Student Senate reflects on inaugural Walk the Walk Week
Notre Dame’s Student Senate met Wednesday evening to exchange feedback pertaining to Notre Dame’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and the University’s inaugural Walk the Walk Week.Senators raised concerns about the effectiveness of this year’s scheduling and potential improvements for next year.Discussion lent itself to the possibility of a University-wide holiday without class.“One big concern was faculty — are they going to come in if if they don’t have a class to teach? Same thing with the students — if you get out of bed and go to a 9 a.m. [class], you might as well go to this [Celebration] Luncheon. As opposed to [thinking], ‘It’s a three-day weekend, I’m going to go out drinking on a Sunday night,’” student body president Bryan Ricketts said.In addition to discussion of Walk The Walk Week, the Senate approved the nomination of a new Director of Gender Issues, sophomore Alex Eisele.Ricketts said he nominated Eisele for the position after a thorough interview process.“Alex has been a good friend of many of the members of Student Government. … We talked to her about her experiences with the It’s On Us Campaign and GreenDot and her involvement with that,” Ricketts said. “We were very impressed with the way that, even though she wasn’t formerly involved in student government, she really took to heart the messages of the campaign.”Members of Senate proceeded to discuss and pass sophomore Sara Dugan, Parliamentarian, as an acting and non-voting member of Judicial Council’s election committee.This order was due to the fact that Ricketts and Zach Waterson, Judicial Council president, are currently searching for a new Director of Internal Affairs, a position previously held by sophomore student body vice-presidential candidate Rebecca Blais.Dugan’s role will include impartially advising the election committee on all constitutional matters, effective immediately, due to her extensive knowledge of the student government Constitution.Junior Isabel Fox, Ryan Hall Senator, expressed concern that Dugan is Blais’s roomate, sensing a possible conflict of interest.Waterson stated that Dugan will have a “fairly minor role” and will help the election committee understand the context of the Constitution’s clauses in the case that there is a violation of election rules and procedures.Tags: student senate, study body elections, Walk the Walk Week
Building inspector Kevin Denison on the job.FORGET a housing crash or the risk of defaulting on mortgage payments – the biggest worry for property buyers is getting a home with unforeseen damage and hefty maintenance requirements.This is according to a new report which revealed the fear of owning a problematic home is so strong that homebuyers consider forgoing building inspections as the biggest mistake they could make.More than four in five respondents of the ME Bank survey of 1000 Aussies viewed failing to pay the $500 to $1000 typically required for a building inspection as a major gamble.This was a greater number than those who saw buying off the plan or regional property as risky.Buyer’s agent Nicole Jacobs said the concern was warranted.“You wouldn’t buy a car without a roadworthy, so why wouldn’t you (want) to know the health of a property before buying it?” she said.“A building inspection gives you knowledge on what needs to be done and what costs there will be. If there’s nothing wrong then you will have the confidence to go forth with gusto.”Mould and termites were two of the biggest and most costly issues facing homeowners in Cairns, according to Building Reports FNQ owner Dianne Martin.“Some of the things to bear in mind is that clients won’t get in the roof every week and won’t climb around in the sub floor,” she said. “We’re looking at the stuff that is hidden behind everything.“There can be termite activity, in wet areas there can be mould. We use an especially designed moisture meter reader so we can point that out for clients.“There are a good proportion of buyers, and even sellers now who are stepping up to the plate and being proactive. Often clients want to get a building and pest inspection but having the vendor already do that, they can go ahead with the rest of the business.“It makes sense for the seller to do this too. In Cairns, buyers are really quite keen to cover these avenues.”Some of the other survey results were more surprising.Buying property with friends and family was considered the second biggest mistake buyers could make, with 62 per cent of respondents viewing it as a risk.Just under half of respondents considered getting an interest-only loan as a risk, while 45 per cent thought there was a danger in selling an existing home before buying the next one.Only a third of respondents thought there was a risk in buying their home via auction.More from newsCairns home ticks popular internet search terms3 days agoTen auction results from ‘active’ weekend in Cairns3 days agoFew respondents saw a problem in buying their home during winter, with just 14 per cent labelling it a risk.Financing a purchase with a lender outside of the Big Four was considered risky by 23 per cent and 38 per cent of respondents thought investing in regional real estate was a mistake.However, buying off the plan was one factor that weighted more heavily on buyers’ minds. Just over half of respondents considered it a significant risk and a third thought it was an average risk.Mr Nolan said one of the trickiest parts of buying off the plan was having a good feel for how the home would look once built.“You do need a healthy dose of imagination to picture how the finished product will look,” he said.“Do your homework into the developer and builder and seek independent advice on the contract of sale.”Auctioneer and licensed estate agent at Hockingstuart Simon Wendt said knowledge was key in any off-the-plan purchase.“Buying off the plan isn’t risky if you know what you’re getting and fully understand the dimensions, aspects and quality of finishes.”ME Bank’s head of home loans Patrick Nolan, referring to the 62 per cent of respondents cautious about buying with family or friends, said co-ownership agreements were probably viewed unfavourably because they restricted people’s ability to sell down the track.“It can be risky if one person wants to sell or situations change,” he said.“Co-buying offers valuable advantages because it means you can pool financial resources (but) I would suggest that you have a formal co-ownership agreement in pace drafted by a solicitor.”Ms Jacobs agreed that the arrangements required caution.“I view this as risky,” she said. “We are emotional beings and emotion can often lead to poor decisions. You don’t want a house to be the death of a friendship or family relationship.”
Press Association The Black Cats head for Tottenham on Monday night lying seven points adrift of safety and knowing they will need to win at least three of their remaining eight games if they are to stand any chance of remaining a Barclays Premier League club. Given the fact that they have only six league wins to their name to date this season, and that their four away fixtures take them to Spurs, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, that may be a tall order. Guy Poyet admits Sunderland are going to have to do something unexpected to get themselves out of relegation trouble. However, Poyet knows from experience that strange things happen as seasons draw to a close, and he is hoping that will be the case for his struggling team. Asked if they may have to do something unexpected to survive, Poyet said: “Yes, yes – but I think it is possible. “I remember clubs in the past – I am not going to talk about names – they have played five or six games at the end of the season against teams who were playing for nothing and they won four or five. “People say it’s incredible, a miracle, but it depends what the teams put on the pitch and what you do. But it can happen. “I suppose I would try as a professional not to alter the end of the season, but if a team goes down early and they make seven changes to try things for the following year, I wouldn’t blame them because they are trying for themselves. “Now that can affect the result of that game and then everybody is blaming somebody else. But at the end of the day, you have got 38 games, it’s you. “You cannot blame the rest for what they do because it happens during the season when someone is playing in the Champions League and chooses to make five changes in midweek. “Nobody remembers those, they only remember the last three or four when people are already out of any possibility.” Possibilities and time, however, are running out fast for Sunderland, who have won none of their last six league games, a run which culminated in a damaging 2-1 home defeat by West Ham on Monday evening. Winger Adam Johnson, whose appearance as a second-half substitute in that game inspired a fightback which came up only just short, admitted afterwards that the point of no return had been reached, and Poyet agrees. He said: “No time ago, we had 12 games to go, and then it was 10 and now it’s eight and we haven’t won… “Yes, I agree with him. Now if you say it clear and loud, it’s pressure for the players – but if we are not under pressure by now in terms of winning the next game, I don’t know when we are going to be. “Of course yes, I totally agree. It’s good that the players say it as well because they are inside here every day and they know what can happen.” Poyet, of course, inherited a difficult situation from predecessor Paolo Di Canio with the Black Cats having taken just a single point from their opening seven league fixtures. As a result, he has had to cope with intense pressure throughout his reign to date. He said: “Me, I am realistic, more realistic than anyone. I don’t forget when I got here. I didn’t write it anywhere. “I made a mistake not putting it on my fridge so every morning when I open the fridge, it reminds me that we had one point from seven games and we were there. “I didn’t, but I made a mistake there. But I remember, don’t worry.” 