By Patrick Healy, Managing Editor
[Editor's note: The events described in this article took place last week, the week of March 10. There was no Senate meeting this week of March 17.]
The Undergraduate Student Association held its most recent meeting last Tuesday. Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Sara Morris spoke to the Senate about the Strategic Planning and Prioritization Committee. Morris presented the timeline and charge of the committee.
In describing the type of goals that the committee hopes to formulate, Morris said that increased enrollment is not the way to phrase them. Rather than trying to increase enrollment, Morris said that a goal might be trying to “have really awesome programs that students want to come to,” which might lead to increased enrollment.
Morris spoke about the various goals so far formulated to, for example, increase community engagement, invest in the physical plant and create more inclusive spaces for students. She said that Jesuit values, diversity and sustainability should be “cross-cutting”—inherently imbued in every objective rather than having its own category.
President Jahare Hudson reported that Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Harold Fields was open to piloting a water-fountain program in freshman residence halls, as the Senate had requested a few weeks ago.
Dining Services Liaison Kornacki spoke about an initiative by the dining hall to have more cooking classes, and senators asked her to inquire about increased hours at Tim Hortons as well as options for Ramadan. As far as ITS issues, senators voiced a concern that the GriffPass card readers of campus vending machines don’t work. Quite a few questions were addressed to Public Safety Liaison Ian Gotthelf about what Public Safety is doing to address the increased number of car break-ins.
Executive Vice President Jill Galanti, as usual, provided internal updates for senators on office hours and the upcoming Casino Night to be co-hosted by USA.