Saint Mary's Newsroom

As announced earlier, spectators are not allowed at MIAC contests during the winter season to prioritize focus on student-athlete and staff safety. But you can still catch all basketball and hockey games via our live video stream, including the first men’s hockey game this Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. Tune in! 

View the schedule for all live stream games.

Welcome back! The Student Activities Committee (SAC) is so excited to have everyone back on campus. As we all do our part in soft quarantining, please stay connected with the following this week:

Virtual Escape Rooms 

Friday, Jan. 29, via Zoom, 8 p.m.

Do you enjoy solving puzzles and having fun with friends? Virtual escape rooms are just the thing for you! Join by yourself or in groups of up to eight people.

Register

Interested in joining SAC? Email studentactivities@smumn.edu.

For more upcoming events, visit SAC’s website. 

Join our team of Residence Life staff members at Saint Mary’s! Applications to become a resident assistant (RA) for the 2021-22 academic year are now open. If you’re interested, email reslife@smumn.edu to request the application form. Applications are due Friday, Feb. 19.

RAs are integral to the Residence Life staff. Living and working directly with the residents of a hall, RAs facilitate the growth of individuals, establish a sense of community, and contribute to the effective management and operation of the residence hall. Through training and direct supervision, these individuals will be exposed to many different developmental experiences. This leadership position provides our RAs with a unique opportunity to further develop their own self-awareness and interpersonal communication skills that are vital for success in many areas of life.

Applicants must have completed a minimum of one college semester of live-in experience in a residence hall. Also, they must be enrolled in at least 12, but no more than 18, hours of academic credit each semester and maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA and a 2.0 semester GPA. We encourage our RAs to participate in extracurricular activities but these must be limited in order to dedicate ample time to the position.  

Responsibilities

• Share responsibility for weekday and weekend evening area coverage
• Attend monthly meetings, along with workshops and/or training sessions, as specified by the Office of Residence Life
• Participate in hall opening and closing
• Respond to emergency situations by making use of appropriate resources and contacting appropriate university personnel. In the case of long absences, sickness, accidents and/or unusual behavior, the RA is expected to report the situation to his or her hall director immediately.
• Maintain open communication with his or her hall director
• Attend and contribute to hall staff meetings on a weekly basis
• Plan and implement hall and campus programs, as directed by the Office of Residence Life such as Halloween Fun Night
• Maintain the physical aspects of the hall to ensure cleanliness and report any needed repairs
• Uphold all university policies and document situations when appropriate
• Help promote the RA position throughout the staff selection process
• Perform other duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor or Office of Residence Life

Contact the Office of Residence Life at reslife@smumn.edu with any questions or to request an application.

Student Senate
Jan. 26, 2021

Meeting called to order by President Kendall Archer at 7:02 p.m.

Prayer by Collin van Waardenburg

Members present: Cece Abel, Kendall Archer, Samantha Carlson, Larkin Clem, Jake Emeott, Sarah Fowler (proxy Catie Schiltz), Mary Furlong, Gabriel Graves, Noah Kimel, Megan Kowalis, Jonathon Krull, Abigail Lang, Thomas Magnavite, Allison Moysis, Tara Nikolich, Nicole Noreen, Lyanna Novak, Enitan Onayiga, Sophia O’Neil, Angel Sacta Espinoza, Joseph Schauf, Ryan Stoynich, Collin can Waardenburg, Destiny Walker, and Elijah Williams 

Members absent: n/a

Members excused: Sarah Fowler (proxy Catie Schiltz)

Discussion items:

• Student Senate expectations for spring semester
  • COVID-19 policies
    • You represent yourself and the Student Senate
    • If COVID-19 policies are broken by a member of senate, the individual will first undergo administration disciplinary action before also being brought before Student Senate Ethics Committee to potentially determine further disciplinary measures for the violation 
  • Attendance
    • Attendance is required by senators
    • Two or more unexcused absences is ground for removal
    • If you know you will be gone, email Kendall or Jonathon 24 hours before the meeting (ideally) and also send a proxy on your behalf
• Spring elections and membership update
  • Special election coming up
  • Positions open
    • Vice president of media and communications
    • A representative for Skemp, Heffron, and LaSalle
    • A representative for Brother William, Bishops, Saint Joseph’s, and Hillside
  • Jan. 28 — petitions available; contact jpkrul18@smumn.edu if interested
  • Feb. 9 — election held
• COVID-19 policy reminders
  • New “color” levels of transmission are on the dashboard, with extra orange level added as level 4 (information in previous CommUNITY newsletters)
  • Mass testing on Friday for everyone on campus, participation is required
    • Register and attend (link in previous CommUNITY)
  • Random testing will take place throughout the semester
  • Once the soft quarantine is up, portions of the current policies may be lifted
  • Individuals must be in their residence halls at 10 p.m.
    • Exemptions are allowed if approved by Residence Life
• Executive Board updates
  • Kendall Archer, president
    • Download the COVIDaware MN app
  • Jonathon Krull, acting VP of Media and Communications
    • Contact Jonathon at jpkrul18@smumn.edu if you want to run for any of the open senate positions
  • Angel Sacta Espinosa, VP for Campus Affairs
    • Currently looking at the Capital Improvement Process
    • The committee has come together to help go over proposals
      • Email Angel at arsact18@smumn.edu if you want to join
  • Nicole Noreen, VP for Financial Affairs
    • Met with the new R.I.S.E. coordinator, James McGuire, to discuss club training
      • Club leaders should have received an email in regard to training
      • Update your club binders if your leaders have left/graduated
  • Destiny Walker, VP for Multicultural Affairs
    • Working toward the goal of holding community-building events if COVID allows
  • Mary Furlong, VP for Academic Affairs
    • Working with the new dean of the College to go over the new schedule
      • I would love to hear your feedback on it or anything in regard to academics
  • Elijah Williams, VP for Student Life
    • New wrap and salad options at Chartwells
      • Reach out if you have any feedback
    • You have until Feb. 5 to change your meal plan
    • Get your new ID from Campus Safety if you have not yet
    • New director of Residence Life is Niki Peterson
  • Megan Kowalis, VP for Public Affairs
    • Working with James McGuire, coordinator of R.I.S.E., to schedule highway cleanup
    • There will be a virtual day at the Capitol
      • Information to come
  • Jonathon Krull, Executive Assistant
    • No updates
  • Sarah Fowler, SAC President
    • Coffee and Cocoa on Thursday in Saint Mary’s Hall
      
    • Virtual Escape Room this Friday
  • Marisa Naryka, Adviser
    • No updates

• Class Officer reports
  • Freshman: No updates
  • Sophomore: No updates
  • Junior: No updates
  • Senior: No updates
• Motion to adjourn
  • Motioned by Joseph Schauf
  • Seconded by Collin Van Waardenburg
  • Time 7:35 p.m.

The Environmental Awareness Center will be open between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 30-31, to check out cross country ski equipment. The center is located next to the clock tower on the top floor of the power plant.

There is no charge for students or staff, but a Saint Mary’s ID is needed to check out the equipment.

Contact Brother John Grover at jgrover@smumn.edu or 507-457-1404 in 115 Vlanzy Hall if you want to go cross country skiing and need to get skis during the week.

Calling all student leaders! 

Do you love Saint Mary’s? Would you consider yourself a leader on campus? Are you interested in making friends and having the best summer of your life? Then apply to be an orientation leader for 2021!

Orientation leaders work with professional staff to support all new student programs, including orientation, registration, summer programs, and Welcome Weekend. All orientation leaders must be available for the dates listed below. The right person for this position is passionate about Saint Mary’s mission and is an upstanding member of the university community. View the application for the full job description.

Qualifications

• Must have current GPA of 2.5 or higher
• Must be a current first-year student, sophomore, junior, or continuing senior at Saint Mary’s
• Students who are resident assistants, peer ministers, or admissions ambassadors for the 2021 academic year are not eligible to be orientation leaders

Required documents

Completed application on Handshake with a résumé and cover letter (answering these questions):

• Why do you want to be an orientation leader?
• How will you represent Saint Mary’s and the Lasallian mission as an orientation leader?
• What skills do you possess as a leader? What skills would you like to develop as a leader?
• Why do you want to be an executive leader?
• What has prepared you to take on a leadership role amongst your peer orientation leaders?

The application deadline is Friday, Feb. 12.

Questions? Contact Tricia Dobrient, coordinator of New Student Orientation, at tdobrien@smumn.edu or 507-457-1406.

Brrrrrr! It’s cold outside and a perfect time for a film … or a whole film festival! The Frozen River Film Festival is donating free passes to ALL Saint Mary’s students. To get your pass:

1. Visit frff.eventive.org and select “Purchase”
2. Select the “Student – Full Festival Pass” and select “Buy”
3. Create an account, and enter the code SMUMNStudent21 to get your pass for free
4. Once the pass is activated in your account, you can reserve tickets for individual films! The benefit to “pre-ordering” the films is that you get an alert when the film premieres.

The festival is entirely virtual this year. Visit frff.org for more information and to see this year’s festival film guide. Stay warm and have fun at the Frozen River Film Festival this year!