At their meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 14, the Student Government Association senate delivered two Valentine’s Day gifts to the student body. They weren’t chocolate hearts or long-stem roses, but initiatives to improve classroom facilities and increase campus safety. Senators passed a resolution demanding that the University replace beaten-up desks in Xavier Hall; a second resolution ordered that a 60-foot rug be placed on the walkway in front of Fusz Food Court, protecting patrons from slipping during wet weather.
Senator Pat Devney and Academic Vice President Gene Diamond submitted a resolution that called for replacing the desks in Xavier Hall. The legislation said that the current desks “obstruct learning” and “do not meet [students’] expectations for academic facilities.”
“Being a junior and sitting in classes in Xavier Hall for the past two-and-a-half years makes me rather angry,” said, Devney, a junior representing the College of Arts and Sciences. “I think it’s ridiculous that we try be one of the best academic institutions in the nation, yet we still have desks that date back to the ’60s and ’70s and are riddled with gang paraphernalia, Greek paraphernalia and numerous types of vandalism.”
The resolution asked that the administration use some of the $4.5 million it had budgeted for “renovations and improvements” to buy the new desks.
Devney said that he had not talked with administrators about his concerns, but argued that the senate had to take action.
“I’ve been sitting in sixth-grade desks for the past two and a half years,” Devney said. “I’m not willing to negotiate.”
Senator Jared Walsh, a junior representing the College of Arts and Sciences, suggested that senators should take a more “holistic approach” and also address Xavier Hall’s faulty blinds, frequent leaks and other structural problems. Senator Addison Killeen of the Marchetti Towers also proposed an amendment that would have asked the University to improve Xavier’s technological resources.
In the end, however, senators opted to leaved the bill unchanged, calling only for the desks to be replaced.
Senators passed Devney’s resolution by a wide margin. As a resolution and not a bill, however, it only serves as a suggestion to the University and carries no real administrative force. Alone, it is no guarantee that the desks in Xavier Hall will be replaced.
Turning their attention from dilapidated desks to slippery sidewalks, the senate also passed resolution aimed at improving safety on campus. Proposed by Senator Jackie Heredia, the legislation provides for a 60-foot rug to be placed on the covered walkway in front of the Fusz Cafeteria.
Heredia explained that the walkway can become dangerously slick during wet weather; the rug would provide traction and prevent falls. Facilities Services and Ground Services would supply the rug.
Heredia’s resolution passed with little opposition.
Additionally, senators passed a pair of bills to assign two new legislators, both sworn in last week, to committees. David Kilper, a law student and commuter senator, will serve on the Commuter Concerns Committee; Colleen Dreger, a sophomore representing DeMattias Hall, will sit on the Residential Affairs Committee.
At the end of the meeting, Administrative Vice President Anne Nickson announced that there are two new vacancies on the senate. Will Flora, a senior who represented the Village Apartments, and Meaghan Barringer, a first-year senator, both recently resigned. A spot to represent the Doisy College of Health Sciences also remains open.
