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Dear Notre Dame,

We hope you have all enjoyed a great semester so far and had a restful fall break. It is our privilege to continue the effort to make tangible improvements to the student experience, and we are continuing to strive towards progress every day of our term.

We’re happy to report that the Department of National Affairs and Political Engagement had a very successful “Wake Up and Vote” event, and that the Department of Health and Wellness hosted a “Chill Out Before Midterms” giveaway. Our Department of Faith had a busy month that included a 9/11 Memorial Mass and a Suicide Healing Prayer and Memorial Service. Our Department of Diversity and Inclusion and Department of Disability Advocacy had the first meeting of its new peer mentor group, the Accessibility Leadership Fellows. 

At this point in the year, we are beginning to tackle major issues that face our community. 

We presented to the Notre Dame Board of Trustees on “Holistic Student Flourishing” and advocated for increased mental health resources, an expansion of service-immersion opportunities and a further emphasis on faith formation. Additionally, we have been working with the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) to address the campus-wide conversations around sexual assault. In addition to our survivor healing mass, we cosponsored a student information panel with the GRC and are hosting town halls to explore gender inequity in residence halls. We are also collecting survey data to share with OIE in order to address reforms to the reporting process. Both student mental health and sexual assault prevention remain focal points of our administration. Rest assured that we are working every day to improve mental health culture and promote a safe campus for all.

As always, please check our Progress Tracker and follow @ndstudgov on Instagram for  more updates! Thank you for making Notre Dame the amazing place it is — we are grateful for your support, feedback and involvement.

Irish by a Million,

Patrick and Sofie