Masi•Scanlan Platform

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Masi•Scanlan
One Family. One Mission. One Notre Dame.

Table of Contents
Welcome
 Letter...........................................................................................................................................3
  The
 Top
 Three .............................................................................................................................................5
  Mission
 #1:
 Expand
 the
 Notre
 Dame
 Family ............................................................................................6
  Mission
 #2:
 Connect
 Students
 &
 Administrators....................................................................................8
  Mission
 #3:
 Strengthen
 Ties
 to
 Our
 Greater
 Community....................................................................9
  Academic
 Affairs...................................................................................................................................... 10
  Athletics ...................................................................................................................................................... 11
  Campus
 Ministry ..................................................................................................................................... 12
  Campus
 Technology............................................................................................................................... 13
  Community
 Relations............................................................................................................................ 14
  Constituent
 Services .............................................................................................................................. 15
  Diversity...................................................................................................................................................... 16
  Food
 Services............................................................................................................................................ 17
  Gender
 Issues ........................................................................................................................................... 18
  Internal
 Affairs......................................................................................................................................... 19
  Residence
 Life........................................................................................................................................... 20
  Social
 Concerns........................................................................................................................................ 21
  Sustainability ............................................................................................................................................ 22
  University
 Affairs .................................................................................................................................... 23
 

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Dear Member of the Notre Dame Family, Thank you for taking the time to look at this plan for the future of our Student Union here at the University of Notre Dame. We believe in a student government that addresses the needs and concerns of students – from the freshman anticipating the fantastic opportunities ahead, to the senior making plans to graduate. To do this, we want to foster a community that is welcoming and inclusive, meets the day-to-day needs of the student body, and encourages students to reach beyond the University to affect change in the outside world. The Notre Dame family can come together to do great things; we hope to make that possibility a reality. In November of 1842, Rev. Edward Sorin traveled to Northern Indiana to form “L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac”. He sought to build a great Catholic University and declared that our University must be "a powerful force for good" in the world. Continuing in this tradition, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh took the reigns as President of The University of Notre Dame in 1952. Over his 35 years of service, Hesburgh grew the endowment, increased financial aid, transferred governance of the University to a lay board of trustees, and in 1972 welcomed the first women into the Notre Dame family as undergraduates. In his words, “The Catholic university must be a crossroads where all the intellectual and moral currents of our times meet and are thoughtfully considered…In the modern Catholic university all sincere and thoughtful persons should be welcomed, listened to, and respected...” The foundations of our University were structured around the idea of bringing people together and doing good in the world. Over our 170 years of history, students have played a critical role in realizing and achieving these ideas. Today we must continue to grow the University to become more welcoming and inclusive communities as we continue to be “a powerful force for good” in this world. For this reason, we have decided to run as your Student Body President and Vice-President for this upcoming year. As we have talked to students from across this University, one thing has become very clear, we are a family. Whether one is a senior getting ready to finish his/her last semester as an undergraduate or a freshman still eager for all the experiences that awaits him/her, we are all a part of the Notre Dame family. There is a bond that will never separate us regardless of college, major, dorm, color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, or nationality. Maintaining and strengthening this bond will be our chief priority: Together we are the University of Notre Dame.

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In his inaugural address, Fr. Jenkins stated, “The world needs a university that graduates men and women who are not only capable and knowledgeable, but who accept their responsibility to serve others – especially those in greatest need.” Our University needs a student government that is experienced, understands the needs of our students, and knows how to responsibly serve the undergraduate population. It is time that student government serves the interests of students in all aspects of life, especially when interacting with administrators. At this University, students fight for their passions on a truly global scale. While student government has successfully used initiatives and programming to raise awareness for causes, we want to fundamentally help students pursue their passions and ambitions. It is time for student government to bring more substance to the work being done on campus. Our goal is to build bridges and make connections with student organizations, administrators, and our greater community in a pursuit of a better Notre Dame for all. Our proposal laid out in front of you today presents our plan to unite the Notre Dame family in order to build a Notre Dame that is a “powerful force for good” that respects and welcomes all walks of life. Student government can and should be a forum for students to engage with administrators in creating the Notre Dame family we all envision. We seek a Notre Dame that develops the “habits of mind, body, and spirit that characterize educated, skilled, and free human beings.” Be it through our residential hall system, our undergraduate curriculum, or our various clubs and organizations, our mission is to unite this family into one Notre Dame. We can come together to build a culture and community of inclusion. We can work closely with administrators to ensure administrative accountability. We can take the extra step and build serious, long-lasting relationships with South Bend. No matter what your passion, no matter what your cause, we want to ensure that every student believes with a full heart that “We are ND”.

One Family. One Mission. One Notre Dame. Michael Masi & Tim Scanlan

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The Top Three This campaign is about uniting the Notre Dame community together as one. In order to accomplish such a goal, our platform lays out the most comprehensive plan to serve the undergraduate student body. After developing ideas and listening to voices from all corners of our campus, it has been made clear what student government can and should be creating a culture of inclusion that supports all students and their passions. Together we can better the university that we all love and cherish. In order to do so, we have created our top three issue categories that the platform seeks to fulfill in the upcoming term. Here they are: 1. Expand the Notre Dame Family 2. Connect Students & Administrators 3. Strengthen Ties to Our Greater Community Together we can continue to build our family here at Notre Dame. The thread that ties this entire platform together is you. You are a member of the Notre Dame Family and together we can unite our efforts, our passions, and our resolve to enhance the greatest Catholic university in the world. Our goal is to serve the students in making this a more welcoming environment where students can pursue their dreams and turn them into a reality while attending the University of Notre Dame. It is time we unite our voices as one in accomplishing a common goal that seeks to create a better university, a better country, and a better world. Together we are the Fighting Irish and together we will fight for everyone’s passions.

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Mission #1: Expand the Notre Dame Family The University of Notre Dame prides itself in supporting its own. You are welcomed into the family the second you receive your acceptance letter. Forty years ago, Fr. Hesburgh took the biggest step in completing this family by accepting women into our university. Since that point, Notre Dame has expanded in incredible ways. With over 400 student clubs ranging from academics to athletics, class councils, dorm governments, and Student Union Board, there are amazing ways that students can express their talents and diversity at Notre Dame. Even with these opportunities and advancements, many individuals still have felt excluded from the Notre Dame family. While many groups exist for students, they often lack a cohesive and united atmosphere. It is our vision that student government can expand the support of the Notre Dame family by building bridges between these organizations, and expanding the welcoming arms of the Notre Dame community. Student government will seek to ensure that this university includes and supports every student that steps on campus. A Current Look at the Notre Dame Family: The Notre Dame family can best be viewed through its residence halls and voluntary organizations. Notre Dame’s 29 single-sex residence halls are student’s first experience with the campus community. As time progresses, students find themselves belonging to a greater community, as individuals become actives in class, clubs, and student organizations. Yet, many students enter this family feeling lost and out of place. Occasionally students struggle to find a home in a residence hall, some LGBTQ students are faced with a perception of exclusion, and not all transfer students are guaranteed housing upon admission. Not only are some students left behind from feeling included to the Notre Dame family, our residence halls lack space and adequate living environments for many students. Our Vision for Expanding the Notre Dame Family: The Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to creating a culture of inclusion to the Notre Dame family. We believe that student government has a unique opportunity to expand and enhance our family. To do this, we must look at both Residence Life on campus and the structure and unity of the various organizations around campus. Each provides a crucial role in a Notre Dame student’s life, and deserves to be utilized to the fullest. By paying a particular look at our residential hall system, the Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to improve existing dorms and explore opportunities to evolve residential life at Notre Dame. We can begin to expand our community in being a more welcoming environment to all students. Notre Dame offers a unique “stay-hall” system that is widely popular and the MasiScanlan team looks to advance the benefits of the various communities, as well as help every individual find their place within a hall. The Masi-Scanlan ticket also believes the importance of embracing our students’ individual backgrounds, experiences, and culture. We believe the formation of the LGBTQ organization is a massive step forward and stand behind Fr. Jenkins decision. We will work tirelessly with the outgoing administration to ensure fruition of the LGBTQ organization Masi•Scanlan | 6

and re-evaluation of the non-discrimination clause. It is also our commitment to embrace all students. By working closely with the Call to Action movement, the Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to ending discrimination on this campus and evolving into an inclusive environment. To completely fulfill the dream of a truly inclusive culture on campus, the student union must take a look at itself. We believe it is our duty to best serve the needs of all students in a unified, efficient, and effective manner. In order to serve such a wide-array of passions, our student union needs to become more cohesive in an effort to serve our students. We want Class Councils, HPC, CCC, and SUB to come together in an effort to “Take Back the JACC” and return the tradition of hosting large-scale concerts on the campus of Notre Dame. While concerts are typically a SUB event, together as one union we can fight to lower the costs of utilizing the JACC and bring back a top name artist to campus. We can also stand together in advocacy for greater student center spaces. While we love LaFun, it simply does not meet to needs of our student union and student organizations.

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Mission #2: Connect Students & Administrators Student government has always served as a liaison between students and administrators. Working closely together, student government is capable of relaying information from students to administrators to make appropriate changes and from administrators back to students to inform of decisions made at the administrative level. As liaisons, the MasiScanlan ticket seeks to ensure proper communication with students and administrators to work together in creating a better university. The Masi-Scanlan ticket will work tirelessly with passionate students to ensure their dreams for Notre Dame can come true by connecting them with appropriate administrators and holding these administrators accountable. Our goal is to work with and support you in this process of a shared interested in the future of the University of Notre Dame. Clubs, organizations, and students that we serve will have all the resources available to them in accomplishing their own individual goals. We will hold students, as well as administrators, accountable during the process of bettering our campus. A current look at student-administrator interaction: Currently, the student body president and vice-president work closely with administrators like the Executive Vice-President, John Affleck-Graves, the University Architect, Doug Marsh, the Vice-President for Student Affairs, Erin Hoffmann Harding, and the Board of Trustees. Student government gives three presentations throughout the course of the year to the Board of Trustees about the status of undergraduate and campus life. Student government is typically given the topic for these presentations and the student body president and vice president then presents to the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. These presentations were a result of the work of the 2005 student government administration and Vice-President of Student Affairs, Fr. Poorman, in an effort to open dialog between students and trustees. Collaboration of student groups, student government, and administrators are currently the most effective way of creating change to university policies. Student government plays a unique role as the liaison in this process to ensure the passions of students are heard and responded to properly. Recently, collaboration conducted through student government brought about the University’s approval for the first LGBTQ student organization. Our Vision for Student-Administrator Interactions: Our ticket seeks to continue the work of student government as liaisons between the administrators and students. We seek to ensure the passions of all students are heard at the administrative level. With the collaboration of student groups, we will fight as one to create changes necessary to improve student life at Notre Dame. The formation of the LGBTQ organization is an ongoing process that will be continued in our administration. The Masi-Scanlan ticket also supports a restructuring of student government’s interaction with the Board of Trustees. Opening more dialog and connection with the Student Affairs Committee and the entire Board, we believe will allow student government to advocate more fully for the passions of our students in creating the best Catholic University. By advocating for a student member of the Board of Trustees, student and administrators can have a shared interest in Notre Dame. Masi•Scanlan | 8

Mission #3: Strengthen Ties to Our Greater Community Notre Dame’s community extends far beyond the borders of its campus. Our national presence creates great opportunities for students to engage in our greater community and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those around us. The Masi-Scanlan ticket is dedicated to strengthening the ties with our greater community, particularly in South Bend. Notre Dame’s mission is “to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.” Our student body understands this mission and is committed to fulfilling such service. It is our goal to help support individuals and organizations to strengthen our ties. A Current Look at Ties to Our Community: Student government has worked tirelessly in the past to create and sustain connections to the South Bend community. Two years ago under the Soler administration, student government created a standing coalition with NDSP, South Bend Police, Mishawaka Police, and Student Affairs to ensure students are protected on and off-campus. This hard work has increased understanding between Notre Dame and local communities. Notre Dame has taken steps to revitalize the northeast neighborhood of South Bend, develop Eddy Street Commons, and build partnerships with the South Bend community. Our university and our local neighbors are dependent on one another. Recent partnerships has brought about the most advanced watershed system in the country, developments in medical research, and support of local school children. The Notre Dame family also continually connects to the greater global community. With the Notre Dame Haiti Program, the Kellogg Institute, the Alliance for Catholic Education, the Ford Family Program, the Center for Social Concerns, and countless other centers and institutes, Notre Dame has committed itself to creating a better world. Our students actively engage in opportunities of service, research, and advancement whenever presented with the opportunity. Our Vision for Strengthening Ties to the Greater Community: The Masi-Scanlan ticket is devoted to strengthening current connections to our greater community and supporting students who are eagerly seeking out ways to serve those around us. Together as one family, Notre Dame can accomplish its mission of service to justice and fulfill Fr. Sorin’s vision of becoming a “powerful force for good” in this world. To do this, the Masi-Scanlan administration will host a student-led intercollegiate forum on social justice. This event will provide an outlet for students and faculty of other universities to share ideas and dialog between schools on the pressing social justice issues of our time. By teaming up with university departments, athletics, and institutes, this forum will serve as an opportunity for everyone eager to confront social justice issues. Our vision also strengthens the ties to our South Bend community. Student government can play a pivotal role in providing support to our local community. By continuing the Cocampus Council, expanding CommUniversity Day, and providing outreach programs to the South Bend community, Notre Dame and South Bend can flourish in a mutually beneficial relationship.

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Academic Affairs The primary purpose of all universities is to serve as a community of learning for those who attend. We have a plan to improve the learning environment here at Notre Dame that will benefit the undergraduate student body. It seeks to provide inclusion for all intellectual curiosities and provide support for all students to pursue their academic endeavors inside the classroom and beyond. • Intellectual Exploration: Intellectual growth and development is vital to our academic community. The Masi-Scanlan ticket looks to improve student opportunities for intellectual exploration and curiosity. o Students for Dinner: Create a program while working closely with the Dean’s Offices of the various colleges that allows professors more flexibility and opportunities to have dinner with their students. o Minor Flexibility: Improve opportunities for students to explore intellectual curiosities by allowing students to take gateway courses pass/fail for various minors. o Last Lecture Series o Major’s Night College Readership Program: Work closely with the Office of the Provost to increase the accessibility of newspapers available to students. o Online-Edition: Grant access to various newspapers through iPads, computers, and mobile devices. Hesburgh Library Renovations: Continue to work with the Hesburgh Library during the next year in improving the student study space of the library. After recent renovations in the Fish Bowl, the Masi-Scanlan ticket stands behind Hesburgh Library’s decision to remodel the library and encourages the continued involvement of students to make it a functional space for a modern education Arts @ ND: The Masi-Scanlan ticket will work closely with the Snite Museum as it looks to remodel over the summer. With the recent addition of Sculpture Park, the Masi-Scanlan ticket looks to continue the advancement of Arts @ ND. DARTing Wait-list: Work with OIT and Campus Technology in revamping current Class Search, DARTing, and online syllabus database. While completely changing the system, the Masi-Scanlan ticket will advocate for a registration wait-list feature and an online university sanctioned schedulizer to assist students with registration woes. Opportunity Unification: The Masi-Scanlan ticket plans to work closely with the Career Center, CUSE, and the various campus institutes and centers to unify opportunities for undergraduate research and internships, particularly enhancing support for science majors. Study Spaces: The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to provide more student study space in academic buildings throughout the week. Extending hours and access to many of our buildings will ensure all students can find a place to study that fits their personal needs.





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Athletics Notre Dame has a national presence due to its premier education, research, and athletics. Athletics also plays a vital role in campus life. With 14 varsity athletic teams, student athletes and students come together in unity for our great university. By building bridges with the Leprechaun Legion and the Department of Athletics, the Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to advancing the role athletics plays in campus life and the larger global community. • Playing for Peace: The Playing for Peace initiative has been a joint effort of alumni, students, and athletics to raise awareness for social justice issues facing the modern day world. The Masi-Scanlan ticket looks towards advancing this initiative by hosting events here and abroad in an effort to stand in solidarity with those struggling in the fight for social justice. We hope to expand the effort by collaborating with other top institutions and organizations that are committed to social justice. Event Attendance: Student government looks to support the Leprechaun Legion’s effort to raise attendance at all sporting events by maintaining a united student section. o Single-game Basketball Tickets o Hockey Game Student Section: Ensuring that the ticket office does not sell student section tickets to the general public. ND Closed Network Broadcast of Sporting Events: Many students are unable to support our Fighting Irish athletes while competing away from campus. In an effort to provide the loyal fans of our athletic teams an option to watch the sporting events from the comfort of their dorm room TV, the Masi-Scanlan ticket looks to broadcast live streamed games from UND.com on our closed TV network. Notre Dame Stadium: It is our responsibility to make sure your voice is heard during the debate about modernizing Notre Dame Stadium. The Masi-Scanlan ticket believes the debate needs to occur and student opinion is the most vital piece of that debate. Football Tickets: Protect student voice in discussions to change the way student tickets are assigned and distributed for Notre Dame Football games.









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Campus Ministry Campus Ministry has served the spirituality of students for years at this university. It is time student government supports the efforts of Campus Ministry in reaching out to all students in an effort to create a welcoming environment. The Masi-Scanlan ticket stands behind the Catholic identity of the University of Notre Dame while ensuring it is fit to meet the 20th century college student. There is a unique opportunity to work with Campus Ministry in building bridges to other organizations, departments, and centers in meeting the needs of our undergraduate students. • Build Relations with Campus Ministry: In the recent years, student government has increased dialog with Campus Ministry here on campus. It is our commitment to continue this newly built relationship and explore opportunities to strengthen our bond for the benefit of all students. Campus Ministry is on our campus as an integral part of our everyday lives. Pregame Prayer: We stand behind the current administrations position of introducing a prayer to start home football games. By working closely with Campus Ministry and the Department of Athletics, the Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to introducing a prayer before the start of football games while maintaining the pregame excitement and energy our team needs in Notre Dame Stadium. We are also excited about the opportunity to expand this initiative to more of our home sporting events like basketball, hockey, and soccer. Student Career Discernment: Team up with the Career Center to develop a program for undergraduate students to help with career discernment from a more spiritual base. By focusing less focus on the stress of applications and internships, this partnership will allow students to find opportunities that suit individual callings. Center for Social Concerns: Campus Ministry has a unique opportunity to provide service that meets the needs of students in a new experience. By teaming up with the Center for Social Concerns, Campus Ministry can provide opportunities that bridge social justice and faith more strongly. By hosting opportunities over fall break, winter break, and spring break, Campus Ministry can reach out to students eager to spend their break developing their spirituality even stronger.







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Campus Technology In a campus dominated by smart phones, tablets, and computers, technology has become a vital piece of life at Notre Dame. Not only does technology make our lives easier, but it also is an incredible learning tool for students. Technology can increase learning in the classroom, increase efficiency in our clubs and organizations, and allow us to connect with one another. We have a plan that put technology at the forefront of advancements here at this university. Seeking to lead the integration of technology in all aspects of life while ensuring students needs are met along the way. • • • • ND Mobile App: Develop m.nd.edu into a fully developed smartphone application compatible with iOS and Android devices. The app would integrate Sakai, ND Email, insideND, course schedule, and other online services. Campus Cellular Service: Our campus consists of many dead spots for cell service for our students. This is of particular concern in older dorms and service diminishes greatly on game days. The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to improve cellular service. LCD Poster Displays: Begin to install LCD displays in high-density student areas for student group advertising. This sustainable effort to reduce waste will also provide a financial benefit to organizations around campus by reducing advertising costs. Tech in Classrooms: Integrating technology into classroom and coursework. Many applications have been developed to allow students to learn in new creative ways. It is our belief that we should fully utilize such devices. This plan would also seek to encourage professors to allow and integrate iPads into the classroom. In addition, we would like for student print quota’s to be used to pay for iPad rentals, providing an economically and environmentally friendly alternative for students. Class Search & DARTing o Integrate the class search, course syllabi, and registration in a more userfriendly program ND Schedulizer: Develop a scheduling system to ease registration woes for students.

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Community Relations Our goal throughout this campaign is to create a unified community. This community does not end at the boundaries of our campus. We have students, faculty, staff, family, and friends that extend beyond the “Notre Dame Bubble”. Our goal is to create a community that is one with South Bend and Mishawka. Together with the university, our surrounding communities provide services, jobs, and a place to live for many individuals. Over the past few years relations between the university and South Bend have been strengthened. The Masi-Scanlan ticket has a plan to continue fostering a mutually beneficial relationship while providing support to our local community.








Connecting through Service o Outreach Programs: Hosting various workshops on campus for local residents. Such workshops could include, but not limited to, workshops on resume review, technology, self-defense programs, and sustainability. o CommUniversity Day: Expand and improve the popular community service days by including student clubs and organizations from other area colleges, as well as encouraging local talent to perform with participating university clubs. Connecting through Commerce o Farmers Market: Bring a local farmers market to our campus to allow students to buy produce and support our local community. o Off-Campus Discount Program: Expand the vendors in the off-campus DomerDollar program (including store like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond). Incentivizing vendors to offer student discounts with a Notre Dame ID. o Small Organization Support: Set aside funding particularly allocated for student and organizations to engage in service and outreach programs for our South Bend community. o Eddy Street Commons o Allow students continued input regarding future businesses, restaurants, and services, as well as aggressively expanding DomerDollar acceptance. o Utilize Eddy Street as a crossroads of students and the South Bend community with functions and events. Co-campus Council: Continue to expand and support the Co-Campus Council, which is an organization made up of representatives from the University of Notre Dame, Ivy Tech, IU South Bend, St. Mary’s, and Holy Cross that coordinates events and programs geared to our community. Taxi’s & Transportation o Shuttle service to Martins: Develop a plan to provide transportation to local grocers for students who a restricted to transportation off-campus. o Transpo: Work to reroute the Student government subsidized Transpo bus to meet the needs of our students. o ZipCars: Work to increase the ZipCar fleet and negotiate lower prices for student accounts o Taxi Pricing: Work with the South Bend City Council and recent taxi reforms to ensure clarified pricing and policies with taxi companies. Masi•Scanlan | 14

Constituent Services Student governments are put in place to support and serve their student bodies. The MasiScanlan ticket is committed to continuing advancements made in the constituent service capacity of student government. Our plan is a bold proposal to increase action taken on behalf of the needs to the students, greater communication, and more support for individuals to feel welcomed into the Notre Dame family and pursue their passions fully. • • StudGov on Call: Continue to make student government more accessible to the student body by expanding StudGov on Call through Facebook, Twitter, and regular office hours. Issue-to-Initiative: Develop a program where students who have a particular issue on campus and turn it into an initiative. By using an online form, students will be able to submit their issues at any time and student government will take the appropriate action in response. Small Organization Support: Establish a fund to support small start-up organizations allowing students to make their passions a reality at Notre Dame. This program will pay particular attention to sustainability and social concerns organizations seeking student government support. StudGov Communication o Town Hall: Host Town Hall meetings throughout the term to allow our administration to interact with the entire student body. Here students will be able to voice their concerns and hear what student government is doing for them. o Open Letters: Submit press releases and open letter to the Observer and ListServs in order to fully communicate how student government is working for you. o Office Hours: Advertise office hours where the student body is welcome to come engage with the student body president, vice-president, and their cabinet in 203 LaFortune. o Social Media: Become more active on Facebook and Twitter to reach a broader audience of students.





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Diversity The Notre Dame family welcomes all students from all backgrounds. As a Catholic university we appreciate diversity and being one united family that works to eliminate discrimination. The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to support increasing diversity and maintaining a culture of inclusion, support, and self-understanding here at Notre Dame. United with other student leaders, our administration will work tirelessly to cultivate a more inclusive and welcoming campus community. • • • Call to Action: Work alongside student leaders and administrators in creating dialog and ending discrimination on our campus Culture of Inclusion: The Masi-Scanlan ticket will work in supporting efforts to create a welcoming culture that ends discrimination of any kind. Academics: o Minor Support: Provide support and ensure proper funding for minors that explore culture, diversity, and equality to ensure the proper attention and importance is given to these minors. o Cultural Competency Courses: Work with Academic Council to provide course that teach self-identity and cultural history to all students. Our education should be about more than just technical knowledge. It should include courses that acknowledge and support the diversity of cultures, create cultural understanding and acceptance, and help individuals in their process of self-discovery. o Development of Student Program: Support student leaders in developing and promoting programs that seek to increase awareness of cultural, spiritual, and individual understanding. Reporting Systems: Improve the systems for reporting to create a culture of inclusion, support, and understanding.



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Food Services Student government has always played an active role in improving our dining halls and food services at Notre Dame. The Masi-Scanlan ticket sees an opportunity to ensure Notre Dame Food Services respond to the requests of students. Students living on North Quad and South Quad want options in their dining halls that fit their needs and greater options for meals outside of the dining halls. Students also seek greater flexibility with their swipes, times, and meal plan options. The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to improve the food services here at Notre Dame through the following ways: • Grab-N-Go: o Increase Healthy Options: Work to increase options for healthier food items o Change Times: Create a more flexible time system for students on a busy schedule o Reusable Bags: Create an incentive discount for individuals using reusable, sustainable bags Meal Swipes: Allow multiple swipes during the same meal period. DomerDollars: o Dorm Food Sales: Allow residence hall food sales to utilize DomerDollars o Expand services to be included at club events Meal Plan Options: o Third Meal Plan: Work to establish a third meal plan for on-campus students o Off-Campus: Re-evaluate options for off-campus meal plans Chain Restaurants: With the recent popular addition of Au Bon Pain to the library, the Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to increase chain restaurant options and locations on campus.

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Gender Issues This year the university is celebrating the 40th anniversary of co-education. Fr. Hesburgh’s decision to expand the Notre Dame family creating a welcoming community for women was the first step in creating gender equality. This year, the university announced support for the formation of an LGBTQ student organization. The Masi-Scanlan ticket stands behind the university’s decision to ensure all students are welcomed on our campus and treated with the respect and dignity all humans deserve. We are committed to advancing gender equality on our campus. • LGBTQ Organization o Work closely with the outgoing administration to ensure the formation of the LGBTQ Organization within student government. The Masi-Scanlan ticket is fully supportive of ensuring that our campus is a welcoming community for all students who make Notre Dame their home and family. Continuation of Awareness o Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Week o Body Image Week o Take Back the Night Non-discrimination Clause: The Masi-Scanlan seeks to work with administration in developing a non-discrimination clause that protects all members of the Notre Dame family. Dorm Discrepancies in Policies: Work to equalize security policies within the dorms. Evaluate other inconsistent dorm policies. Expansion of Safe-Space Initiative: Provide safe-space training for interested students to create safer, welcoming spaces for all LGBTQ students at Notre Dame. Student Resources: Engage in dialog with Health Services about the resources available to Notre Dame students.



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Internal Affairs Our commitment to unification starts with the Department of Internal Affairs. The MasiScanlan ticket is committed to creating a more inclusive, cohesive student union. While monitoring previous constitutional revisions, making new recommendations, and building bridges across our student body, we are devoted to serving students in creating one Notre Dame family that welcomes everyone and supports individual passions. • StudGov Unity and Cohesion o Build bridges between Student Union Board (SUB), Hall President’s Council (HPC), Club Coordination Council (CCC), Financial Management Board (FMP), Judicial Council, and Class Councils to fully maximize efficiency and effectiveness. A more cohesive student union will allow student government to better serve and meet the needs of student, providing the appropriate support and allowing us to unify student voice. LGBTQ Organization o Work closely with the outgoing administration to ensure the formation of the LGBTQ Organization within student government. The Masi-Scanlan ticket is fully supportive of ensuring that our campus is a welcoming community for all students who make Notre Dame their home and family. Cut Red Tape: The Masi-Scanlan ticket has been committed to cutting red tape in student government and student activities to allow students to spend more time with their passion and less time with on-line forms, bureaucracy, and inefficiency.





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Residence Life The Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to bettering the residential life here at the university. We plan to refocus efforts on the improving the basis of our community. Our residential life is based on the principle of developing “habits of mind, body, and spirit that characterize educated, skilled, and free human beings.” It is our belief that student government can accomplish large goals to accomplish this mission of Notre Dame. It is time that residence life at Notre Dame is put back in the spotlight in an effort of creating a more welcoming community and family. • Improve interior of existing dorms: o Increase residence hall funding for renovations o Improve available study spaces o Enhance kitchens, common spaces, laundry facilities, and lounges Equality of Policies: The Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to creating a culture of equality within our residence hall system. By analyzing certain gender specific policies, we plan to create equality with dorm alarms, hall policies, and hall fines. Transfer Student Guarantee: Guarantee housing to all students accepted into the university. Our community’s foundation is our residential hall system and we currently are not welcoming transfer students into this community. We are committed to insuring all students are welcomed to our campus with housing. Residential Communities: Our current stay-hall system can evolve to meet the needs of our current day students. The Masi-Scanlan ticket looks to explore options of creating residential communities that uniquely support our freshman students. New Residence Halls: o Advocate for new residence halls to alleviate over-crowding and forced triples in current halls o Explore the possibility of Alternative Senior Housing on campus St. Ed’s and Sorin Lofts: The Masi-Scanlan ticket is committed to preserving the tradition of self-made lofts in St. Ed’s and Sorin Hall. We will work with the Office of Housing and rectors to ensure students are safe while preserving the keynote feature of these historic residence halls.

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Social Concerns The mission of the university states, “The aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.” Student government has the unique opportunity to fulfill this sense of solidarity and concern. By supporting organizations whose passion is social justice and building bridges in a collaborated effort, Notre Dame can become the “powerful force for good” that Fr. Sorin stated over 150 years ago. Notre Dame can be the leader in the fight for social justice by leveraging branding of the university, its connections to other institutions, and its student body. • Intercollegiate Forum on Social Justice o Playing for Peace events, academic panel discussion, keynote address, workshops, and community engagement. o Establish an outlet with other student bodies to share ideas and dialog between schools. This will allow Notre Dame to collaborate with the greater community in an efficient collaborative effort. Social Concerns Collaboration: The Masi-Scanlan ticket will improve relations with the Center for Social Concerns and the Human Dignity Coalition in order for greater collaboration and student outreach. We strongly believe that clubs and organizes who have taken on these passions should have adequate support and campus-wide dialog. Service Opportunities: Create an online system for students to locate and narrow down service opportunities to engage in as undergraduate students. Small Organization Support: Student government will create a small organization support structure to allow passionate individuals to take on social justice issues of our time. This will grant organizations a broader student outreach and financial support to raise awareness for social concerns issues.



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Sustainability In 2011, the University of Notre Dame adopted a new campus-wide Sustainability Strategy. The Masi-Scanlan ticket strongly believes is reducing waste and carbon emissions to protect our natural resources. Students can lead this effort as stewards of our earth. “We are looking forward to using this strategy as a tool to help us institutionalize a culture of sustainability here on campus,” stated Rev. John I. Jenkins C.S.C., when adopting the strategy. “Sustainability is integral to our mission as a Catholic university devoted to serving a world in need.” The Masi-Scanlan ticket echoes Fr. Jenkins concern to create a sustainable culture here at Notre Dame. • Recycling and Waste Reduction o Change the outdoor recycling bins to be more efficient and effective in reducing waste on this campus. o Food Digesters: Work with Office of Sustainability and local companies to take wasted food and turn it into reusable energy. o Food Composting: Implement a food composting service for wasted food from our dining halls. o Food Donations: Take unused foods from the dining halls to local homeless shelters. o Plastic Water Bottle Reduction: Be leaders in the reduction of waste produced by plastic water bottles. o Gameday Recycling: Work with Office of Sustainability to increase awareness of gameday recycling initiatives. ND Blackout: Create the inaugural Notre Dame Blackout Day to raise sustainability awareness. In conjuncture with Green Week, the Masi-Scanlan ticket hopes to have a day without power at Notre Dame. Green Loan Fund: Advertise and utilize the Green Loan Fund to help students develop ideas to improve sustainability on campus. Green Certified Events: Support organizations looking to certify their event through the Office of Sustainability. Reusable Grab-N-Go Bags: Incentives students to use reusable bags for Grab-N-Go.

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University Affairs In a commitment of creating a more inclusive Notre Dame community, the Masi-Scanlan ticket will focus on ensuring that everyone feels safe and welcomed. Safety, on and off campus, is a major priority of the Masi-Scanlan ticket. We are also committed to the expansion of our student center, brining another chain restaurant to campus, and updating our buildings and grounds to fit the needs of the current day student. • Campus Safety o SafeWalk Services: The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to enhance and expand the current NDSP SafeWalk services. By integrating technology, request for the services can be made via convenient text messaging. o Campus Lighting: Throughout the various seasons at Notre Dame, campus tends to be poorly light. As a concern for student safety, the Masi-Scanlan ticket believes campus lighting can and should be improved. o HAWK Pedestrian Crossing Systems: The Masi-Scanlan ticket will work closely with the current administration to ensure the installation of the new HAWK Pedestrian Crossing System on Twychenham and Vaness. With movement of Douglas Road and an expansion of lanes, pedestrian safety is a major concern. The Masi-Scanlan ticket will work to ensure the installation of HAWK systems to enhance the safety around our campus. Accessibility: Recently the university conducted an accessibility review of the Notre Dame campus. The Masi-Scanlan ticket stands behind the administrations efforts and hopes to continue evaluation of some of the more historic buildings on our campus. Health Services: The Masi-Scanlan ticket seeks to re-evaluate the health services offered to our students with a particular focus on mental health, sexual assault support, counseling, and preventative care. The Masi-Scanlan ticket also stands behind the decision to accept health insurance for prescription medication at St. Liam’s pharmacy.





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