Sustainability intern promotes green effort
Amy Windhorst
Campus News Editor
Photo courtesy of Facebook
Junior James Cave will fill the role of Sustainability Committee Intern. He will be working to make campus more environmentally friendly.
In continued efforts to keep Xavier’s campus “green,” Xavier’s Sustainability Committee recently selected junior James Cave to fill the role of Sustainability Committee Intern.
The position gained the support of Xavier President, Fr. Michael Graham, S.J., who was instrumental in gathering funding for the job.
The Sustainability Committee Intern will be granted a tuition reduction that will later be specified by Financial Aid and a small budget for events and other initiatives.
Cave will serve as the student go-to concerning sustainability efforts on campus.
He will be working in conjunction with clubs, the Student Government Association and the Student Activities Council to make campus more environmentally-friendly.
There is also hope that the intern will reach outside the Xavier bubble to initiate conversations with the local community and other organizations.
“The Sustainability Committee Intern position is a result of research that several student members of the committee did for a retreat in January. The goal was to determine the best possible committee structure for moving forward in an environment of limited resources,” said Sustainability Committee co-chair, Kathleen Smythe.
According to the committee’s research, several other universities have implemented a similar, student-led position in order to boost campus involvement in green issues. Indeed, student involvement is at the top of Cave’s priorities.
“It is quite obvious that student involvement in campus-wide sustainability projects is currently at a very low level,” said Cave in a proposal to Fr. Graham. “A student leader must be established to unify Xavier’s commitment, promote student awareness and create student-led sustainability initiatives.”
Cave, who first drafted the proposal for the position, was chosen based on his closeness to the project. It is not yet clear how future interns will be selected.
The position was originally intended to be a part of SGA, similar to the Student Director of Diversity.
However, because the position required about 15-20 hours per week, the Sustainability Committee thought it would be best to provide a stipend/tuition reduction for the role.
“We were very excited to hear that the position could be bigger and involve a greater time commitment…as a result of this tuition reduction,” said SGA President, Kiki Richardson. SGA has also set aside $1,000 in its budget for sustainability initiatives, which can be used by the Sustainability Committee intern if requested.
The specifics of the position are “still in flux,” said Cave.
The position will likely not be finalized until the end of the month, when the committee hopes to have financial aid money and program funding solidified.
However, there are some loose plans for the office.
Discussions have been held concerning the formation of a student committee, which would work accomplish green goals on campus.
Cave will also be working a table at the upcoming Earth Day celebration on Wednesday, April 22 in conjunction with SAC’s Green Party.
“It will take the cooperation of students, faculty and administration all across campus in order to accomplish sustainability goals,” said Richardson.
“I think the creation of this position is the beginning of a real commitment to sustainability here at Xavier,” she added.
Students with disabilities work towards awareness
Emily Hoferer
Managing Editor
Newswire photo by Jessica Thimmons
Understanding Disability Day worked to raise awareness about students with disabilities and their day-to-day lives.
On Tuesday, April 14, the Student Network for Accessibility in our Community (SNAC) held an Understanding Disability Day on the greenspace and at the Dorothy Day House to raise awareness about students with disabilities.
The first mid-day event featured information tables on the greenspace about SNAC and the many kinds of disabilities.
Amanda Stahl, the director of leadership development for SNAC, hosted a lecture at the Women’s Center following the greenspace event. The day concluded with a showing of a film featuring the life of Richard Pimentel, who was a driving force behind the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This event is not the first event to address disabilities at Xavier, but it has taken a different tone. A few years ago, SNAC held a day that Xavier students were challeneged to live their day-to-day life as a student with a disability. “This event focuses more on all the different perceptions of disability in our society,” said Stahl.
According to the Learning Assistance Center, there are 260 documented cases of Xavier students with a disability. Stahl and her cohorts in SNAC are hoping that their events will help bring to light students with disabilities that are not just physical.
Stahl said that an area of improvement for the university is not just in the form of accessibility. “Xavier and other universities need to focus more on why students aren’t coming out and saying that they are disabled, and how to stop the shame of being disabled,” she said.
There are positive efforts at Xavier, such as administrators making it clear that any event hosted by Student Government Association be accessible to all students. She also said that with the recent campus expansion, Xavier has promised to be more than just accessible. “Xavier has pledged to be not only ADA-compliant with the new additions to the school, but more disability-friendly and going beyond the law,” said Stahl.
“I hope people will understand that people with disabilities don’t have to change themselves. People without disabilities do have to change their perspective,” said Stahl.
Senate gets early start, changes planned
Sarah Weiten
Copy Editor
Xavier students can expect a few changes from their Senate next year.
Newly elected Executive President, junior Kiki Richardson, and new Senate Coordinator, sophomore Chris Hale, have expressed a desire to use their offices in new and innovative ways to improve the University as a whole.
Hale plans to set an agenda that will significantly increase the accountability Senate is held to as far as projects and deadlines. “The Senate Coordinator is in charge of leading senators on a collective mission,” said Hale.
This year he plans to ask each senator to publish a pre-summer set of proposals regarding the two projects they will be required to complete in a semester.
Each proposal will require five outside- of-senate contacts from the Xavier community in hopes of creating a more inclusive project process. The senators must provide a date for completion and will be held strictly to this deadline.
During his bid for Executive President, Chris Hale promised to cut back the stipends of the Executives and others in the Student Government Association receive.
Though he lost the election for SGA president, he plans to implement a version of this original plan in his new position as Senate Coordinator. “[The stipend system] is really kind of a raw deal for certain people. The five committee heads, for example, put in a significant amount of work, and yet are not paid,” said Hale.
“I plan to propose that they will divide $600 a year from my stipend which will be subtracted from my personal stipend. It might not seem like much but it sets a precedent that may be upheld in later years,” he said.
Hale also plans to discontinue the star system that earned the Senate criticism this year.
Executive President Kiki Richardson says that the transfer of responsibilities from last year to this year is going “really well.” “We did the actual oath of office on April 6 and it was really nice to get that actually accomplished and move on.”
She plans to work with other senators to ensure that senator turnover is reduced and the new senators are quickly acclimated to their duties.
This will include an improved late-April Senate Workshop and a revamped experienced
senator-teaching-inexperienced senator mentorship program.
Administrative Vice President Jessica Kelly is looking to provide greater publicity
for financial aid options.
She also is working on an initiative to provide a game day shuttle to make parking easier during basketball season.
MBA Office fundraiser aids student family
Andrew Chestnut
Design Editor
Just getting by has become an increasingly difficult task for many families in recent months, especially for those with children in college. But for one Xavier student, family circumstances are so unusual and unfortunate that certain administrators are taking action to help.
Taylor Neal, a sophomore marketing and international business major found out her father, Lewis Neal, had been diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in October, leaving him unable to work for over six months.
The medical costs associated with his radiation and chemotherapy treatments have posed a overwhelming financial burden to his family.
Holly Banner, Assistant in the Executive MBA Office (where Neal works part-time) recognized the need for action. Banner and her colleagues in the MBA Office organized a fundraiser for the Neal family, scheduled for Sunday, April 19 at Stones Lanes on Montgomery Rd.
“Taylor is one of the most hard working and outstanding students at this University. She is on the board for AB, Marketing Club and was involved in the Pep Band and is taking 18 credit hours this semester,” Banner said, mentioning several other volunteer activities Neal participates in.
“It broke our hearts to know what Taylor and her family were enduring, but she did not miss a beat. She keeps going on because she knows she has to do whatever it takes to get through this difficult time,” Banner said.
“When some of my coworkers in the MBA Office found out the severity of my family’s situation a few months ago, they volunteered to organize a benefit to help raise money for the medical bills we are facing,” Neal said. “I also think just having a lot of people at the event will lift my dad’s spirits as it will show him that he is not alone in this difficult battle.”
“Throughout this difficult time, I have leaned on so many members of the Xavier community and I have never been extended so much care and consideration before,” she said.
The event will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will include bowling, food, raffles and more. Raffle tickets will be available April 14-17 outside Gallagher Student Center until 5 p.m. Banner encourages everyone in the Xavier community to come out and support one of their own facing difficult times.
Police Notes
April 2, 4:20 p.m. – A student observed stealing an energy drink from the cooler outside Ryan’s Pub was located on the Residential Mall and escorted back to make restitution.
April 4, 1:41 a.m. – A student observed urinating in the woods on the edge of the R-1 lot was cited for underage consumption.
April 6, 2:40 a.m. – Campus Police and Residence Life investigated the report of an intoxicated student in the Commons who was upset over a recent relationship and punching walls. The student was allowed to stay in his or her room. Residence Life will follow-up.
April 9, 1 a.m. – A student reported that he or she was robbed on the 1500 block of Dana Avenue. by two males who fled west on Dana toward Reading Road. The student was not injured and no weapon was shown. Approximately $7 in U.S. currency was taken. A search of the area was conducted by Xavier and Cincinnati Police Department officers, but they were unable to locate the suspects.
April 12, 3:44 a.m. – An officer on routine patrol discovered graffiti damage to the exterior of Cohen Center and abandoned buildings on the future Xavier Square property. In addition, basketball rims in Lot A were damaged. Physical Plant was notified.
April 13, 6:23 a.m. – An officer on routine patrol discovered a chair that belonged in Cintas Center on the back patio of the E-building in the Village. The chair was confiscated and Residence Life notified.
April 13, 7:16 p.m. – A contract employee reported that someone had stolen a table from the patio at Ryan’s Pub. The suspects attempted to remove a chair which was found halfway up the path to the greenspace.
Police Note of the Week
April 2, 7:07 p.m. – Campus Police and Residence Life conducted a room search in Brockman Hall after receiving a report that a student was producing and selling fake driver’s licenses and military IDs to underage students. A laptop, camera and IDs were confiscated.
