Community Committee
Community Committee chair and sophomore Maria Bruno works to promote what it means to be a Belle by encouraging students to participate as much as possible in a variety of events — not just those on the Saint Mary’s campus, but in the greater tri-campus community. In the future, the committee plans to improve event publicity within the community by encouraging more advertising across the three campuses. Additionally, it plans to foster a sense of community at Saint Mary’s by hosting a letter-writing event where students can write thank-you notes to faculty and staff, as well as welcome letters to newly accepted students. While the group has made efforts to bring students at Saint Mary’s closer together, it could take more initiative in its event planning.
Grade: B
Mission Committee
Juniors Terra Nelson and Anna Zappa co-chair the mission committee. They act as liaisons between Campus Ministry, vice president of mission Judy Fean and SGA, while working to increase student connection with the Sisters of the Holy Cross to promote Saint Mary’s core values. Their biggest accomplishment of the semester was establishing a weekly “Lemonade and Le Mans” Mass, which helped increase weekly Mass attendance, drawing an average of 25 attendees each Wednesday. The committee is also in the process of confirming details for a class ring blessing Mass. In addition, it is working to plan a heritage tea at Reidinger House in the spring. While the group has been active this semester, it has yet to execute any substantial plans to further the College’s mission.
Grade: B-
Sustainability Committee
The sustainability committee is led by juniors Courtney Kroschel and Kassidy Jungles. The pair has worked to represent student sustainability interests at faculty meetings throughout the semester. Establishing more opportunities for recycling on campus was one of the committee’s main goals this year. To do so, they have installed recycling bins in the Cushwa-Leighton Library and other places on campus. Next semester, the committee plans to spearhead a campaign to educate students on responsible recycling. The group has also expressed interest in providing more composting bins at Saint Mary’s, including bringing composting to the dining hall. Overall, the sustainability committee is completing the goals that they set forth for themselves in a timely fashion — however, the committee could take much broader steps to make Saint Mary’s environmentally friendly.
Grade: B
SOPHIA Oversight Committee
The SOPHIA Oversight Committee — which changed its name this semester from the SOPHIA Curriculum Committee — allows students to provide suggestions about how the SOPHIA program is implemented. The program has and will still be the core of Saint Mary’s Liberal Arts education — it works toward improving the Saint Mary’s educational experience. The SOPHIA program is not perfect, and the committee has not done many tangible things to improve the program this semester. However, the group is in regular communication with the Saint Mary’s administration and looks forward to identifying issues with the program and rising to reform them. The committee honors the SOPHIA program’s focus on a complete and liberal education and believes that this innately benefits every Saint Mary’s student, neglecting to address the program’s faults.
Grade: C+
Food Services Committee
Food services committee chair and sophomore Giavanna Paradiso said the committee has had multiple meetings this year with Saint Mary’s dining general manager Ken Acosta. Working with Acosta, the committee has implemented small changes to the dining hall’s menu, such as adding marinated chicken on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a refrigerator featuring gluten-free options. The committee also arranged Food Week, which brought a cake decorating contest, a trail mix bar and an ice cream sundae bar to campus. Paradiso said the committee has plans to make Food Week an annual tradition. The committee also aspires to add more off-campus options for Munch Money and incorporate more student recipes from home in the dining hall, she added. Though the committee has made a few changes to improve dining at Saint Mary's, it has yet to make any sweeping improvements.
Grade: B+
Market and Media Committee
The market and media committee did not respond to multiple requests for comment. However, the aim of the committee is to keep students aware of events happening around campus in clubs, departments and other organizations. Additionally, the group aspires to strengthen the connection between the SGA, its executives and the student body. It typically uses social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to engage with students and publicize SGA events. However, while the committee does important work, it has failed to make any major strides this year.
Grade: C
Big Belle, Little Belle Committee
The Big Belle, Little Belle Committee helps freshmen form relationships with juniors. “The relationship between the pairs is to have a mentorship, sister, friendship,” said Moira LeMay, chair of Big Belle, Little Belle. “The committee hopes to encourage belles across classes to interact and build a strong community at Saint Mary’s.” LeMay said Big Belle, Little Belle is currently working to allow transfer students to participate in the program. Big Belle, Little Belle organizes several events each year for big and little Belles alike. Although most of the events are intended for junior and first-year pairs, LeMay said former Big and Little Belles are welcome at activities and events. Overall, Big Belle, Little Belle has done its best to continue programs from previous years. One of its biggest goals has been finding ways to incorporate transfer students, and although they haven’t figured out a set overall plan, they’re working on it.
Grade: B
