Substance Over Slogan
Sam Buettner, Meredith Hayden, & Scott Jones
We would like to address simple access issues. Having automatic doors in the Hoff Dining Commons are a clear necessity. These issues also involve those with hearing impairments, seeing impairments, and other impairments or disabilities that may need more attention.
It may seem that these issues are small, that they only address solutions to problems for a small population of students, but this population is small because Xavier has not made a point to reach out to students making their college decisions. This creates a cyclical lack of inclusivity for disabled students in a university that values diversity, inclusion, and service. By increasing attention to the recruitment of disabled students, and creating a campus that can be proud of its efforts towards inclusivity for the disabled, we will produce a generation of more conscientious, compassionate Xavier graduates. Our simple solutions will have a broad impact on the minds of abled and disabled students alike.
As executives, we will institute once a week voting for meals, this would increase student participation and thus attendance to the cafeteria. It is concerning that our new students are increasingly isolated and distant from the Xavier community. The cafeteria serves as a place for students to interact, form bonds, and create lasting community. By addressing not just the quality of service but also empowering students to make choices about the cafeteria experience, as your future executives we will improve student involvement and inclusion.
We also find the lack of evening food options concerning. Our ticket will push for more diverse food options in Gallagher that will allow students the comfort of knowing that the cafeteria is not their only choice. These efforts will create an environment where students not only do not need to be concerned about their food options, but will also give students a means to contribute and become invested in the actions of their cafeteria.
While we will push to fix tuition rates and meal plan rates, we understand that our tuitions increase for a reason. However, we as students deserve to know, in detail, what those reasons are. As your executives, we will push to increase transparency about where our funds are allocated, whether it be to improve the quality of the campus, increase payment to faculty, or expand Xavier’s programs to be more effective for students.
We had also been attempting to make intramural sports more affordable for all Xavier students. After a lengthy uphill battle we have finally gotten Glenn Arnold, the Xavier director of intramural sports, to support our ticket’s plan of changing the standard student activity fee by a mere five dollars in order to make intramural sports completely free for every student. The only hurdle we have left to face is a meeting with Dave Johnson which is scheduled next week. This ticket is immensely optimistic about the results of this meeting and the health benefits of free intramural sports and the comradery of increased competition for the Xavier community.
As an expression of these interests, our ticket will initiate a student mural project. This mural would be an aesthetic, external expression of Xavier’s interests in fostering creative thinking and individuality, but also collaboration and cohesiveness. Unlike the collaborative projects done by students during Manresa, this mural would have a lasting presence in Xavier for years to come. By painting on its walls and creating a piece of art that is part of the structure of a Xavier building, this mural would be a reminder that students leave a lasting impression on their surroundings and will leave a part of themselves that will remain here long after they graduate.
We will also increase the productivity of the community garden. We also believe that the community garden presents an opportunity to expand outreach to the surrounding area. By using the community garden as a means of collaborating with the surrounding community, we will break the Xavier bubble and create an environment where students consider Cincinnati, not just the Xavier campus, their home.
Group therapy addresses the loneliness and isolation that surrounds mental illness. By increasing awareness of mental health groups that already exist, making these groups more accessible for students, and advocating to create groups that have been neglected, we will address the persistent challenges that students struggling with mental health face.
Additionally, we must be aware of the way that these students tend to communicate. Particularly within our generation, making phone calls is not a predominant or well-practiced means of communication. Many individuals who are in need of counseling services are reluctant or anxious to place a phone call to McGrath Heath Center. Online scheduling for counseling would allow students who are most in need to access the services they require.
Along the lines of tailoring service access to those who need it, we will initiate a 24-hour student run hotline or online chat for students to anonymously communicate with their peers about mental health concerns.
Additionally, students who do not go home during breaks and students who feel secluded to their rooms may feel reluctant to join specific clubs or groups. We will initiate a breakfast, funded by SGA, thrown on the days when break begins. Individuals who feel like they are without a club, that are not returning home for breaks or do not have a home to return to, will have a home provided for them through the Xavier family. Doing so would remind struggling students that they are not alone, the university is supporting their success, and even in the face of an isolating condition they can find community here at Xavier.
As your student leaders, we believe that XavierFest is the most important day for the Xavier community (with the exception of the Crosstown Shootout: GOX). For one day every student, every professor, and every faculty member regardless of scholastic record, race, sex, or age sits, stands, dances, and eats together. Simply put, for one single day, Xavier’s campus becomes a utopian community. That is thanks in large part to the hard work of the Student Activities Council. As your student leaders we understand how much work the community must put into this day for it to be a success, from SAC members, to volunteers, to even the food and drink vendors. Historically your Student Government has given around $20,000 to help fund the headliner of this event. We would like to continue this tradition with one difference: we will be raising our contribution to XavierFest to $30,000. The extra $10,000 along with the mandatory volunteering of senators will not only allow XavierFest to attract more popular artists, but it will also allow for expansion and growth opportunities that will make Xavier the one and only place to be in Cincinnati on April 28th.
We hope to be able to not only create free youth mentoring programs in Norwood, but to be able to work with the youth athletic programs and their advisors to create specific after and families to make sure none of our Norwood brethren go without.
Along with that, we will work with the city council and the Norwood Police Department to put more lighting on the streets adjacent to campus, not only to help prevent crime, but to help students feel more safe while walking to and from campus. We will fight to work alongside citizens and police officers alike to clean up the surrounding areas, and create a citizen’s patrol around the local community.
As your student leaders we will make Xavier a place that every student can honestly say is home. As many of us know, the transition to university is challenging for every student. For many students, this is the first experience they have living away from their families. It requires students to acclimate to living with a stranger as a roommate, being surrounded by unfamiliar people, and having to strive to find their niche with their peers. This transition is exponentially more challenging for students coming from thousands of miles away, from different countries and different cultures, leaving both their families and their friends, trying to adapt to a new culture in a foreign land. As executives we will push for earlier move-in dates to make this transition easier for international students and first-year students alike. These efforts will provide students with the opportunity to get used to our campus and settle in before attending classes. As your student leaders we will ensure that international students particularly, will have the resources and support systems in place to make their time at Xavier one that is both educational and life-changing. Specifically, we will revamp the peer mentoring program for all international and out-of-state students to pair them with Cincinnati natives. We believe that the Xavier experience should not just include this campus, but also our beautiful city of Cincinnati. This will also give native students a chance to experience another culture, further enriching their Xavier education. Peer mentors will not just provide guidance and leadership, but also kinship and life-long friendships. By adjusting the peer mentoring program to be more involved with their mentees and to be more involved in their community, we will foster relationships between international, out-of-state, and local students that not only makes their experience more fruitful, but also more educational.
We want Xavier students to be aware of the progress that their government is making. To do so, as executives we will form weekly newsletters that will detail both past and future docket information.
We will also incentivize student participation in the projects instituted by SGA by offering free coffee with the suggestion box. Using all of these solutions, we will create a more dynamic and attentive student government that not only represents its people, but also allows students to represent themselves.
- Accessibility:
- Ramps from the Cintas floor to the student section
- Automatic doors in Hoff dining hall
- Automatic Doors in Classrooms
- Increased attention to recruitment of disabled students
We would like to address simple access issues. Having automatic doors in the Hoff Dining Commons are a clear necessity. These issues also involve those with hearing impairments, seeing impairments, and other impairments or disabilities that may need more attention.
It may seem that these issues are small, that they only address solutions to problems for a small population of students, but this population is small because Xavier has not made a point to reach out to students making their college decisions. This creates a cyclical lack of inclusivity for disabled students in a university that values diversity, inclusion, and service. By increasing attention to the recruitment of disabled students, and creating a campus that can be proud of its efforts towards inclusivity for the disabled, we will produce a generation of more conscientious, compassionate Xavier graduates. Our simple solutions will have a broad impact on the minds of abled and disabled students alike.
- Quality and food service
- Once a week voting for dinner in the cafeteria
- Late-night food options in Gallagher
As executives, we will institute once a week voting for meals, this would increase student participation and thus attendance to the cafeteria. It is concerning that our new students are increasingly isolated and distant from the Xavier community. The cafeteria serves as a place for students to interact, form bonds, and create lasting community. By addressing not just the quality of service but also empowering students to make choices about the cafeteria experience, as your future executives we will improve student involvement and inclusion.
We also find the lack of evening food options concerning. Our ticket will push for more diverse food options in Gallagher that will allow students the comfort of knowing that the cafeteria is not their only choice. These efforts will create an environment where students not only do not need to be concerned about their food options, but will also give students a means to contribute and become invested in the actions of their cafeteria.
- Financial:
- Fixing tuition rates and meal plan rates
- Increased transparency regarding allocation of Xavier’s funds
- Eliminating Intramural Fees
While we will push to fix tuition rates and meal plan rates, we understand that our tuitions increase for a reason. However, we as students deserve to know, in detail, what those reasons are. As your executives, we will push to increase transparency about where our funds are allocated, whether it be to improve the quality of the campus, increase payment to faculty, or expand Xavier’s programs to be more effective for students.
We had also been attempting to make intramural sports more affordable for all Xavier students. After a lengthy uphill battle we have finally gotten Glenn Arnold, the Xavier director of intramural sports, to support our ticket’s plan of changing the standard student activity fee by a mere five dollars in order to make intramural sports completely free for every student. The only hurdle we have left to face is a meeting with Dave Johnson which is scheduled next week. This ticket is immensely optimistic about the results of this meeting and the health benefits of free intramural sports and the comradery of increased competition for the Xavier community.
- Beautification and longevity of Xavier student impact:
- Student mural
- Growth of Community Garden/Sharing with Norwood Residents
As an expression of these interests, our ticket will initiate a student mural project. This mural would be an aesthetic, external expression of Xavier’s interests in fostering creative thinking and individuality, but also collaboration and cohesiveness. Unlike the collaborative projects done by students during Manresa, this mural would have a lasting presence in Xavier for years to come. By painting on its walls and creating a piece of art that is part of the structure of a Xavier building, this mural would be a reminder that students leave a lasting impression on their surroundings and will leave a part of themselves that will remain here long after they graduate.
We will also increase the productivity of the community garden. We also believe that the community garden presents an opportunity to expand outreach to the surrounding area. By using the community garden as a means of collaborating with the surrounding community, we will break the Xavier bubble and create an environment where students consider Cincinnati, not just the Xavier campus, their home.
- Mental health:
- Increased communication between McGrath and main campus on what programs (group therapy) are available; if not comprehensive, expanding the scope of these groups to address mental health needs of all students
- Increasing awareness and access to mental health services
- Ability to schedule counseling online rather than phone call
- Student run hotline or online chat for mental health concerns
- Breakfast Club
Group therapy addresses the loneliness and isolation that surrounds mental illness. By increasing awareness of mental health groups that already exist, making these groups more accessible for students, and advocating to create groups that have been neglected, we will address the persistent challenges that students struggling with mental health face.
Additionally, we must be aware of the way that these students tend to communicate. Particularly within our generation, making phone calls is not a predominant or well-practiced means of communication. Many individuals who are in need of counseling services are reluctant or anxious to place a phone call to McGrath Heath Center. Online scheduling for counseling would allow students who are most in need to access the services they require.
Along the lines of tailoring service access to those who need it, we will initiate a 24-hour student run hotline or online chat for students to anonymously communicate with their peers about mental health concerns.
Additionally, students who do not go home during breaks and students who feel secluded to their rooms may feel reluctant to join specific clubs or groups. We will initiate a breakfast, funded by SGA, thrown on the days when break begins. Individuals who feel like they are without a club, that are not returning home for breaks or do not have a home to return to, will have a home provided for them through the Xavier family. Doing so would remind struggling students that they are not alone, the university is supporting their success, and even in the face of an isolating condition they can find community here at Xavier.
- Inclusivity and fostering community among students:
- Investing in Gallagher
- Guaranteed Money for XavierFest ($30,000)
As your student leaders, we believe that XavierFest is the most important day for the Xavier community (with the exception of the Crosstown Shootout: GOX). For one day every student, every professor, and every faculty member regardless of scholastic record, race, sex, or age sits, stands, dances, and eats together. Simply put, for one single day, Xavier’s campus becomes a utopian community. That is thanks in large part to the hard work of the Student Activities Council. As your student leaders we understand how much work the community must put into this day for it to be a success, from SAC members, to volunteers, to even the food and drink vendors. Historically your Student Government has given around $20,000 to help fund the headliner of this event. We would like to continue this tradition with one difference: we will be raising our contribution to XavierFest to $30,000. The extra $10,000 along with the mandatory volunteering of senators will not only allow XavierFest to attract more popular artists, but it will also allow for expansion and growth opportunities that will make Xavier the one and only place to be in Cincinnati on April 28th.
- Cohesiveness among clubs:
- Incentivized communication and collaboration between clubs to enlarge and improve events
- Outreach and service:
- Community action for Norwood
- Start our own food pantry- in conjunction with Cincinnati States
We hope to be able to not only create free youth mentoring programs in Norwood, but to be able to work with the youth athletic programs and their advisors to create specific after and families to make sure none of our Norwood brethren go without.
Along with that, we will work with the city council and the Norwood Police Department to put more lighting on the streets adjacent to campus, not only to help prevent crime, but to help students feel more safe while walking to and from campus. We will fight to work alongside citizens and police officers alike to clean up the surrounding areas, and create a citizen’s patrol around the local community.
- Housing and Peer Mentoring
- Housing during breaks for international and domestic students
- Peer Mentoring
- Earlier move-in for all students
As your student leaders we will make Xavier a place that every student can honestly say is home. As many of us know, the transition to university is challenging for every student. For many students, this is the first experience they have living away from their families. It requires students to acclimate to living with a stranger as a roommate, being surrounded by unfamiliar people, and having to strive to find their niche with their peers. This transition is exponentially more challenging for students coming from thousands of miles away, from different countries and different cultures, leaving both their families and their friends, trying to adapt to a new culture in a foreign land. As executives we will push for earlier move-in dates to make this transition easier for international students and first-year students alike. These efforts will provide students with the opportunity to get used to our campus and settle in before attending classes. As your student leaders we will ensure that international students particularly, will have the resources and support systems in place to make their time at Xavier one that is both educational and life-changing. Specifically, we will revamp the peer mentoring program for all international and out-of-state students to pair them with Cincinnati natives. We believe that the Xavier experience should not just include this campus, but also our beautiful city of Cincinnati. This will also give native students a chance to experience another culture, further enriching their Xavier education. Peer mentors will not just provide guidance and leadership, but also kinship and life-long friendships. By adjusting the peer mentoring program to be more involved with their mentees and to be more involved in their community, we will foster relationships between international, out-of-state, and local students that not only makes their experience more fruitful, but also more educational.
- Communication between SGA and students:
- Bi-weekly or monthly town hall-style meetings
- Weekly newsletters with the past and future docket information
- Free coffee with suggestion box
We want Xavier students to be aware of the progress that their government is making. To do so, as executives we will form weekly newsletters that will detail both past and future docket information.
We will also incentivize student participation in the projects instituted by SGA by offering free coffee with the suggestion box. Using all of these solutions, we will create a more dynamic and attentive student government that not only represents its people, but also allows students to represent themselves.
- Consent and Sexual Assault
- Sexual Education
- We are working with Chief Milek to create a one of a kind new way to both communicate crimes and keep the surrounding areas safe. By utilizing text messages students and faculty can secretly report crimes without being afraid of repercussion. This will not only bring the Xavier community closer but according to FBI neighborhood watch statistics will help to lower crime by up to 43%.