On Tuesday, the Student Government Association’s voting members selected the students’ recommendation to present to the board of trustees regarding the name change of the “Paladino House.”
Though there were originally four resolutions one was retracted late last week and another early Tuesday. Two resolutions were voted on: Resolution one, being to change the name to the “Belesario and Sara House” or Resolution three, being to change the name to the “Sara and Belesario Paladino House.”
After a close vote, the first resolution was selected, winning 15 of the 28 votes.
“The name change, “Belesario and Sara House,” is the one that will be submitted to the board of trustees upon the student’s behalf,” said Anneliese Quinlan, executive board president of SGA.
“The board of trustees are the only people who can name or rename a building on campus,” said Quinlan. “What we voted on Tuesdays is just SGA’s recommendation for them.”
Quinlan, senior political science major, said that this was SGA’s first formal resolution and recommendation process, making it an exciting moment for SGA members.
“I feel incredibly proud and pleased by the decision that SGA made,” said junior class secretary Michael O’Malley. “There was a lot of dissention and an almost even divide in opinion, but the resolution that I felt was most appropriate ended up being selected.”
The junior English major said the comments Carl Paladino made were “completely reprehensible” and demanded action from our campus.
“The only way to appropriately quell the situation was to remove a name that connotes such offensive vitriol from our campus,” said O’Malley.
Sophomore class senator, Sabrina Basile, is content with the chosen resolution. However, she feels that the other choice would have clarified the individuals to whom the house was named after, which would have been a reasonable course of action.
“I, in no way support what Carl Paladino said, but I don’t think that taking his parents’ last name off the sign would be completely fair to the family, who has done a lot for Bonaventure in terms of sending their children here and supporting the school financially,” said Basile, a biology major.
Despite SGA’s decision, Basile remained optimistic about the selection.
“One benefit of the selected name change is that students who live in the Paladino house or who are visiting campus will not associate SBU with Paladino,” Basile said. “If selected, I think it will show what we stand for as a university, that we are willing to accommodate to our students and do not show support for such horrible rhetoric.”
Both O’Malley and Basile said that if choices weren’t limited, they would have liked to see a complete name change of the house, . However, they accept the idea SGA has suggested.
“The Paladino family consists of many St. Bonaventure alumni and donors, and I don’t think the board of trustees, whom makes the ultimate decision, could’ve been convinced to completely change the name,” said O’Malley. “The “Belesario and Sara House,”, thus, was the best compromise between an idealistic and realistic suggestion.”
O’Malley said that although people may be concerned about how the Paladino family may react to this name change if chosen,“It is drastically more important to make a decision that will prevent students, alumni, and prospective members of the Bona Bubble from feeling offended, ignored, confused or uncomfortable. It is up to ourselves to make a right decision to counter Mr. Paladino’s wrong one – one that has a history of repeating – and the name change voted on by the SGA is that right decision.”
engjg14@bonaventure.edu
