Christopher Dacanay
Distribution Manager
Franciscan University Student Government convened Feb. 17 to begin considering an advisory resolution regarding the use of patens and to form new internal committees.
President Athanasius Sirilla said he and Vice President Clement Harrold began drafting letters to various friars Monday, Feb. 15, regarding the use of patens at Mass. Sirilla said that Student Government must form a unanimous opinion on the matter before pursuing an advisory resolution.
“Before a formal advisory resolution,” Sirilla said, “we’d like to have Student Government completely on the same page … in what we want to bring to the friars, because we think this is a real concern that a lot of students have. But we want to be unified in the way we present it to them without coming across as too harsh.”
Sirilla also mentioned that the Student Government’s projected budget would be reduced to roughly $30,000 in the near future.
Four new committees, composed of senators, were announced by Senator Erin Whoriskey: the Welfare, Rules of Order, Finance and Outreach Committees. Whoriskey said the committee heads will give a weekly update every Wednesday.
The first assignment delegated to the Outreach Committee was transporting Franciscan 40 prayer cards to students in quarantine.
Student Support advocate Pilar Slonkosky provided an update on an upcoming mental health awareness event on campus. Slonkosky said three panelists were secured for the event: Matthew Burris, director of the Wellness Center; the Rev. Dominic Foster, T.O.R. and Shirley Pawlak, who holds a master’s degree in psychology.
Slonkosky said she hopes to begin producing flyers to promote the event. Furthermore, she said she would like heads of households to begin promoting the event to their households.
In other news, Spring Bill 13 was brought to the floor by Senator Jared Johnson. The bill would reimburse Harrold $90.93 for purchasing the premium WordPress domain “notbysight.org” for the Franciscan 40 initiative.
During Spring Bill 13’s reading, Johnson cited his previous “nay” to Spring Bill 8 two weeks prior, which also regarded reimbursement for Harrold. Bill 13 was passed unanimously, despite a single “nay” from Johnson.
Senators David Hahn and Joshua Costello were both absent during the meeting, both excused.
Student Government meets every Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the Seminar Room of the St. Joseph Center.