On Tues., Feb. 13, members of Student Government proposed a bill offering revisions to JCU’s travel safety policies. Resolution 02-S24 was written by Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Gia Hamed ‘25 and Director of Business Affairs Mike Noonan ‘26 and was sponsored by President Morgan Anderson ‘25 and Senator Jeff Sinclair ‘26. The revisions offered in the bill would help to provide the university with advice on how to better protect the safety and well-being of students when traveling or studying abroad.
John Carroll University currently does a revision of these policies every five years. The previous revisions focused on policies such as late submissions and pregnancy guidelines. Student Government has worked closely with university administration to take student concerns into consideration during the policy revision process;the new focus on travel safety policies will help to do that.
This bill looks at both the pre-trip and post-trip regulations. For pre-trip preparedness, the suggestion within the legislation is to emphasize the importance of thorough research on the current events of the designated countries and surrounding areas. Recognizing the stereotypes and discrimination that students might encounter while they are abroad is just one aspect of this research. Another pre-trip suggestion is to have detailed itineraries provided at least eight months in advance, allowing students enough time to prepare for the journey.
Post-trip accountability is also a priority. Student Government suggests that any student conduct issues be reported. However, the boundaries as to what constitutes a student conduct issue have yet to be fully established. Checking in with students both before and after the trip will hopefully ensure that student’s safety abroad is taken into greater consideration.
The bill was passed with a majority vote. By passing this bill and its suggested revisions, Student Government plays a huge role in focusing on campus safety and the safety of students both on campus and abroad.
Additional news from this meeting that you might have missed:
- The Academic Affairs committee will be hosting a Development & Donuts Pop-Up Event in the Student Center on Feb. 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Senators will be doing an Instagram Takeover with Senators Isidora Djukic ‘25 and Sydney Burger ‘25 starting off this current week, Senator Joe Bilas ‘27 taking over the week of Feb. 19 and Senator Mariam Al-Saffar taking over the week of Feb. 26.
For more information, or to contact JCU’s Student Government about any additional issues, email [email protected].
