CSB Senate passes new positions

The St. Ben’s Senate has added two new positions for the 2022-23 academic year.

Last week, the St. Ben’s Senate held a referendum revising their constitution, adding a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Representative and a Decolonization, Reparations and Justice representative.

This Friday, the St. John’s Senate is set to hold a referendum on the revision of their Constitution, proposing the addition of a Decolonization, Reparations and Justice Representative.

Throughout the summer of 2021 and during the 2021-22 academic year, both Senates have been working on the positions’ titles and bylaws. SBS will have two new positions, and SJS may have one new position.

“Coming up with the bylaws was rather stressful, and we have been drafting them since the summer of 2021. We didn’t want to vote on the bylaws so fast, which is why we waited until this semester. Although, we came up with the titles of the positions at the last meeting of the fall semester,” St. Ben’s Senate President Crystal Diaz said.

While the positions have some differences in responsibilities, they aim to work together to have a positive impact on both campuses. Both the SJS and SBS representatives would work together frequently.

One of the responsibilities of the Decolonization, Reparations and Justice representatives is to meet with Minnesota Tribal officials at least twice a month. This responsibility was very important to the Indigenous Student Association, according to Diaz.

“Having someone that is a representation of the student body and community of CSB/SJU at these meetings with the Minnesota Tribal Officials will be extremely beneficial. This will be a bridge of communication and understanding that we have been missing,” assistant professor Ted Gordon said.

Gordon provided historical context to the Senates about the boarding schools for Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families to attend the institutions operated by both St. Benedict’s Monastery and St. John’s Abbey from the 1880s to 1945.

CSB/SJU is also in the process of hiring a Senior Diversity Officer who will work closely with the institutions’ president to identify barriers of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice and work on eliminating those barriers. Decolonization, Reparations and Justice representatives from both Senates will be meeting with the Senior Diversity officer at least once per academic year, according to St. John’s Senate Cultural Affairs representative Gunnar Laughlin.

The St. John’s Senate drafted a research part in this new position. This research will be on other institutions work on decolonization and reparations. Through this, the representatives will work on the best approach for CSB/SJU, according to St. John’s Senate President Connor Kockler.

The election for the new representatives on the SBS will take place this coming Friday.

“Both Senates take those goals seriously, and these positions are a step we are taking to work towards those goals,” Kockler said.