Student senate convened in their second meeting of the semester to discuss upcoming campus events. Before these announcements, judicial council president Elijah Jones led the group in opening prayer.
The senate began in earnest by recapping “Flick on the Field,” which took place on Aug. 29 in Notre Dame Stadium. Student government shows the 1993 movie “Rudy” every year, and the screening is free and open to the public. Senators applauded vice president Sonia Lumley for her work on the event.
Lumley then went on to highlight the upcoming “Wellness Expo,” planned for Thursday, Sept. 4. The expo, coordinated by the student government’s department of health and wellness, will be hosted by the McDonald Center at Fieldhouse Mall. Various campus vendors will have stands, including University Health Services, University Counseling Services, Campus Ministry, and RecSports.
Lumley also discussed “Red Zone Awareness Week,” an ongoing initiative aimed at combating sexual assault. “This week is ‘Red Zone Awareness Week,’” she said. “It brings awareness to the first six weeks of the semester, where college students are most vulnerable to sexual violence and sexual assault. So wear red on Friday to be in solidarity with survivors.”
With no general orders on the table for the week, the senate continued with other announcements, which, like last week’s meeting, included Vielhauer’s planned appearance at Thursday’s South Bend Cubs game.
“The South Bend Cubs game is Sept. 4, so tomorrow,” Lumley told the senate. “As said, Jerry will be throwing the first pitch.”
After Lumley’s updates, Elena Rossen, a senator from Ryan Hall, raised concerns from students about the status of opening of the new sushi restaurant FujiSan, which is replacing Flip Kitchen in LaFortune Student Center. Student senate advisor Maureen Doyle responded to Rossen’s concerns.
“I don’t have a definitive answer on when the sushi [place] will open in LaFortune, but it’s supposed to be mid-September,” Doyle told Rossen. “So in the next week or two, we expect it to open.”
Following Rossen’s inquiry, senator Z Zavala of Welsh Family Hall spoke to the senate, recognizing Audrey DeShelter, a Notre Dame student who passed away due to cancer in June at 19 years old. Having battled the disease since the age of five, she fought for 14 years in the face of overwhelming odds and helped raise funds for pediatric cancer research.
In honor of DeShelter, Zavala announced that Welsh Family Hall will be hosting a memorial Mass in the Basilica on Monday. As one of the last announcements of the session, she urged members of the Notre Dame community to attend the Mass and pay their respects.
“She would’ve been a sophomore this year. She was really sweet,” Zavala said. “She unfortunately passed away due to cancer this summer. [The Mass] is going to be on Monday at 8:30 p.m. in the Basilica, so please come and honor her memory.”
