The Notre Dame student senate met Wednesday night in a classroom located on the first floor of the Mendoza College of Business. In the meeting, the senate voted to pass a resolution clarifying rules about elections for vacant positions in student governments, denying candidates the opportunity to run if they had resigned or been removed from the vacant position in the same term as the vacancy election.
Student body vice president Sofie Stitt presided over the meeting alongside senate parliamentarian Jared Schlachet. After the senate’s opening prayer, she took roll call and quickly approved the previous meeting’s minutes with an unanimous vote from the senate.
Moving on to executive announcements, Stitt reminded the senators to maintain appropriate behavior with the upcoming student government president and vice president elections.
“Please be kind. Be respectful. If you don’t know if you should say it, or post it, or tweet it or do whatever, probably don’t,” Stitt said.
Next, First Undergraduate Experience in Leadership (FUEL) directors AnnahMarie Behn-Link and Joey Kositzke presented a brief update on events and initiatives. Kositzke explained that they selected 25 first-years out of 97 applicants, and that these students were assigned a specific executive cabinet department to attend meetings for and assist in the department’s initiatives.
Behn-Link added that the first-years, or “FUEL-ers”, have pursued student government initiatives based on their personal interests and ambitions, receiving guidance from the FUEL directors.
“As we have guided them in creating long term goals for this year, we continue to provide them assistance as they seek to accomplish their respective initiatives,” Behn-Link said.
Tavin Martin, the director of diversity and inclusion — first generation low income initiatives, also gave a senate report explaining what her department has accomplished over the course of the first semester. These accomplishments included hosting a Football 101 event to inform first-generation students about the basics of football, supplying gameday swag bags to students and organizing various events throughout First Generation Low Income Week in early November.
The final executive announcement before the senate moved on to general orders came from Lane Obringer, the director of gender relations - Title IX and women’s initiatives. She explained that a group of women from the first cohort of undergraduate women to attend Notre Dame had donated over 4,000 hats to female-identifying students to celebrate 50 years of co-education at Notre Dame. The hats, she said, have “1972” displayed on the front with “Notre Dame” on the back.
“I asked for one for Christmas. I didn’t get one. So, Notre Dame development gave me 4,000 of them,” Obringer joked.
The only resolution proposed during general orders in Wednesday's meeting was SO2223-20, which amended Article XIII of the student government constitution to clarify rules for elections after resignations and removals of office positions in student government. Whether a member of the student government leaves a position by choice or is removed for ethical violations, the resolution prohibits candidates from running for the vacant position during the same term.
The senate debated for a short time before passing the resolution with no dissenters.
Following the passing vote, Stitt touched on new business, which included a brief discussion about the University’s recent announcement introducing that Fischer Graduate Residences will become a co-ed “undergraduate community” in the Fall 2023 semester. Stitt told the senate that she had no more information about the development than the rest of the senate.
The senate then moved into announcements, which included Keenan Hall residents reminding the senate about the upcoming Keenan Revue. And following the announcements, the meeting was adjourned.
