The Council of Representatives looked ahead to next year as it discussed pep rallies and the endowment established last semester in memory of Declan Sullivan at Tuesday's meeting.
Student body president Catherine Soler asked representatives for feedback about the successes and shortcomings of this year's reformed rallies.
Student body vice president Andrew Bell said disproportionate attendance between classes was a recurring problem.
"Usually pep rally attendance is heavily freshman," he said. "Is there anything that could encourage sophomores, juniors and seniors to come back to the pep rallies?"
Senior class president Kate Clitheroe said off-campus students had difficulty accessing the student section at this year's rallies, especially if they missed the student walkover.
"Off-campus people are coming from Turtle Creek and that direction," she said. "It's something to be aware of, that seniors may not show up on time."
Hall Presidents' Council co-chair Alexa Doyle said including a new or different feature at each rally could entice more upperclassmen to attend the rallies.
"My really apathetic off-campus friends came for the fireworks, so I think things like that, gimmicks, work," Doyle said.
Student Senate liaison Erin Burke agreed that ensuring each rally's uniqueness could draw upperclassmen who may see the rallies as more of the same.
"Just make sure each pep rally's different, that's the thing," Burke said. "You go to one and think, ‘Oh, I'm done for the year, I've had my fill.'"
This year, Irish football coach Brian Kelly spoke at the dorms that displayed the most spirit at the pep rallies. Bell said he was not sure if this incentive would continue but believed some sort of similar encouragement would be offered next year.
"Every year there's different incentives to get the dorms there because they're such a key part of the spirit of the pep rallies," he said.
Following the theme of next year's athletics, Soler discussed possibly collaborating with the Athletics Office to implement the endowment established following junior Declan Sullivan's death last fall.
"The FMB [Financial Management Board] set up the Declan Sullivan memorial endowment ... It looks like it's going to be housed in student government. We are just trying to come up with ways we can use [the endowment] to honor Declan for the next 25 years," she said. "We've reached out to the Athletic Department to see if they'd be interested in doing something."
Soler said no decisions would be made regarding the endowment's usage until the Sullivan family has been consulted.
