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
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Three people have been accused of committing an armed home invasion in Halesite last week, one of nine similar Suffolk cases in a recent three-week span.The trio broke into a New York Avenue apartment while armed with at least one gun, stole money from a victim inside and fled the scene at 11:50 p.m. Feb. 5, a Suffolk County police spokeswoman said.Police arrested 27-year-old John Steele of Wyandanch on Sunday. His two alleged accomplices, 23-year-old Belinda Ortiz of Brentwood and 21-year-old Tasean Berry of Deer Park, were arrested on Monday.All three were charged with burglary. Berry and Ortiz are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.Bail for Steele was set at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash. He is due back in court Thursday.Of the nine armed Suffolk home invasions since Jan. 15, one left a 21-year-old Flanders man dead last month and another in Central Islip last week left two victims hospitalized after one was shot and the other was pistol-whipped.
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.”
Published on December 27, 2018 at 11:48 pm Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3 Facebook Twitter Google+ Robert Braswell, a seldom-used freshman, saw an open lane in the final minutes of Syracuse’s matchup against Arkansas State. The 6-foot-9 forward knew what to do: rise up with his right arm cocked back and throw it down to put the Orange up by 28.Braswell’s dunk gave Syracuse 77 points, a number that’s guaranteed an SU win over the last two seasons in games that avoided overtime.In its last six games before the Orange’s 82-52 win against Arkansas State on Dec. 22, Syracuse hadn’t hit that mark. But on Saturday, SU head coach Jim Boeheim finally saw life from the Orange offense.“We scored points in the second half, and we had five, six, wide open shots, seven or eight maybe wide open shots that we didn’t make,” Boeheim said. “So we’re scratching the surface of what we can do.”When facing top-60 defenses in its two losses before last Saturday, Syracuse (8-4) failed to consistently score — ending in 62 points against Old Dominion and 59 against then-No. 14 Buffalo. The Orange are one of the country’s worst-shooting 3-point teams (29.6 percent), rank about average in 2-point percentage and below average in free-throw percentage, per Kenpom.com. But the Orange have shown glimpses all season of scoring ability. In their upcoming contest with St. Bonaventure, SU’s final nonconference opponent of the season, the Orange have an opportunity to tap into their offensive upside before ACC play begins.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text“We’re not there,” Boeheim said on Dec. 22. “… I think we can get there, but we’re obviously a long ways away right now from where we have to get to.”Talia Trackim | Digital Design EditorSyracuse scored 76 points on Nov. 15 in its first loss of the season, to Connecticut, and Boeheim admitted postgame that the Orange had seven or eight offensive possessions where they didn’t set up a play to run. SU was supposed to have more scorers this season, with five starters back and additions like Elijah Hughes, Jalen Carey and Buddy Boeheim. But integrating new players while Frank Howard battled early season injuries proved difficult and hasn’t yet been fully overcome.Sometimes, when the ball swings to Hughes, Tyus Battle or Oshae Brissett on a wing, they’ll stand and assess the defense for multiple seconds before making a move. Often, their response is to start a dribble drive or to call for a big to set a screen.But when the wings wait for something to happen, the opposing defense anticipates the action and often shuts it down. The offensive stagnancy that players pointed out at the beginning of the season hasn’t fully gone away, resulting in prepared defenders and low percentage looks late in the shot clock.“We didn’t see changes on the floor, see things, make adjustments on the floor,” Howard said.But Boeheim thought that the Orange “showed some signs of being able to do some things” on offense after the Buffalo loss after struggling to penetrate past quick guards. While the Orange didn’t play fast that day, scoring only 59 points, they did have motion in their offensive attack at times. They ran their “horns” play successfully, where two forwards set up at the elbows, receive a pass and then other SU players cut off of them, and worked ball swings into quick pick-and rolls without delay.“I think we can score points. I think we’re going to be able to,” Boeheim said on Dec. 18. “… We need to have a couple good weeks, find our offense, if we can, we’ll be alright. If not, we won’t. Pretty simple.”Boeheim’s set plays created opportunities for Hughes shooting from 3 and Brissett driving to the rim against UB. The two allowed the returning Howard to create for others, the skill he provides most for the SU offense.Even with that increased fluidity Syracuse showed against UB, though, its point total led Boeheim to say: “We’re not winning games scoring 59 points. It’s not gonna happen.”Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff PhotographerBut against Arkansas State, SU’s set plays translated to the scoreboard. In addition to their “horns” and ball-swing pick actions, the Orange ran a play called “25,” trying to set up Battle wrapping around a couple screens to create an edge on his explosive first step.Syracuse also showed its most comfort against an opposing 2-3 zone as it has all season when ASU dropped back to mirror the Orange. The ball moved quickly around the outside, and SU found lanes to throw bounce passes for easy buckets. Marek Dolezaj’s insertion as starting center prevented the ball from sticking on the perimeter. The ball kept moving when Dolezaj sat down, and his play carried over to the rest of the starting lineup.“We wanted to really understand who we are and our identity and just come out and do that every day,” Howard said of what went into that offensive comfort.After 82 points, SU’s postgame mood was mostly subdued because the Orange had just beaten up on the 5-7 Red Wolves, not a conference opponent. But Syracuse’s scoring potential is there. Battle received the seventh-most votes for the preseason AP All-American team. Brissett has slid in and out of NBA mock drafts. Hughes shoots with confidence from multiple feet beyond the 3-point arc.In its last three games, Syracuse has “scratched the surface.” Now, the Orange just have to unlock their offensive potential. Comments