Student senate passed 10 resolutions and two senatorial orders Wednesday night, making numerous changes to the constitution of the undergraduate student body and ordering the suspension of the rising junior and senior class council elections.
Since the elections for both councils each had only one ticket, a senatorial order was proposed and passed for each class council to suspend the elections and declare the unopposed ticket the winner.
For the rising senior class, the only ticket included Sara Dugan for president, Janet Stengle for vice president, Paul Stevenson for treasurer and Matthew Peters for secretary.
The sole ticket for the class of 2019 listed Michael Conlon for president, Daniel Hopkinson for vice president, Eddie Griesedieck for treasurer and Jane Driano for secretary. (Editor’s Note: Eddie Griesedieck is a photographer for The Observer).
All 10 of the resolutions were passed with strong support and included amending the responsibilities of the parliamentarian, off campus council and the departments of gender relations, University policy, student life, athletics, diversity and inclusion, faith and service, and health and wellness. A resolution indicating which members are required to attend the weekly executive cabinet meeting was also passed.
Brian Fremeau, director of facilities for the Campus Crossroads project, gave a presentation to explain the plans for the addition of three new buildings surrounding the football stadium: Duncan Student Center, O’Neill Hall and Corbett Family Hall. He also discussed other enhancements to the stadium.
Construction on Campus Crossroads, which began November 2014, is expected to conclude in August 2017. Fremeau’s presentation included images of the partially built rooms compared with artist’s representations of the finished interiors.
Fremeau said the Duncan Student Center will not be open during the fall 2017 semester, as the various groups slated to occupy the space will be moving in.
“We do expect in spring 2018, at the start of the semester, the doors will fly open and it will be open to everyone,” he said.
Fremeau also said that while he cannot currently say which dining options will be available in the new student center, he expects this information to be publicly released soon.
Notre Dame Day program director Pablo Martinez also delivered a presentation, discussing Notre Dame Day and the opportunities for club fundraising that it offers, as well as the opportunity to show alumni, parents and friends what students are doing.
“It’s one way for us to really engage alumni, parents and friends when they’re not here on campus,” Martinez said. “A lot of people come back sometime during the fall for a football game or a tailgate or a reunion, but other than that people don’t know what’s going on — people don’t know the great work that students are doing. This is our way of showing them.”
Julia Dunbar, director of health and wellness, announced that “Love Your Body Week” — hosted by the Gender Relation Center — will kick off Sunday with a talk on eating disorders. On Monday, a “Berry Brunch Break” will be provided in the LaFortune Student Center. The week will conclude with a yoga session, hosted by the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being.
To conclude the meeting, student body vice president Becca Blais announced the Notre Dame Box Office is now selling $5 tickets for Show Some Skin, an event in which students anonymously submit stories to be performed by other students as monologues. The event, according to its website, “gives voice to unspoken stories about identity and difference.”
