by Alastair Pearson ‘14
All is quiet in Student Senate during the buildup to the Christmas on Campus festivities. For President Zupan and Service Committee head Jacob Rossi, the last few weeks have been devoted to organizing the complicated logistics of sending 1494 students to locations throughout campus, the Ohio City neighborhood and the Greater Cleveland area as a whole.
Although Zupan has been immersed in the day-to-day work of realizing Rossi’s vision for an expanded Christmas on Campus mission that now encompasses eight Cleveland-area elementary schools instead of five, he still has to make time for the obligations that make up the minutiae of life as student body president.
He planned the Winter Sports rally that took place on Thursday, December 11, emphasizing engaging the student body through innovative crowd-working routines and the potent oratory of senior Tom Horan. Zupan also coordinated the Faculty Brunch on the following Sunday in addition to his regular duties including attending Board of Regents meetings and leading multiple Student Senate committee meetings every week.
Zupan says that it’s those little requirements that have helped him to gradually improve as a public speaker, one of the most vital functions of the student body president and a task that he says was initially intimidating even for a student who fulfilled leadership roles throughout his high school career.
Although he noted that he believes he is an above average rhetorician, his advice to students uneasy about speaking in front of crowds is that improvement comes only with practice. Repeatedly speaking in front of the student body at rallies and masses has helped him grow comfortable as the public face of the governing body of the school, assisting him in taking a prominent role at the Winter Sports rally and likely in the student-faculty basketball game.
The game will come after the conclusion of the day of service during Christmas on Campus, and is a perennial favorite among students. Zupan is giving away no secrets but was quick to point out that the widespread student belief that the student-faculty game is fixed in order to ensure an exciting conclusion is actually false, despite the stunning turnaround in last year’s game in which a ragtag team of seniors surrendered a massive double-digit lead to barely escape with the victory.
The student-faculty game will come as the punctuation mark to Christmas on Campus, one of the annual highlights of service life at Saint Ignatius and an event that requires an incredible amount of foresight and planning to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Zupan and Rossi faced serious organizational obstacles in moving from five to eight schools, and the success of their plan will serve as a referendum on Zupan’s organizational ability.
Because this column comes out in advance of the end of the service day itself, we’re turning the grade that normally accompanies PolitiCat over to the student body. Respond to the Eye’s all-school email poll to express your views about your Christmas on Campus experience.
