About three months after Marquette Student Government held its last Senate meeting, the new executive board continues work from last year, laying out blueprints for future projects and recycling a few extinct campus traditions.
MUSG leaders stressed that communication between different parties is on the agenda for the 2005-'06 school year.
Although the executive board does not expect another issue like the nickname debate to surface, the struggle has taught it lessons in handling such situations, said President Alex Hermanny, a College of Arts & Sciences senior.
The nickname debate assessed whether Marquette stakeholders wanted to replace the Golden Eagles team name.
"It exposed the differences — the disconnect between students and alumni," he said.
A possible solution would be to share more student opinions on crucial issues with the university's board of trustees and higher-level officers within the university, Hermanny said.
Homecoming Week, tentatively scheduled for mid-October, could feature another opportunity to connect with alumni, said Chris Hoff, program vice president and a College of Health Sciences senior.
A possible tailgate event, where students and alumni can mingle, is in the planning phase, he said.
"I think re-establishing the traditions at Marquette is an important part of connecting students and alumni," Hoff said.
If students discover other traditions that have been put out to pasture, they may be interested in resurrecting them, Hermanny said.
Hermanny and Elizabeth Feste, executive vice president and a College of Arts & Sciences senior, plan to start a panel with students and Marquette's National Alumni Board in order to glean information about years past.
Recent traditions continue and will be advertised in old and new ways.
Marquette Mania Week began today and will run until Sept. 4, with music, movies, comedy performances and trips scheduled.
Hoff said he plans to keep the "Night Of Chocolate," where students can sample a variety of cocoa-flavored sweets, and "MU Loves the '80s," which celebrates the decade when most students were born.
MUSG events will now be displayed on AXIS TV screens, the LCD screens installed this summer in both parking structures, the Alumni Memorial Union and in the John P. Raynor, S.J. Library. MUSG allocated funds for the screens late spring semester.
Laura Herzing, communications vice president and a College of Communication senior, said more screens may be put up later in academic buildings.
Herzing said the communications department also plans to make the MUSG Web site more uniform and user-friendly, increase non-traditional media tactics such as cardboard cut-outs and send out a Senate update e-mail newsletter to students.
One advertising project that is still in the works since last year is the information kiosk, part of the previous administration's platform.
The information kiosk is a six-foot panel resembling Marquette building name signs, in which student organizations can post their fliers with the permission of MUSG and the Office of Student Development.
The funds for the project were allocated by last year's Senate but the kiosk's location is still not determined.
"There are no plans to change plans," Feste said. "We're just trying to find it a happy home right now."
However, Feste and Hermanny are moving forward with their platform, including plans to renovate the Varsity Theatre.
Feste said they are creating a committee of stakeholders to assess how to improve the building.
Yet some issues existed before last year's elections. MUSG leaders said they want to tackle the lack of green space for club sports to practice on and the continued Marquette Interchange construction, which will continue to affect students.
These issues may be among many brought up in the fall primary election, set for Sept. 14, and the final senatorial election, scheduled on Sept. 21, which will select residence hall senators.
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on August 29, 2005.