The Notre Dame student senate met in Mendoza 161 on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the upcoming week and vote on the nominees for junior class council vice president and treasurer.
Student body president Maeve Miller opened the meeting by discussing a variety of events supported by the student council. These announcements included the promotion of “Steps to Wellness Week,” which is celebrated by a RecSports yoga class this Thursday at 8 a.m. in the Smith Center and a “Carnations & Journals” event this Friday at 2 p.m. in North Dining Hall.
Another event promoted was a Notre Dame Forum called “Election 2024: What Just Happened?” The talk, discussing the implications of last week’s election, will take place Friday at 12:30 p.m. in Hesburgh Center Auditorium.
Key panelists for the event include University president Fr. Robert Dowd, law professor Derek Muller, chair of the department of political science Geoffrey Layman and assistant professor of democracy and global affairs Laura Gamboa. After acknowledging this variety of campus affairs, the senate focused their attention on the class council nominees.
The nominee for junior class council vice president, Akash Nooka, is a neuroscience and behavior major on a pre-med track from Nebraska, currently living in Sorin College. Nooka is a member of the Glynn Family Honors Program and has been appointed to be a peer advocate by the judicial council.
Junior class president Emma Vales, in her nomination of Nooka, said these commitments “demonstrate his meticulous work ethic that makes him the best fit for a position such as Vice President.”
The approval of Nooka was unanimously approved.
The nominee for junior class treasurer, Maggie Acosta, is a finance and pre-med major from Florida, currently living in Johnson Family Hall. Similarly to Nooka, Acosta is involved with a variety of leadership groups, including her service as finance chair of the 2026 class council and secretary of Johnson Family Hall.
When briefly questioned on her fiscal policy during the meeting, Acosta said, “we [the junior class council] are pretty conservative. We have been allocating our money in a pretty reserved manner.”
Acosta was unanimously elected without debate or votes against her installment.
Before adjourning the senate, there were a few more announcements made regarding campus events. Events included Acousticafe, which is a collaboration between the Notre Dame Student Union Board and O’Neill Family Hall. It will take place this Thursday at 8:30 pm in Hagerty Family Cafe. The last event introduced O’Neill Family Hall’s Blood Drive, which will take place Tuesday, Dec. 3.
