JJM: Who are we?

        Johnny Srsich: A sophomore PPP and soon to be Economics major from Golden, Colorado, Johnny has always had a major interest in politics and is running as the President of JJM. He currently serves as the committee chair of Student Organizations Committee, which is in charge of creating the budget for every club as well as helping new clubs get formed. He wants to be an executive because he wants to give back to Xavier, since Xavier has given him the ability to pursue his interests and be who he wants to be.

        Jacob Jansen: Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Jacob Jansen is a sophomore PPP and Economics major. Jacob has always sought a career in public service and for him it starts here by serving you, the Xavier student body, as Legislative Vice President. Jacob currently serves as a Student Senator on the Residential Affairs board looking to make improvements all around campus regarding safety and general infrastructure. He is looking to serve as an executive because he understands what it takes to get work done starting on October 28th, work on behalf of the Xavier community that has become his home.

        McKenzie Lauver: A sophomore Sports Marketing Major with a Minor in Business, from Cincinnati, Ohio. McKenzie has a major interest in improving the everyday life of all students on Xavier’s campus and she believes that by becoming the Administrative Vice President she can achieve this goal. With McKenzie’s experience as an SGA senator and having already formed relationships within the administration, she hopes to expand Xavier’s community outreach and make the relationship between the student body and the administration more transparent. She wants to become an executive because she believes that her team is the best fit to leave a lasting impact on the university.  

JJM: What do we want to do?

Sustainability:

Xavier University has taken several strides to take the lead amongst its fellow Jesuit universities and colleges in becoming a more sustainable university. Some of these steps, including the new Alter Hall stand as strong physical examples of what we are doing. However, we feel that more steps can taken across campus.  

• Recently the Caf is no longer able to compost their extra food due to the plant closing their doors. This means there is significantly higher food waste production within Xavier, and there needs to be work done to find what we can do to ensure that we are not just throwing out food. Working with Jude Kiah, the assistant VP for auxiliary services, we have two courses of action that we would like to pursue. 1) Finding a new place where we can compost all food waste just as before. 2) Working with Chartwells to see if there is any way we can use the excess food to try and help with food insecurity within the Xavier and Norwood communities. Be this donating to a local food pantry, or working to create on on our very own campus. Both will take a lot of hard work, however we believe that it can be accomplished and make a significant difference in the community.
• Having refillable water bottle stations, and simply better water fountains in general, is an effort to produce a healthier campus that has less waste. These fountains help to promote using refillable water bottles, rather than constantly using plastic disposable ones. In order to accomplish this we will be talking to Physical plant VP for facilities Robert Sheeran, as well as the various hall directors to see if they have a need for new fountains.
• With the switch happening from paper towels to hot air hand dryers with the great goal of minimizing waste, students are finding that we have old hand dryers that don’t do too much to actually dry your hands. Looking specifically at the Caf, students are leaving with their hands still wet which is just spreading germs around. Again, going to Robert Sheeran we will work to find the best hand dryers and the places that need them most to ensure the health of our students remains priority one.

Inclusivity and Diversity:

Being a part of the Xavier community means more than just being confined to your own groups and clubs. Specifically, by serving as either a senator or an executive on SGA it is our job to represent the student body as a whole.

• This means that there needs to be a strong emphasis on the partnership between different diversity associations (ASA, BSA, SOL, LGBTQ Alliance etc.) as well as all the clubs and organizations on Xavier’s campus. A new policy that could go into place through our role as executives could be to implement the mandatory attendance of club meetings per semester. This policy would not only allow SGA as a whole to grow and expand our points of view, but it allows the Student Government Association to make differences on and off campus that will truly impact Xavier students.  
• One major component of creating a diverse environment is crafting appropriate responses to bias-related incidents in our community. Xavier’s Bias Advisory and Response Team (BART) works to respond to these serious incidents and we feel that is essential that the Xavier community understand BART’s presence and utilize it when needed. It is also essential that students know the resources provided to them through the Title IX office.
• University Committees are essential to the ongoing operations of the university. With that in mind, we feel that it is vital the students who serve in these positions reflect the diverse community we have here at Xavier.
• With the theme of community and the idea of making Xavier a more friendly environment for all students, there comes the aspect of international students and how to make them feel more at home here at Xavier University. With the help of administration we hope to look into and expand our process of making open options for housing on campus over University imposed breaks for international students that can’t afford to fly home. We as an executive team have the resources and connections to make this idea a reality. On campus housing for international students would be a great way for these individuals to not only be relieved of the financial burden of flying home, but it would allow them more opportunities to grow here on Xavier’s campus.              

Student Outreach:

As executives we stand as three students representing the whole of the student body. With that in mind, we want to ensure that we are on the same page as the student body and work hand in hand with students in making effective policies that will enable a brighter future here at Xavier.

• Open communication between SGA and students through coffee hours, meet the execs, open meetings. These open communication platforms are pivotal to the success of a great executive team. Being only three students with unique backgrounds, we cannot expect to understand the entire needs of the student body. By having open coffee hours and meet the execs sessions, we can have a full conversation with students and understand their viewpoint of the school and try to find ways to improve their Xavier experience through their needs.
• The majority of the work that happens through SGA is finding the right administrators to talk to about completing a project. Many students however do not have the easy access to an advisor who can point us in the right direction when we are looking for these administrators. With this understanding, we will work with Dustin Lewis, the advisor of SAC and SGA, to create an easy to navigate database with all the administration and faculty and staff with descriptions of their rolls on campus to help students get their questions answered quickly.
• We will work with off campus students as well as the administration to compile list of landlords so that Xavier is looking out for its students. With a website similar to that of “rate my professor”, we would like to work with off campus committee on SGA to compile a comprehensive list of the major landlords that students use when buying off campus housing. From here they can rate their landlord on a variety of categories, in an effort to make the housing process a lot less stressful for those who look to live off campus.
• We seek to create financial literacy courses that will have an open dialogue between the financial aid office and students. Through these courses we are trying to ensure that every student is able to go to college at a fair and reasonable price. These courses could also go into detail about money management, as the GOA program briefly touches upon. This can be done through the financial aid office and working to find teachers or staff members who would be able to help students on a semi-weekly basis.
• Since Canvas has been fully integrated into the University, it should be required to use in every classroom. There are still professors who chose to not use Canvas, which makes it very hard on the student as they don’t know their grades nor their homework if the teacher is infrequent in using it. Working with the deans of every college, we will get a policy passed that will require professors to fully utilize canvas to the extent that the syllabus, homework, and grades will be posted (regularly in the case of homework and grades).

Health and Safety:

In representing the student body we want to ensure that each and every student is taken care of mentally and physically. In order to ensure this we will look to work with various offices and organizations committed to keeping our students safe and healthy.

• When first talking about sex and wellness, we want to address the significant issue that is sexual assault on college campuses. In this we want to work to co-sponsor events held by Brave, XSASA, SWAG etc. that educate Xavier students on sexual assault. We also want to implement a stronger program within Residence Life advocating for more education about sexual assault, particularly within the first six weeks of the fall semester. Through this work we hope to get Xavier students educated in regards to the serious issue that is sexual assault.
• Also in regards to sex and wellness, we hope to advocate for better sexual education across campus in the forms of open forums/dialogues, informational sessions, and more coverage in Manresa. This would also include working closely with McGrath to ensure that STD testing supplies are readily available for students. In doing so we hope to better the status of sexual health across campus.
• Through our ongoing conversations with XUPD we have come to understand the financing issues behind additional blue lights as well as the history of adding additional lighting along the path to the village. With this in mind we want to work with XUPD to increase the number of patrols around the village area so that Xavier students can feel safe on their way home.
• Mental health is a serious issue that plagues college students throughout their college experiences, especially near midterms and finals. McGrath Student Health Services and the Sycamore House provide psychologists so that students can address their concerns in a healthy manner. We believe these psychological services to be essential and want to work to promote them so that we might create a healthier state of mind across campus. We would look to work with professors to advocate for these services in their classrooms.
• Through Xavier administration’s constant conversation regarding moving forward on a smoke-free campus policy we find it of the utmost importance that the student voice be heard. We understand how the administration feels regarding the issue but we want to make sure that the opinions of those who will be most affected will be implemented in any policy created. We want to help those who need help not punish them.

Community Outreach:

Xavier has long been a part of the Norwood/North Avondale/Evanston community yet we currently maintain a poor reputation with these neighborhoods. We want to repair this reputation and make Xavier a shining example of university-community relationships.

• In order to work to repair this reputation we are looking to meet with Norwood City Council, North Avondale Neighborhood Association and Evanston Community Council in the creation of a Town-Gown committee. By meeting with these associations we believe that we may better grasp what they expect of our university and our students as their neighbors. By improving the reputation of Xavier amongst the local communities we consequently improve the mutually benefiting relationship that may exist.

• Part of rebuilding this relationship includes working directly in the communities in areas that require assistance. We believe that requiring service for write-ups helps promote the Jesuit identity here at Xavier as well as providing an option for those not able to afford monetary fines. By working in the community we may come to be better engaged and take more from the historic neighborhoods we find ourselves surrounded by.

Student Employment:

The modern day college student is typically unable to afford tuition payments and require part-time employment whether on or off campus. With this in mind we look to provide a stronger infrastructure for those students who need jobs.

• There is a huge disparity for the international students who apply to become an RA and those who actually do. We currently do not have any international students serving on the RA staff, and we wish to change this. International students bring a different perspective that would really open the minds of their residents and allow them to see an entirely new culture. This would also make it possible for us to pursue housing for international students over breaks since many students are unable to return home for winter break.

• Many students hear about work study, but it is usually from their friends after the application process is done and there is nothing that they can do. By having a quick introduction as to how to apply and where they can work, more students will have the ability to work and make college more affordable for themselves.

Final Note: We want to thank you for reading through our platform and we hope to hear what you have to say about it. We want you, the student, to understand that this is a flexible document and may change with the coming and going of ideas should we be elected. As a team we want to hear from you in regards what we can do to make Xavier the best it can be, so please feel free to reach out and contact us.