The History of Student Government

    In 1913 the Student Governing Board ran the athletic functions and would evolve into the Student Council. The Student Council was established in March 1921. Among the goals of this committee was the  maintenance of a good relationship between the administration and student body. At the time, the main goal of the group was to plan and organize the athletic activities. It would soon face obstacles pertaining to discipline and social events.

    The first Student Council formed at Saint Bonaventure in 1921 consisted of Martin Kelly as President, John S. Doyle was the Vice President, Eugene McMahon as Secretary. Raymond Foley, John Kennedy, Whitney Geoghegan, and George Donnelly as council members.

    A major development of Student Council was the establishment of a Student Court in the mid 1920's.  Its job was to enforce the Freshman Rules. It also dealt with discipline cases given by the faculty. It was run in the way that civil court is carried out. Father Fidelis O'Rourke, O.F.M rendered valuable guidance due to his legal background.

    In 1926 Student Council was renamed the Student Senate.

    As Student Senate sorted itself out in the 1930's it kept minimal minutes. However, they discussed the issues of pep rallies, bonfires, and the annual PJ Parade. The freshman are the main focus of these minutes. The PJ Parade, was a march of the freshmen down the main street in Olean. At the end of the parade the upperclassmen directed the freshmen in a variety of activities, a generally mild hazing was the order of the day. Other activities which Student Senate planned were the Frosh Frolic and intramurals.

     In 1939 the matter of having a "Big Brother" program for incoming freshmen was voted on. The idea was to have a senior or junior become a role model for an incoming freshman. The Swim Team was formed that same year. That same year the university was shocked when it learned that two Bona's students died in a car accident in early November after a football game at Canisius. The College sent memorial flowers to the families. The entire junior and senior classes attended the funerals. One of the students was a senior, Clayton Tong. Clayton was member of Student Senate and the senior class president. In February of 1940, a raffle was held to raise funds for a statue that would be built in memory of those student and another who died the previous year. Raffles and fundraising were just a few responsibilities carried out by the Student Senate.  That same year the student body and student senate dedicated the Saint Bonaventure Statue that still remains in front of Devereux Hall.

    The following decade there were many changes on the Saint Bonaventure campus. On October 18, 1940, a new draft of the Student Senate constitution was written about in the Bona Venture. A very concerned upperclassmen on November 8, 1940 wrote a letter to the Student Senate. The letter addressed the issue of School Spirit this student and his friends were aware of freshman and sophomore apathy. They asked the senate to make the community on campus more united. The 1940's became a time of men going to and returning from war. Although enrollment decreased the campus was still open for the military to train men.  When they returned form WWII a normal curriculum returned as well. Due to the influx of enrollment the Student Senate had to vote on housing and other such related issues.

    As the Bonaventure community entered into a more settled atmosphere after the war Student Senate note a growning student body and the attendat opportunity to improve the social life of campus. The Senate saw the chance to establish a larger range of activities if they just delegated the tasks.

    In the sixties, Student Senate started to be more than a link between the administration and student body by scheduling and carrying out more events. Student Senate changed Parents Day to Parent's Weekend. Also in 1960, according to the Bona Venture, the university president, Very Reverend Brian Lhota, O.F.M., terminated the Frosh Rules. The same year the student body did a push to have the Club House open on Saturday nights.

Student Senate of 1966. The first Senate to have a women as a member.
 

    As the years progressed in the late seventies and early eighties a representative from each club and organization became a member of the Student Senate. For each club and organization to remain on campus, the designated member must attend every meeting.