Emily Dorr , Staff

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It is truly a historic time in the Church as Pope Francis has called for a Synod on just that: Synodality, and in doing so invited all levels of Catholic institutions to begin a two-year process of listening and dialogue. It is the hope of Pope Francis that through this journey together, the Church will be able to learn from and create action in topics of concern identified by its congregation to best live out its continued mission. Now you may be asking yourself, what does this mean and what does this have to do with me? 

Well, whether you are a practicing Catholic or not, a group of faculty, staff, and students are organizing listening sessions just for you. We will listen, document and report issues of concern that you, the student body, presents to us. In doing so, La Salle will join 14 other Catholic institutions of Higher Education in Philadelphia who have answered Pope Francis’ call to Synod. This gathering, listening and discussion is the basis of Synod, a community which comes together and provides feedback for the Church. It is our hope to present what we have documented in April, along with other colleges and universities to the Archbishop, and in turn the Pope. 

If this is something you are interested in, be on the lookout for flyers and information cards as we will be advertising these sessions throughout the following weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Dr. O’Connell oconnellm@lasalle.edu, or Brother Ernest miller95@lasalle.edu. 

Our listening session will take place during the following dates and times:

Sunday Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 1 at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2 at 5 p.m.
Thursday, March 3 at 12:30 p.m.
Friday, March 4 at 12 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

Listening sessions on Feb.  27^, and March 2 and 3 will be held in the Chapel. All sessions other than those immediately following Mass in the Chapel will be held in the McShain Board Room Lounge on the second floor of the Union The Archdiocesan collegiate listening session will be at La Salle on Monday, April 4 from 6 to 9; location to be determined

Jakob Eiseman, Editor-in-Chief
Nolen Kelly, Editor

Header Image: @LaSalleUniv via Twitter

Dr. Allen came to campus for the first time since the announcement of his presidency to meet with students and faculty.

La Salle University held a press conference on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 during which President-elect Daniel J. Allen was able to give some remarks and share his thoughts about the LaSallian community on its campus. While this conference reaffirmed much of what was already known about Allen, and was certainly a major press beat for the University in local news, Allen appeared comfortable and confident in what he was saying.

Touting a blue and gold tie and “Big L” pin on his lapel, Allen slid into his role as La Salle’s next president during his speech at the conference, using language such as “our students,” “our campus” and other such phrases. Allen appeared comfortable in this new environment, even joking that he felt at home due to the “Chicago weather” Philadelphia was experiencing.

On the subject of his plans for La Salle, Allen said, “We begin by creating an inclusive and equitable environment where all learners regardless of background are welcomed.” During his speech Allen reaffirmed his commitment to underrepresented communities, civic engagement and social justice. Beyond these commitments, Allen also stated that “teaching and learning and our concern for social justice take place in an environment where we are committed to high quality academic programs.”

“Nearly 100 percent of our students at La Salle receive financial aid. That is a commitment that matters to me and that is a commitment that I think is important to post-secondary education in the United States,” said Allen. The president-elect confirmed that he will be working to serve many underserved communities in the La Salle community, not the least of which are students that require financial help to continue their education.

“I have a very ambitious agenda for this University,” said Allen. And while he could not share explicit details just yet, he reminded the community that “42 percent of our students identify as students of color, 37 percent of our students receive Pell grants, 28 percent of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university” and that these populations are the ones he wants to serve and part of the reason why he was attracted to La Salle.

After the speech, Allen moved to the Union Food Court to meet and chat with students in a comfortable environment. He had lengthy conversions with several students, sitting or standing with them and asking about their ambitions. Allen was even seen returning to students much later in the afternoon to continue previous conversations. Senior communication sciences and disorders student Francesca Spinosi talked to Allen several times on Monday, and said, “He was very nice. He saw that I was working on schoolwork and asked me about it. We had a really good conversation and he was very immersed in it.”

Allen’s commitment to underserved communities, his apparent appreciation and understanding of students and reaffirmations regarding fundraising and university development show that Allen’s first public trip to La Salle was successful for the university’s perception of his plans. 

News brief provided by Keri Marable on behalf of La Salle Students’ Government Association 

Header Image: La Salle SGA

This October, the Students’ Government Association (SGA) will run elections for the elected representative positions. These positions can vote on issues during SGA meetings. These positions include all senator positions and the executive board.

SGA is the official representative of the student body to the administration. One of three students’ governing bodies on campus, SGA advocates for a better student experience on campus, as well as hosts fundraisers and events. They consider any full-time student at La Salle as a member of SGA and welcome anyone to join them at their general assembly meetings on Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

The e-board positions president and vice president require that a student have been a part of the SGA e-Board for at least one year. The other elected e-board positions are only available to those who have been a member of SGA for a year. The only e-board position open to anyone without experience in SGA is the Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, which is appointed via application.

Election voting for the elected e-board positions is Oct. 22 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The e-board positions currently up for election include student body president, vice president, secretary of academic affairs, secretary of public affairs, chief of staff and deputy chief of staff.

SGA considers the Student Body president as the Chair of the Executive Board and appoints senators to committees. The president is also the tie-breaking vote in the senate. They attend University Council and various Board of Trustees meetings as well as stay informed on activities within SGA and on campus. They employ an appointed chief of staff and visual direct line of communication between the president and administration. The president also delegates and supports e-board, senate and members of the student body.

The Student Body vice president works closely with the president. They attend relevant meetings together and the vice president assumes presidential duties when needed. They also prepare a calendar and budget with the secretary of Business affairs. The vice president also employs an appointed deputy chief of staff. They are the chair of general meetings and creator of general meetings PowerPoint slides.

The secretary of academic affairs attends academic curriculum-based meetings and committees to take notes and report back to SGA. They support and collaborate with the College Senators and their initiatives within their prospective colleges. They act as the liaison between the students/SGA and the academic program leadership as well as working directly with the provost.

The secretary of Business Affairs manages the budget with frugality by controlling all incoming and outgoing cash flows. They promote any fundraising ideas/programs approved by the e-board. They also utilize all resources available and gather, secure and re-distributes any funds brought in via these fundraising methods. They create funding proposals for all events that SGA holds that require a cash outlay in any capacity to be sent to the funding board for review as completed. The secretary of Business Affairs also sits on the funding board committee and submits a new budget proposal for SGA at the end of the academic year for SGA 2022-23.

The secretary of public affairs manages all social media platforms, including **Instagram @lasallesga, Twitter @lasallesga and TikTok @lasallestudentgov. They provide a visual display of SGA initiatives on campus and frontline communication online between the student body and SGA. *A demanding role

The chief of staff attends and takes e-board meeting minutes and attends any relevant meetings when asked. They work closely with the president, including on any initiatives they ran on. They also continue in their duties as a senator/representative.

The deputy chief of staff attends executive board meetings and any relevant meetings when asked. They also take general meeting minutes and handle attendance to be sent to the advisor. The deputy chief of staff works closely with the vice president, including any initiatives he/she/they ran on. They also continue in their duties as a senator/representative.

The required qualifications for president and vice president include having a GPA equal to or greater than a 2.75 and must have served on e-board for a year. The required qualifications for the other e-board positions include having a GPA equal to or greater than 2.75 and must have participated in SGA for at least one year. ALL Elected e-board Positions must not be on disciplinary probation, form a petition (50 signatures) due on Oct. 18 and be a full-time student.

For more information on what must be done for elected e-board positions, please contact Isabelle Pope at popei1@lasalle.edu.

Another position students can run for is Class Senator. Any full-time student can run as a class senator. Election Voting for class senators is Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Class Senators vote on bills, legislation, money allocations and various other items at General Assembly meetings. They represent and advocate for the ideas and needs of their respective class and are chosen by election. The required qualifications for Class Senators include having a GPA equal to or greater than 2.50, must not be on disciplinary probation, form a petition (25 signatures) due Oct. 25 and be a full-time student.

SGA also has two other voting representative positions available by application only. One of these includes the College Senators, who represent each one of the colleges on campus.

Applications will be made active on October 1. The deadline for these applications is Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. The College Senators represent each of the colleges at La Salle (Arts and Sciences, Business and Nursing and Health Sciences) as well as advocate for problems and ideas for certain colleges rather than class. They are voting members chosen by application.

College Senator requirements for qualification include having a GPA equal to or greater than 2.50 and must not be on disciplinary probation. College Senators must submit the application found on SGA’s instagram on Google Forms by Oct. 22 at 6 p.m.

The other position accepted via application is the Executive Board’s Director for Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion who works to make the campus more inclusive for our diverse student population. Applications will be made active on Oct. 1. The deadline for these applications is Oct. 22 at 6 p.m.

The Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion works closely with the heads of the Multicultural center in promoting events and addressing societal microaggressions. They create a small task force of members of the student body to address cultural differences and injustices that need to be brought to attention. They also promote voter engagement amongst eligible students, currently an 85 percent voter registration, highest in Philadelphia. The Director of D.E.I fully utilizes La Salle’s diverse culture and helps to foster a more comforting home for students of ALL races, ethnicities, gender identities and orientations, abilities, religions, socioeconomic status, etc.

The required qualifications include having a GPA equal to or greater than 2.75. *Students of historically marginalized identity are encouraged to apply* Candidates must submit the application found on the SGA’s Instagram on Google Forms by Oct. 22 at 6 p.m.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Kyra Spoto, the Election Committee Chair, at spotok@lasalle.edu or Isabelle Pope, the SGA president, at popei1@lasalle.edu.

Be sure to follow SGA on all social media to keep updated with the election process as well as future events and meetings for SGA.

Jessica Conk, Staff  

St. Joseph’s University and the University of Science announced a possible merge between the two institutions on Feb.10.  Both institutes view this merger as a way of growing and thriving together. USciences would become one with St. Joseph’s University. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Even before the pandemic, many colleges, private and public, had been struggling with falling enrollment and tight finances, with trends showing even fewer available high school students later this decade.” Mark Reed, President of St. Joe’s, is attempting to take initiative with this strategy to turn his campus around. Reed states that, “From my vantage point, you can take two entities, and if you put them together, you get a whole that is greater than the individual parts.” The U.S. Department of Education shows that in the “2010 and 2019 academic years, enrollment and nonprofit colleges and university have fallen 4.1 percent In the last 12 months, we saw a 4 percent decrease in enrollment rates. Reed sees this merger as a benefit for both institutes involved. He hopes to add on new programs with the help of USciences.

Though there is talk of a potential merger with USciences and St. Joseph’s, they insist that their name remains the same. Reed says, “The hawk will never die.” Mark Reed and Paul Katz (President of USciences) already signed the non-binding agreement. “They have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to evaluate the impact of a merger and develop an agreement.” However, Reed made it clear that the decision to merge with USciences is not final, and St. Joe’s is open to the idea of merging with another institution. All institutes will be allowed to keep their names and their sports teams as if they were not merged. Reed sees this as a chance of getting ahead of the COVID-19 impact on universities. While increasing enrollment rates, he hopes that this merger will also allow the institutes to expand on their programs they offer. St. Joes already had to make a few adjustments starting with decreasing the number of freshman students who attended in the Fall semester, with hopes that a smaller enrollment would increase the quality of academics. Due to COVID-19, Reed has not only lost students, but saw a decline in staff and faculty. Reed remains hopeful — “I am confident we will weather this storm and manage through as well as we possibly can.”

conkj1@lasalle.edu

Jessica Conk, Staff

As of January 2021, there have been two known cases of the U.K. strain of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. Health departments are working with other cities in Pennsylvania to create a plan that monitors, identifies and tracks citizens exposed to the new strain. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “The U.K. variant may have an increased risk of causing death. The U.K. variant is known to spread faster and more easily than others.” The CDC works with different public health agencies to monitor the spread of the U.K. strain, but there are still parts of the new variants that are leaving scientists unsure. The CDC stated, “Scientists are working to learn more about these variants, and more studies are needed to understand; How widely these new variants have spread, How the disease caused by these new variants differs from the disease caused by other variants that are currently circulating and how these variants may affect existing therapies, vaccines, and tests.” The CDC continues to try and encourage wearing a mask, maintaining six feet of distance and avoiding large gatherings. They are unsure whether or not the same measures will protect people from the new U.K. variant. 

Communities in London have begun testing house-by-house for the new variants of COVID-19. According to AP News, “Public health officials are concerned about the variant first identified in South Africa because it contains a mutation of the virus’ characteristic spike protein that existing vaccines target. The mutation may mean the vaccines offer less protection against the variant.”  Public Health officials in England have created a door-to-door strategy of testing and insist that people remain home unless absolutely necessary. Health care officials are handing out home testing kits and setting up many testing sights as a way of reaching all members of the communities. The U.K. aims to shut down their borders and require quarantining for 14 days for everyone that enters their country. A professor from University College London, Andrew Hayward, stated in an AP News article, “You can think about completely shutting the borders or having quarantine, [but] what’s the endgame in that? Is that something that you’re going to do forever, because it looks like these strains may continue to arise in the long term? So we need some sort of sustainable strategy, and I think that’s very difficult for politicians to think about that.” While it’s unknown whether or not the U.K. variant is more infectious, scientists and health care officials suggest wearing your mask, social distancing and getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to you. Cases are spreading to individuals who have never left the country or had contact with anyone who traveled to London. The House of Commons was told by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that, “Our mission must be to stop its spread altogether and break chains of transmission.”

conkj1@lasalle.edu