last Lecture series would allow students to get to know the great professors they can't have in class.u Worst Idea: The senate student outreach committee is well-intentioned but unnecessary. Deepening the bureaucracy of student government is not the way of the future. u Most Feasible Idea: Free DVD rentals. The DVDs are sitting unwatched in the student government offices.u Least Feasible Idea: Improve the quality of drinking water in the Rock.u Fun Fact: Reish ate sticks of butter as a child. Schmidt can put 20 sunflower seeds in his mouth and spit them out - seeds and shells separated - 10 seconds later.u Notable Quote: "If we accomplish only two of these platform ideas, but students feel their voice was heard ... I think that's so much more successful"
Bottom LineThese guys take student government seriously - too seriously, some might argue. (Reish has been involved ever since he was student body president in high school, and Schmidt looked at student government opportunities on different campuses before choosing Notre Dame.) But that means they're taking this campaign seriously. The amount of research they've conducted is impressive, and they've already begun forming the administrative and intercollegiate contacts they'll need to get their often-ambitious ideas off the ground. Reish and Schmidt would bring perhaps the most comprehensive plan to office, complete with ideas for improving academic, athletic, community relations, social, student government and other areas of student life. They plan to conduct a survey to choose which initiatives to focus on. Look out for the Midwest Intercollegiate Council to boost Notre Dame's reputation.
