The Student Association assembly hopes to use its role as representatives of the student body to make major changes at Syracuse University in accordance with Chancellor Kent Syverud’s strategic plan for the school.

On Monday night, SA members met in Maxwell Auditorium to discuss their own plan for SU and consolidating a list of goals they created at last week’s meeting. They also discussed what they believe their constituencies want and made plans to raise awareness about Syverud’s strategy for the university.

SA is planning to reform current issues so future generations of students will not have to face them.  “Long term initiatives” for the progression of the university “will take us a long time, but we want to start now,” President Boris Gresely said.

Vice President Daniela Lopez added that SA needs to engage as much as possible with campus in order to benefit future generations of students.

The purpose of SA creating its own plan for the future of SU is to push for ideas that will improve student life.  Gresely said he wants SA members to be able to tell their constituents “this is what I’m doing for you: one, two and three.”  Assembly members hope this plan will be approved by the chancellor and included in his strategic plan to move SU forward.

The plan is a consolidation of the four-part set of goals SA created at its meeting last Tuesday.  These goals concern resources, tuition and spending, marketing and SU’s facilities and grounds.  On Monday, assembly members voted on the importance of these goals and decided that a modern gym, interior renovations, air conditioning in all campus facilities and a reformed student center are the most relevant ways to improving life for students.

Beyond voting on what Gresely called “action items,” assembly members also raised concerns they believe are very important to their constituencies, such as campus safety and alternatives to drinking and partying in the midst of the crackdown on alcohol use on and off campus.  Several SA members worried that all of the campus’ security resources are being used to shut down parties instead of protecting students.  Acknowledging the hard work resident advisers put into setting up fun events for students who do not drink, Gresely wondered what alternatives, “besides Orange After Dark,” SU was proposing to “deviate” students from partying.

These are issues that SA hopes can be resolved in open discussions or forums with the chancellor.  If arranged, these discussions could facilitate conversations about major concerns pertaining to student life and give students the chance to have their opinions on changes to SU heard and considered.

Hanna Strong video

After the meeting, SA released a statement about Hanna Strong, a senior midfielder on the university women’s soccer team, who was recorded making derogatory comments in a video posted to Instagram on Saturday.

It reads in part: “It is the view of the Student Association that these types of comments, regardless of the scenario in which they are made, are intolerable; they dehumanize members of the student body and promote the deterioration of our campus community. Furthermore, the Student Association asserts that this video, while offensive, should not serve to demonize any one student, but rather should act as the catalyst for the discussion about the continual expansion and preservation of an inclusive and caring campus environment.”

Other business discussed:

• Speaker of the Assembly Dan Hernandez took the oath of office.
• Elections for the Board of Administrative Operations were held.
• Director of Public Relations Austin Galovski announced a September relay race to raise awareness for SA’s Fast Forward plan
• A “town hall” meeting in which Chancellor Kent Syverud will answer questions about his campus master plan will be held on Sept. 22.

Published on September 8, 2014 at 11:35 pm

Contact Alexa: atorrens@syr.edu