Student Government Association candidates deliver campaign speeches before election

The three tickets for Saint Mary’s Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president presented their platforms to the College community Wednesday evening.

Juniors Madeleine Corcoran and Kathy Ogden’s platform focused on ways to help Saint Mary’s students grow during their time at the College.

“Our platform is specifically designed to help students discover themselves best,” Ogden, who is running for vice president, said. “We plan to do this through a mentorship program with alumnae from Saint Mary’s and current [first years].”

Ogden said the ticket plans to invite the Sisters of the Holy Cross to Mass with the students, and to extend an invitation to a priest from the Brothers of the Holy Cross to say Mass at the College. They also plan to include a day of service in the South Bend community, Ogden said.

“We hope to extend the Saint Mary’s campus to the Holy Cross, tri-campus and South Bend communities, and ultimately lead Saint Mary’s students to the discovery of the universe,” she said.

The ticket also focused on healthy living, which Ogden said she and Corcoran plan to promote by “offering additional workout classes to accommodate students’ busy schedules.”

In addition, Corcoran said the ticket hopes to expand healthy food options.

“In order to reach peak academic performance and overall well being, students must live a healthy lifestyle,” Corcoran said. “By improving the food options and hours in Spes [Cafe] and Cyber Cafe, students will be able to live a healthier life and eat more regularly even on busy days.”

Corcoran said she and Ogden hope to decrease the number of all-campus emails while increasing student attendance at campus events by initiating an email newsletter.

“This email will contain all the events on campus for the following week, including everything from academic and campus ministry events to workout classes,” Corcoran said. “This will … put everything in one place. It will also help clubs communicate and collaborate to create a bigger impact on our campus and greater community.”

Juniors Teresa Brickey and Mar Y Selva Albarran, who are running for president and vice president respectively, emphasize building diversity at the College with their platform.

“You have heard the word ‘diversity’ multiple times,” Brickey said. “It is more than just race, it is more than just class, it is more than just political thought. It is all of these things and more. As your representatives, we want to support club initiatives and events who identify who you are as a Saint Mary’s woman.”

The ticket wants to increase meetings with multicultural leadership representatives on campus, Brickey said.

“We want to further meet with leaders every month regarding issues they face and how SGA can further help progress their clubs,” she said.

Brickey said she wants to increase interaction with the greater South Bend community and to improve service in the area.

“There is a high rate of homelessness in South Bend, there’s a high rate of domestic violence and sex trafficking,” she said. “It is our responsibility as students to tackle these issues while in school, to be in communion with the people surrounding our schools because through this, we learn who we are as women, we gain confidence and we learn how to have intercultural relationships.”

The ticket also plans to increase initiatives to help students, including additional GreeNDot trainings and having a counselor on call so students have access to mental health resources during evenings and weekends, Brickey said. She also said she wants to increase healthy options both in the on-campus cafes and in the dining hall.

“Students should have access to mental health resources in order to live a healthier lifestyle, in order to be sustained here at Saint Mary’s,” she said. “We also want to talk to Kenneth Acosta to lower [prices] in Cyber [Cafe], especially for healthier options. A burger should not cost less than a salad.”

Brickey also said the ticket hopes to expand Munch Money options on Eddy Street, but said it is still investigating the possibility of this and will not promise new options.

Juniors Anna Mullek and Ashlyn Maes focused their platform on increasing opportunities available to Saint Mary’s students.

Maes, who is running for vice president, said the ticket stresses sustainability on campus.

“We would like to increase campus involvement in the community gardens and to introduce hand dryers,” she said.

The ticket also wants to increase SGA meetings with administration, Maes said, and to increase involvement with BAVO.

Mullek said she and Maes want to increase awareness of campus events.

“Saint Mary’s offers so many events, workshops and speakers,” Mullek said. “Since reminders tend to get lost in our email, we want to initiate the use of Google Calendar in order to share campus activities. Students will be able to select specific calendars they would like to receive notifications from.”

Mullek also said the ticket is seeking to increase the amount of service the College completes in the South Bend community.

“We want to begin providing semi-annual meals to the families at the Ronald McDonald House at Memorial Hospital,” she said.

Students can vote in the elections Thursday on OrgSync, and graduating seniors remain eligible to vote.