Syracuse University’s Student Association confirmed two joint chiefs of staff at its Monday night meeting, filling a vacancy left by a member who stepped down before the start of the semester.

Janine Bogris and Kathryn Miller were both confirmed as SA’s joint chiefs of staff.

SA Vice President Angie Pati said the chiefs of staff will take on separate internal and external roles. Bogris will handle internal responsibilities and Miller will spearhead external tasks.

“James and I, when we approached the beginning of the year, we didn’t know what to expect with a chief of staff,” Pati said. “It’s definitely a role that has a lot of open ends.”

The vice president said she and Franco wanted someone who had Assembly experience to “bridge the divide” between the cabinet and the Assembly.

“The primary job of the chief of staff is to make sure that people are accomplishing their goals,” Pati said.

SA Parliamentarian Obi Afriyie, who is also a Student Life columnist for The Daily Orange, said part of the decision to name two chiefs of staff stemmed from an effort to manage Franco and Pati’s workload.

“As an outside person, James and Angie’s calendar frightens me,” Afriyie said. “Having another person to relieve that will allow us to get more done.”

Bogris, a senior public relations major, has been a member of SA since her freshman year. She is currently heading SA’s sexual health initiatives and has previously served as Board of Elections and Membership chair and speaker of the Assembly.

Miller, a senior citizenship and civic engagement and policy studies double major, transferred to SU before her sophomore year. She credits SA with positively shaping her experience at the university, recalling that an SA-sponsored event led her to many of her friends at SU.

“I pretty much owe everything to SA and I want to give back,” Miller said.

Miller does not have prior SA experience, but she serves as president of SU’s women’s club lacrosse team.

“They have two separate strengths, and that’s something that we thought will help the organization since it’s kind of a mess right now,” said Sophia Faram, SA’s Board of Elections chair.

Other business

Pati announced that the university’s peer listening service is tentatively scheduled to launch in fall 2019. The service will allow students to anonymously talk to trained undergraduate peer listeners about issues such as academic stresses and roommate conflicts.

The program is not meant to take the place of the Counseling Center, and Pati said the listeners would refer students to the center in certain situations.

Franco also discussed the financial status of the organization during Monday’s meeting.

SA’s rollover budget had the highest balance Franco said he had seen in years. He added that after SA greenlit roughly $200,000 for the upcoming ‘Cuse for Good event, the account still had about $100,000 as a balance.

“We are looking for big ideas,” Franco said. “Truly we can make something happen, if you think it will impact the student body in a positive way.”

To prepare for next week’s Assembly representative elections, Faram led a discussion highlighting the qualities desired from an SA member.

Faram mentioned values such as passion, kindness and responsibility, but was cut off by Sarah Ross Cappella, the associate director of the Office of Student Activities. Cappella is SA’s faculty adviser.

“Three-quarters of you are not paying attention,” Cappella said. “I am super frustrated right now. I am taking time away from my family to be here. And I know none of you probably have a family, so it probably doesn’t mean as much to you.”

Some Assembly members, during Faram’s discussion about SA values, were having side-conversations. Cappella questioned whether SA members embodied the values Faram was speaking about and told the Assembly to stop talking.

Cappella declined to elaborate further on her comments after the meeting.

Natasha Walker, an SA representative and president of the Black Communication Society, received funding for the club’s upcoming Media Moguls event after a presentation detailing the event’s objective.

“This year, I wanted to put on an event that would shed light on women of color in the media who’ve created their own path,” Walker said. “Each person on this panel gives us a different perspective of being a woman of color and creating your own path.”

The event will take place on March 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. It will be cosponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and SA. The Women’s Leadership Initiative will host a luncheon to support the event.

Published on February 6, 2018 at 12:11 am

Contact Ryan: rarozenb@syr.edu