The fall semester is coming to a close and Student Government has held its last two meetings of 2023.
On Nov. 28, Student Government met to cover three main subjects: campus safety, filling vacant seats and revising the constitution.
Right before Thanksgiving break, the John Carroll community was notified by email of a firearm found in Dolan Residence Hall. Three guest speakers – Dr. Lisa Brown Cornelius, the interim dean of students and senior director of residence life, Chief Jeff Daberko from the John Carroll University Police Department and Garry Homany, director of regulatory affairs/risk management and ada disability coordinator – came to the meeting to clarify the situation and provide more information.
They clarified that the incident had not been an active situation and that students were not in any imminent danger. The student in possession of the firearm, a rifle, has been prohibited from returning to campus and will be arrested for trespassing if the student enters campus again. In case of an emergency, the three guest speakers believe students have been given preparation starting in grade school and/or high school. However, they are still looking to expand training within JCU’s setting and are working on figuring out what the next steps might be in educating students should an active shooter event occur.
The next point on the agenda was approving two separate bills to appoint Riley Voelker ‘25 and Chad Harpster ‘26 into the vacant Senator positions within their respective classes. The two had already been elected by their classes in the most recent election. Their swearing-in marked the completion of a full Senate for the 2023 term. Within the last two remaining meetings, the writers and sponsors of the bill hope to expose the newly-elected senators to the process.
Lastly, the Senate proposed three additional bills that sought to adopt the proposed changes to the Constitution, General Bylaws and Election Code Bylaws. The changes to the first two were more focused on syntax, such as changing the term “two-thirds” to “super majority” and adding “belonging” to the end of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The more noticeable changes made running for a position on the executive board more accessible. Those running for president need only one full semester of experience and should be at least a sophomore. Those running for vice president need no experience in student government but must be a social sophomore and a member of an organization on campus. In addition to those changes, the number of parliamentary members has been reduced from three to one, and the concept of a “ vice chair” within committees has been replaced with “co-chair” instead.
These three bills were tabled until the very final meeting on Dec. 5 where they were all passed. The session ended very quickly and on a positive note, thanking everyone for the hard work they had done and encouraging returning members to continue to make a positive impact on the campus.
Senate meetings will not resume until after the break and plenty of new faces and fresh ideas will accompany the new season. For any questions, comments or concerns, email [email protected].
