Motions focused on SJU housing were passed at both the March 21 and March 28 meetings of the St. John’s Senate (SJS). A motion for a trip to a management convention failed as well. The senate also heard the program review for Life Safety Services.
March 28 meeting
The only motion heard at Monday’s meeting asked for $430 to be allocated to the Society for the Advancement of Management (SAM). The student organization is attending a competition this weekend in Florida. The team that went last year placed third. The group hoped the SJS would fund them after not receiving as much funding as they anticipated from endowments or the Management Department.
“Considering all of the money they are putting forward themselves, including flights and lodging, I think it is very reasonable to fund their registration fees,” Sen. Jon Ostazeski said.
However, many senators were concerned the club was focused too much on management majors and not enough on the entire student body.
“I encourage us to vote against this in order to not set the dangerous precedent of funding departmental organizations,” Sen. Cooper Lund said. “This tied up with the management department.”
This prompted a discussion on what student activity dollars should be used for. Sen. Tom Loonan believed funding the request, while the trip was not open to the student body at large, would still be a good use of money.
“The way I see it, it is for the benefit of the students,” Loonan said. “It seems like it is something that could potentially be good for the university and for the students.”
The motion failed.
March 21 meeting
The March 21 meeting of the SJS began with a presentation from Shawn Vierzba, the director of Life Safety Services. Last year, Life Safety underwent an independent program review, and Vierzba presented the findings to the SJS.
Acording to Vierzba, the independent reviewers found Life Safety to be well managed and organized. They received high marks in training, programming emergency management and investigations. There were concerns over staffing, however.
“We are here 24/7/365, and currently there aren’t enough officers for that,” Vierzba said.
Vierzba also wants to increase the use of student officers.
“I would rather have some of the programs presented with students,” Vierzba said. “Peer to peer relationships is the best way to connect to the student population.”
In addition to staffing, Vierzba said his two concerns were budgeting and training. The reviewers also said the campus had a low number of security cameras
The senate also heard two motions. The first motion was a resolution to voice support for the continuation of a third Faculty Resident in Flynntown.
“There was a conversation about reducing the number of FR’s from three to two,” Vice President Corbin Cleary said. “I think having that person to serve in a guidance role is important at that time in your life.”
However, other senators believed it was inappropriate for the senate to take a stand on the issue because the St. John’s Abbey, not the university, made the decision. Others also believed the third FR was not needed. The motion failed.
The second motion, also a resolution, stated support for changing the names of the Flynntown Apartments to honor the late Br. Dietrich Reinhart, OSB.
“I think this is a very good thing for us to do,” Regent Tom Joyce said. “He was a very beloved member of this community.”
The motion passed.
The next meeting of the St. John’s Senate will take place 9:20 p.m. on Monday, April 3 in Sexton 200.
Tags: SJU Senate