SGA plans for end of this academic year
Kelly Deranek, Saint Mary’s senior, presented a proposal asking for funding for Dance Marathon. The event is in its fifth year at the College and raises money for the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. One of the final things SGA has done for the students of Saint Mary’s College is to help fund one of the bigger events on campus — Dance Marathon. Chesley and Smith were shadowing the current president and vice president in preparation for their terms in office. They will continue to observe until they are sworn in to office and, after elections for the other offices this week, the new class officers will also be attending the SGA meetings. “The event’s goal is to celebrate the hard work Dance Marathon has done all year to raise money for the hospital,” Deranek said. “It promotes awareness of the hospital but the Marathon night is all about fun.” In preparation for their upcoming term as leaders of Saint Mary’s Student Government Association (SGA) beginning April 1, juniors Rachael Chesley and Laura Smith attended Wednesday’s meeting. Chesley and Smith were voted in as SGA president and vice president, respectively, for the 2010-11 academic year during the election Feb. 26. Dance marathon will be held in Angela Athletic Facility from 8 p.m. March 26 to 8 a.m. March 27. The event is for Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame and Holy Cross students. Deranek said they are expecting around 550 people, which is the largest attendance the event has ever had. The marathon is 12 hours of dancing with live entertainment and a DJ. It also includes food, games, last minute donations and a counting of how much money was raised. 
Hoffman also said she and the current SGA vice president and junior, Megan Griffin, were attempting to initiate a Saint Mary’ s heritage course. The course would be one credit and would teach students about the origins and founding values of the College. “The year is coming to a close very quickly and our term in office is almost over,” current SGA president and senior Jenny Hoffman said. “It’s time to think of what final things you would like to accomplish for the student body.” The board members for the event have already begun fundraising, but because all the money has been donated to the hospital, they still needed funding for the event, Deranek said. SGA has started to prepare for the end of the 2009-10 term and will meet only three more times before the newly elected officers are sworn in on April 1. Some of the suggestions made by the SGA members included vending machines in the Student Center and new vacuums in the dorms. 
GasLog Partners, the New York-listed spinoff of LNG shipper GasLog, said on Tuesday it entered into a new multi-year time charter for tanker GasLog Sydney with a unit of US LNG export player Cheniere.The contract is scheduled to start in 2018. Cheniere has options to extend the charter for up to two consecutive periods at “escalating rates,” according to a GasLog Partners statement.GasLog Sydney is a 155,000-cbm tri-fuel diesel electric liquefied natural gas carrier built in 2013 and currently on a multi-year time charter with a unit of the Hague-based LNG giant Shell through September 2018.The vessel is currently undergoing a scheduled dry-docking during which GasLog Partners “is enhancing its future marketability through the installation of a reliquefaction module,” the statement reads.Andy Orekar, Chief Executive Officer of GasLog Partners, said in the statement he was very pleased with this charter agreement with Cheniere, the Partnership’s second agreement this year with a new and “high-quality” counterparty.“The execution of the charter further diversifies our customer base and increases our contracted revenue visibility, supporting our year-on-year distribution growth guidance of 5% to 7% in 2018,” Orekar said.GasLog Partners’ fleet currently consists of 13 LNG carriers with an average carrying capacity of about 156,000-cbm, according to the company’s website.
If we just knew that your office was not briefed in detail about the situation of our workers in both government and private hospitals, we would have sought a private audience with you to settle these issues and made things clear and right. It was not the intention of the media forum to humiliate the administration and the IATF. The call was for the DOH and IATF to provide the HCWs a fighting chance in the war against COVID and prevent unnecessary fatalities. We bear no III will and have acted without malice towards the implementers of the law and the Bayanihan as one goal but our empty cries had to be made known somehow. Sadly, we were taken aback and surprised when you highlighted in your address to the nation last night that we are indispensable but not irreplaceable so we beg your indulgence and allow us to rectify this impression. If you closely review the virtual conference on Aug. 1, There was never a call for a revolt nor was there any threat of leaving patients on their own since our oath instructs us to first do no harm to anyone who needs our help. In this letter, we highlighted the importance of having healthy and COVID-free caregivers so we can allay anxiety and boost the morale of the frontliners when they face uncertainty and this can only be made possible if they are tested periodically. By training and our reserved nature, the likes of us are not used to giving out demands or ultimatums but if our requests and observations were taken as an assertive display of Indignation, we apologize for the way the message was taken in a negative light. Three months have passed since that time and after other requests like quarantine facilities for HCW, insurance coverage, and protection from verbal castigation and physical violence to name a few have been left unanswered, we patiently held on as soldiers in battle. These valid requests if they were granted early on would have made our harrowing experiences bearable but for some unexplained reason, it was left unheeded by the IATF and DOH. Going forward, we are glad that your office is open to suggestions and that you prioritize the safety of our health care workers. Similar to your wish, we also pray that the COVID vaccines become available sooner than later. Your quick response on this matter was highly appreciated and the additional help you have promised our ranks will go a long way but as a rejoinder, we would like to make it clear that our call for a stricter lockdown is not only to give reprieve to our tireless health workforce but mainly to assure the highest quality of care needed for the moderate to critically III patients we expect to rise in number when the health system becomes less than ideal. By our long history with the DOH, we have been supportive of the government and as a matter of fact, formed a partnership with DOH in disseminating educational materials to both the medical field and community during these past four months. Our society has also worked indirectly with LGUs and members of the ATE ever since the beginning of the campaign as a consultative body on matters of science. With you and all the Filipinos in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.