Senate met Wednesday to consider nominations, conduct elections and vote on a resolution addressing counseling services for survivors of sexual assault.
The meeting opened with a prayer and roll call, followed by the approval of minutes from the April 15 session. Executive announcements included reminders about upcoming committee applications and internal assignments.
Following announcements, senate moved to Campus Life Council elections. Candidates delivered 60-second speeches outlining their goals and qualifications. The council requires one representative from a men’s dorm and one from a women’s dorm.
Michael Doyle of Knott Hall emphasized mental health and resource distribution in his remarks.
“I want to implement some reviews of the mental health processing we have here on campus, to make sure that wait times aren’t a barrier to safety for our students,” Doyle said.
He also referenced the allocation of resources across residence halls.
“I want to work with student affairs directly to look at the resources allocated to individual dorms to ensure we are all on a level playing field,” Doyle said. “I want to make sure halls aren’t at a disadvantage because they are older or newer.”
Militza Algredo-Huerta, Ryan Hall senator, focused on communication between students and administrators.
“I want to be the bridge between voice and policy,” she said, adding her experience in campus organizations, including her role as assistant director for the education nonprofit social enterprise community at Beyond the Dome, would help her contribute.
Following the vote, Doyle and Huerta were elected to the Campus Life Council.
The Senate also approved the nomination of Molly Sullivan as president of The Shirt Project. The nomination passed without extended debate.
The final item of the evening was a resolution titled “A Resolution to Improve Counseling Services on Campus for Sexual Assault Victims,” introduced by Max Barton, Carroll Hall senator.
The resolution cites findings from the 2024 Campus Climate Survey, which reported that 6% of females and 1% of males indicated they had personally experienced sexual assault while a student at Notre Dame. A majority, 79%, of these incidents took place on campus, with 70% having taken place in on-campus residence halls.
In presenting the resolution, Barton gave a six-minute speech about the issue, highlighting it as a concern affecting student well-being.
“We have an unfortunate amount of violence against women in particular on this campus,” Barton said. “This is true in many institutions, but we can only control the one we are currently at and we can set an example for those other institutions.”
The resolution called on the University Counseling Center to review its staffing and hire specialists trained in sexual trauma care.
“Trauma is the real issue we are fighting here,” he said.
Following discussion, the resolution was put to a vote and passed.
Additional announcements included reminders about applications for the Committee on the Constitution and an ad hoc committee to review senate bylaws. Senators were informed that bylaw revisions are expected to be considered at a future meeting.
