Mackenzie Mertikas and Sameeha Saied, incoming Student Association president and vice president, will use the summer break to meet with administrators and plan initiatives.

SA recently passed legislation that allows the president and vice president to be sworn in during the spring semester to ease possible limitations on their preparation over the summer. Mertikas and Saied will spend the summer working on initiatives related to student relations with Department of Public Safety, financial accessibility and mental health services.

Saied said the opportunity to officially operate as vice president over the summer will make the preparation much easier. Mertikas and Saied will be sworn in during an Assembly meeting.

“The summer is very much a transition period, but now I’ll be able to start initiatives during that time rather than in three months,” Saied said.

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

Mertikas wants to create a good relationship with the DPS, she said. She plans to work with it to make sure it addresses student suggestions and concerns that emerged after the Feb. 9 assault of three students of color along Ackerman Avenue, she said.

Students have criticized DPS for mishandling the assault and its communication after the incident. At a February forum held to discuss the Ackerman assault and police response to such events, students asked for an external review of DPS.

Financial accessibility was a major concern for students during Mertikas’ campaign, she said. She plans to work with the Office of Student Employment Services to look into increasing SU job opportunities for students, she said.

Mertikas alsosaid she wants to de-stigmatize the use of mental health services on campus, such as the Counseling Center. She will dedicate time to planning Mental Health Awareness Week, she said. The week involves a series of events centered around spreading information about mental health and campus resources.

Mertikas and Saied will also focus on SA’s internal culture by setting certain standards of respect within the association, they said. It is important that members are respectful and constructive in an intense environment like SA, Saied said. She plans to hold people accountable for disrespect.

Mertikas will be in New York City over the summer, but she will still play an active role in preparations through conference calls, she said. Saied will remain on campus for her summer internship with SU’s First-Year Experience program.

Saeid said that being on campus will allow her to become more familiar with administrators and have discussions with them about her plans. She has worked with the First-Year Experience program since her freshman year.

Mertikas said her experience as SA chief of staff will make the transition to SA president easier because she has already established many connections and knows how the organization operates.

Building connections has been a priority of Mertikas and Saied since their election. Mertikas said they have been introducing themselves to different offices and presenting their ideas. SA’s current president and vice president, Ghufran Salih and Kyle Rosenblum, also introduced them to many administrators, she said.

“We both want to be prepared by the time I get back here in August,” Mertikas said. “We don’t want to spend a lot of time transitioning in between the roles, and we can really hit the ground running.”

Published on April 28, 2019 at 9:12 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21