The Notre Dame student body senate passed three motions during the general orders portion of in their Wednesday afternoon meeting, which also featured the first presidential State of the Union address of student body president Daniel Jung’s term.
Student body vice president Aidan Rezner called on Lyons Hall senator Libby Meister to give the meeting’s opening prayer, and student union secretary Isabella Tardio asked the senate what their favorite snacks were for the question of the day during roll call. For his weekly “Pick One,” Rezner called on Vinnie Badali, senator of Siegfried Hall, to offer recommendations for where he should go during a trip to Chicago.
Rezner then got the minutes approved by the senate and moved the meeting into executive announcements, which began with Jung’s address.
Discussing the achievements of his new student government administration, Jung noted a smooth transition from the previous administration to his own, the approval by the senate of the executive cabinet members and the various events which the student union has hosted — including last week’s Take Back the Night and Denim Day.
“Since the student body election of late February, student government has been hard at work at a variety of tasks aimed towards the improvement of student life and the flourishing of the Notre Dame student body, with a particular focus on this upcoming year,” Jung said in the address.
Three items passed in general orders
Originally, there were three items planned for new business on the meeting’s agenda. However, all three were moved up with a unanimous vote by the senate to the general orders section.
The first item the senate discussed was a nomination of Ryan Bland for president of The Shirt Project charity. Bland was not in attendance at the meeting, but student union treasurer Hannah Blaskiewicz read to the senate her nomination of Bland for the position.
“Due to his commitment to The Shirt Project, his diligence in planning, his passion for leading The Shirt committee and his welcoming presence for the rest of the [The] Shirt Project committee, I extend my recommendation to Ryan without reservation,” Blaskiewicz said.
The motion passed with no objecting votes.
Next, the senate passed an order to approve the senate’s bylaws, which Rezner explained were not changed from the previous term. According to the student government constitution, the bylaws must be approved by May 1, and student union parliamentarian Griffin McAndrew explained that revisions to the bylaws would be discussed in the senate’s May 3 meeting.
Dillon Hall senator Sam Godinez spoke about the third item of the meeting’s general orders: a resolution calling upon the University to “fix numerous sidewalks surrounding Dillon Hall.”
Editor’s Note: Sam Godinez is a former news writer for The Observer
“For purposes of clarification, this resolution is not calling on the Office of Facilities Design and Operations to fix ‘Lake Dillon,’ the sidewalk between Dillon Hall and South Dining Hall that was repaired last year, but rather the drainage issue that affects the sidewalks East and South of Dillon Hall,” Godinez said.
Godinez said that “several students” from Dillon Hall have complained about the issue, and that the puddles have flooded a ramp entrance into the hall, creating challenges for people with mobility assistive devices.
During questioning of the resolution, Pangborn Hall senator Charlie Pehl asked Godinez why the resolution was necessary if the problem would be solved when Alumni Hall renovations are completed during summer break. Godinez answered that he felt it was important for the senate to respond to the drainage problem in order to help prevent the same problem occurring with future construction projects on campus.
“It calls to attention that this issue affected numerous people, and that when future constructions are happening, because there will be a lot of constructions afterwards, they could perhaps find alternatives,” Godinez said.
Baumer Hall senator Thomas Kluck supported the resolution during debate over the resolution, adding that the sight of the puddles were indeed “impressive.”
“I hope it gets fixed, but before it does, make sure that you — after a rainy day — go check it out. It’s a sight to see,” he said.
The senate voted to pass the resolution with no dissenters, and Rezner moved the senate into announcements.
Bagpipes blare for a roach
Ava DeCroix, the Club Coordination Council president and a resident of Farley Hall, raised her hand to explain to the senate why bagpipes were heard blaring Tuesday night on North Quad.
“If anyone was disturbed by the bagpipe music last night, that was the Farley Hall Roach Funeral,” DeCroix said.
DeCroix told The Observer that the funeral commemorated a roach that died on the third floor of Farley Hall, and residents enshrined an upside down cup covering the dead roach for long enough to begin intensely planning a proper funeral.
“Then somebody knew someone on the Notre Dame bagpipe band, and was like, ‘hey, it would be really funny if we had a bagpipe to play at this,’” DeCroix said. “But then, that girl actually ended up bringing the entire Notre Dame bagpipe band … It was genuinely ridiculous but it was so fun.”
