Student Government: Welcome back

Welcome back, Notre Dame! We hope everyone has had a great summer break! Whether you were working a summer job or internship, volunteering or taking classes around the world, we know that Notre Dame students are busy even over the summer ... and so is Student Government! We have spent the last few months hard on initiatives from our three major categories: Your ND, Renew ND and One ND. 

Your ND is all about catering to your interests, needs and wellbeing. This starts with our work on ND AI, which is hopefully coming to a computer near you very soon. Our department of campus technology and innovation has been hard at work with the office of information technology to build out the chatbot. Prepare yourself to have personalized information about every Notre Dame club at your fingertips! Also keep an eye out for some voter engagement programming from our department of national affairs and political engagement as election season approaches. We all want to be healthy and well, too, and our department of health and wellness has got you covered! Hope to see you at the Wellness Expo Wednesday, Aug. 28th!

Renew ND entails making improvements to the campus that we are all blessed to call home! These include equipment upgrades in both the Smith Center and the Rock thanks to work from our department of university policy (and previous StuGov administrations). Our department of student life has been working hard with Campus Dining staff to bring increased hours of operation and food options in Grab & Go. As for the dining halls, we are working to ensure equity in food offerings as well as adding some new features like seasoning stations and community tables. Our department of sustainability was also responsible for Green Move-In, making our campus and larger community more eco-friendly during one of the busiest times on campus. If you’re looking to get more involved in the community, make sure to check out our new and improved volunteer database on the student government website, courtesy of our department of community outreach.

One ND is focused on ensuring each and every one of you feels a strong sense of belonging at Notre Dame, whether home is five or 5000 miles away. For some programming that might give you a little taste of home, be sure to check out Cultural Relations Week hosted by the department of diversity and inclusion: race and ethnicity. Our department of gender relations: Title IX & women’s initiatives has been hard at work planning for Red Zone Awareness Month this September and the successful implementation of new Title IX regulations at the University level. Other initiatives that made great progress this summer were audio enhancements in large classrooms through the department of disability advocacy and planning for panels like Football 101 through the department of first-generation low-income.

Even though all Notre Dame students have had big summers, including Student Government, what we are most excited about is welcoming students back to campus these next few weeks. From events like Flick on the Field to the Golden Generation Dinner, our favorite thing to do is provide ways for all students to feel at home at Notre Dame.

We want to make your vision our mission throughout our term, and we always love to hear your input and feedback. Student Government is truly by students, for students. Feel free to stop by our office on the first floor of LaFun, or fill out the Let’s Make It Happen form on the Student Government website. We also unfortunately could not fit all the exciting work that our 18 different departments did into this one article so stay tuned for more information coming to your inbox soon, and for now, follow our Instagram @ndstugov for more updates. Good luck with the first week of classes, and as always: Irish by a million!

In Notre Dame,