Tag: Congress
Congress Updates
by The Cowl Editor on January 31, 2019
Congress Updates
by Margaret Mahoney ’21
Student Congress Representative
On Tuesday, January 29, 2019, Student Congress welcomed members of the Core Curriculum Committee, who presented on the Science, Fine Arts, and Core Focus components of the curriculum. The Core Curriculum Committee presented on the goal of the committee, which is to assess the implementation of the core curriculum. They are in the process of reviewing each requirement.
Regarding the science component of the core curriculum, the members of the committee gathered student feedback on how members of congress have fulfilled the science core and their general ideas and suggestions regarding this component. The Committee also gathered feedback and experiences from students fulfilling the fine arts core at Providence College or while studying abroad. One main discussion regarding the fine arts requirement is if students should make art, analyze art, or a combination of the two in order to fulfill the requirement.
Additionally, the committee gathered student responses to the core focus and how it impacts their academic experiences. One element of the core focus that was discussed is how frequently a students’ core focus develops into a minor or double major.
Following this presentation from the Core Curriculum Committee, Student Congress also voted to approve the Sports Business Organization as a club of Providence College.
Members of congress also presented a recommendation regarding the trash and recycling methods in residence halls. This piece recommends that Residence Life place more trash and recycling bins in the residence halls and have UG2 workers rotate trash and recycling on the weekends. In the discussion regarding this piece, students debated the effectiveness of increasing bins and a need for a cultural shift favoring recycling at PC.
Congress Updates
by The Cowl Editor on January 24, 2019
Congress Updates
by Margaret Mahoney ’21
Student Congress Representative
The 69th Student Congress met for the first time this semester on Tuesday, January 23, 2019. The Sports Business Organization presented on their proposed club and how it would positively impact Providence College students. The primary goal of the Sports Business Organization would be to expose students to careers in sports through guest speakers and networking opportunities. Furthermore, the club’s executive board also plans to host events with the Center for Career Education and Professional Development to help students improve their résumés and teach them other professional skills. The executive board answered several questions ranging from the club’s potential financing to the guest speakers they would like to host. Student Congress will vote on this new club at the next meeting on Tuesday, January 29.
Congress Updates
by The Cowl Editor on November 15, 2018
Congress Updates
by Aine Redington
Student Congress Publicity
Chaplain Fr. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, O.P., and Fr. James Cuddy, O.P., vice president of mission and ministry, visited Student Congress for their weekly meeting on Tuesday, November 13. They discussed their various roles and the roles of Campus Ministry at Providence College.
Fr. Cuddy is a graduate of the College and served as the Chaplain of PC before becoming the vice president of mission and ministry. This department is concerned with the Catholic identity and the Dominican presence at the College. Its primary purpose is to “promote a greater understanding of what it means to be Catholic and Dominican in academic affairs and outside the classroom.”
Fr. Peter Martyr discussed his role as the overseer of Campus Ministry. He talked about a new initiative which gives each residence hall its own chaplain. This year, each athletic team was appointed a chaplain to oversee the players. Each chaplain is only assigned one team to ensure that the Friars can develop organic and real connections with the athletes.
A Student Congress member asked if there was any way Campus Ministry could connect with the international student population.
Fr. Peter Martyr agreed that it would be a great idea to reach a smaller student population who may be susceptible to struggles as they are so far away from home. He thought it might be a great idea to hold smaller intimate dinners.
Another congress member asked about how Campus Ministry is working to connect with Residence Life.
Besides each chaplain being assigned to his own residence hall, Dominicans are encouraged to go to the hall office of each building and play cards, watch sports, and have conversations with RAs and residents. One student agreed that after playing Uno with his Chaplain he felt much more comfortable talking to him as a friend. The more we come to know each other the easier it will be to spread the love of the Catholic and Dominican tradition.
During General Announcements, President Christopher Campanelli ’19 encouraged everyone to go to the SpeakUP PC event in ’64 Hall from 5-7 p.m. This event will be a forum to discuss sexual assault and sexual violence on campus.
The first piece of legislation was regarding the establishment of a new deadline for club applications.
According to this piece, all prospective clubs must submit an application before Nov. 15 or Feb. 28 depending on the semester. The piece passed unanimously.
The following pieces of legislation will be voted on by the members of Student Congress in two weeks on Nov. 27. The second piece of legislation was a proposal for a new club called BELIEVE. This club is designed to be a community and a resource for students with disabilities and challenges.
Although they acknowledged that there is a lot of support for this topic from faculty and staff, there is no club that offers peer support for students with disabilities. It will also serve as a safe place for dialogue and questions.
The third piece of legislation was an amendment to our constitution. The amendment calls for the removal of Article 4 Section 6, which states that each congress member must bring one guest from the College community each semester to attend a regularly scheduled meeting.
The speaker believes that “if someone is interested they should come on their own, member[s] should want to bring guests and advocate for the club not be forced to bring people who don’t want to be there.”
The fourth piece of legislation was another club proposal for a club called Friars for ____. The club is dedicated to planning events to raise funds and create awareness for different organizations.
Last semester, the club raised money for Puerto Rico relief after Hurricane Maria. This semester they have held a grilled cheese run to raise funds for Operation Christmas Child. Members vouched for the club and commended its commitment to service.
The fifth piece of legislation was another club proposal for a new club called Wishmakers-on-Campus. This club is a chapter of the non-profit, Make a Wish. The purpose is to raise money and awareness for the Make A Wish chapters in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They plan to have a 5K walk for wishes in the spring where “Wish Families” can come to talk to students. Additionally, there would be a reception outside Slavin at the end with sponsors and lawn games.
Again, congress members were very receptive and commended the speakers for their dedication to service.
Congress Updates
by The Cowl Editor on October 18, 2018
Congress Updates
by Emili Castro Rodriguez ’21
In the latest meeting of the 69th Student Congress, on October 16, 2018, there were two guest speakers.
The first one was Taylor Weeks, director of recruitment for Teach For America (TFA) at Providence College.
Ms. Weeks was looking for students engaged in the PC Community, and in leadership roles, that may be interested in applying for the TFA program.
She explained that the point of this two-year experience is teaching in low income communities. It is the perfect launching point for a career, as it provides the student with a yearning to advocate for children.
The requisites for TFA is a minimum of 3.50 GPA, leadership experience, a copy of the applicant’s resume, and a 300 word essay explaining their interest in TFA.
Our second set of guest speakers included Dr. James Campbell, a Title IX coordinator, and Allison Sjoval, a communications and assessment specialist for the College.
Ms. Sjoval presented the report from the campus climate survey regarding sexual assault and dating violence that was published last April.
After reporting on the results of the survey, Ms. Sjoval and Dr. Campbell discussed methods that the College can employ to improve campus climate on sexual assault.
These methods included, but were not limited to: informing students of response resources (the process after a complaint is filed), enforcing further ByStander training, and finally, encouraging and educating each other in order to change our own campus culture.
Finally, two pieces of new legislation were presented, both concerning the legitimization of two new clubs on campus: The Wine and Cheese Society, as well as The International Business Club.
Both pieces will be voted on next Tuesday, October 23.
Providence College Student Congress Updates
by The Cowl Editor on March 23, 2017
News
by Sabrina Guilbeault ’18
Asst. News Editors
Security
After the shooting that occurred off-campus on early Sunday morning, Director of the Office of Safety and Security Jack Leyden, Lieutenant John Dunbar, Director of Emergency Management Koren Kanadanian, and Director of Citizenship and Off-Campus Life Stanley Vieira met with the Congress for a panel discussion regarding and improving the emergency response system (FriarAlerts) used for emergency notifications. The panel explained the process of sending out Friar Alerts and the timeline that occured the night of the shooting.
They encouraged feedback from students, fielded concerns, and took note of suggestions offered by Congress.
Students on Congress asked what kind of resources were being offered to the students who were at the house during the incident. Dean of Students Steven Sears explained that the Providence College students who live in the house were offered on-campus housing and made counseling resources available to them.
Sears encouraged students who were involved or know of students involved in the incident to come forward so that appropriate resources can also be made available to them.
Campus Ministry
Father Peter Martyr, O.P., also attended the meeting, and told the Congress what Campus Ministry has done since his last meeting, and how they went about taking some of the suggestions Congress had.
Fr. Martyr explained that he is very excited about the collaboration Campus Ministry has participated in with other clubs on campus this semester, and spoke about the success of the new Peer Ministry program.
Furthermore, he told Congress that five new Dominicans will be coming to campus next year, and welcomes students to reach out if they wish to get more involved with Campus Ministry.
Old & New Business
As for old business, the bill to approve the Sustainable Development Club as a new club on Congress was passed.
Announcements
Elections for next year’s executive board for Student Congress and the Board of Multicultural Student Affairs will begin on Tuesday, March 28 on 9:30 a.m. on Sakai and will last until Wednesday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m. Interested in getting to know who is running? Meet the Candidates Night will occur this Sunday in McPhail’s from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Candidates will deliver their platforms and pizza will be served.