Student Association officials answered questions Monday night during an open forum at SA’s assembly meeting.

The open forum was held as a way to provide transparency regarding what’s happening within SA. Chancellor Kent Syverud and Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz were in attendance representing the administration at the meeting.

The forum gave an opportunity for the student body to ask questions about things going on with the president, vice president and the committees of SA. Chair of Public Relations Nicole Sherwood acted as a moderator for the discussion, encouraging non-SA members and student organizations that were present to be involved in the forum.

The forum came after weeks of turmoil in SA. SA’s Judicial Review Board recently finished an investigation into President Eric Evangelista and imposed sanctions on him. Separate investigations were also recently opened into assembly members for not attending mandatory meetings.

During the forum, SA officials provided updates on current SA issues and initiatives.

SA President Eric Evangelista opened the meeting by speaking about the investigation into his violation of two sets of SA bylaws.

“I have spent the entirety of my undergraduate career at Syracuse University as a dedicated and passionate member of this organization, and to see our hard work tarnished in this way, on this scale, has been absolutely devastating,” Evangelista said.

He announced he will not be appealing the JRB’s decision. The JRB dealt Evangelista several sanctions, in part for lying to SU officials.

“This has been a painful and arduous process for all parties involved, and it would not be conducive or fair of the Student Association to further protect this investigation,” Evangelista said.

SA Vice President Joyce LaLonde said a public safety survey that was sent out to students last week has received the highest number of responses for any recent campus-wide survey. The received 682 responses as of 9:30 p.m. Monday night, she said.

She also announced that the SA bike share program will re-launch on April 2. There will be two more adaptable bicycles for the initiative after sufficient funding was supplied by the administration, she said.

SA Co-Chair of Student Life Anjani Ladhar spoke about the work that committee has completed so far this year, including the menstrual hygiene program and the remote virtualization launched in the fall. The student life committee is working with the Information and Technology Services department to make the remote virtualization program available to the entire campus, Ladhar said.

Additionally, the community engagement committee wants to increase the SU community’s engagement in the local area, Co-Chairs Kelsey Fowler and Malcolm-Ali Davis said. They said they plan on partnering with the Residence Hall Association to plan events during the upcoming semester, as well as meeting with registered student organizations about what they are doing in the surrounding community.

Diasia Robinson, the director of diversity affairs for SA, discussed the SA-sponsored trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the trip will be available in Schine Student Center box office starting Tuesday at 11 a.m., Robinson said.

SA Parliamentarian Obi Afriyie encouraged those in attendance to keep showing up to SA meetings. Afriyie, chair of the Administrative Operations committee, thanked student organizations for coming and said he hopes there will be a continued dialogue.

SA Chair of Board of Elections and Membership Janine Bogris announced that students can apply for president, vice president and comptroller from now until March 10 for SA’s elections this semester. Students need 500 signatures to be considered for these positions.

Published on February 20, 2017 at 11:45 pm

Contact William: wgmuoio@syr.edu