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For German Nolivos and Reed Granger, the lone candidates for president and vice president of Syracuse University’s Student Association, “Listen, Learn, Lead” is more than a campaign slogan. It is a pledge to continue to recognize the diversity of a predominantly white institution.

Throughout their campaign, Nolivos and Granger have emphasized how their backgrounds as members of minority groups will influence their leadership for SA’s 68th session. They’ve grown tired of their communities’ perspectives going “unaddressed.”

“I want to be a voice for students like me, who normally don’t have these types of voices or a (seat) in the room in conversations with those in power,” Nolivos said.

Though their platform has six primary goals, Nolivos and Granger have put the greatest emphasis on two: the “promotion of DEI through supporting historically marginalized students” and strengthening SA’s relationship with the student body, according to their campaign’s Instagram page.

Nolivos and Granger, both current sophomores, are running uncontested in this year’s spring general elections and received endorsements from several student government leaders, including current SA Vice President Yasmin Nayrouz and the members of SUNY ESF’s Mighty Oak Student Assembly, throughout this election week.

“(Nolivos and Granger) are both incredibly hard-working people,” Naryouz said. “They bring so much passion, creativity, new ideas and they are truly dedicated to improving the student experience and helping their peers.”

While many past SA executives have run their senior year, they feel confident that their past experiences with the association have prepared them well for the position.

Nolivos, who currently serves as SA’s vice president of community and government affairs, said he was inspired to pursue government and politics after growing up as a political refugee. As a Venezuelan immigrant, he has emphasized throughout his campaign how growing up under political turmoil taught him the importance of considering a “sense of belonging as a leader.”

“I came to the (United States) because of the tyrannical regime in my country,” said Nolivos, who is also a dual major in political science and public relations. “My whole life has been determined by the political factors surrounding me.”

After immigrating to the U.S., Nolivos went to high school in Miami — where he served as president of his high school’s student government. He then came to SU as a Posse Leadership Scholar — a program that offers full tuition to students with “extraordinary academic and leadership potential from Miami,” according to its website.

Granger, SA’s current chief of staff, also cited their background as a driving force behind their leadership style and campaign goals. Granger — a Black student who identifies as queer — grew up in a suburb outside of Dallas, Texas. While her community in Dallas was diverse, she said she often struggled with feeling accepted.

“I was not as welcomed as I would have preferred in my K through 12 experience,” Granger said. “I looked up to people who look like me and were able to speak up on (these) issues.”

To cope, Granger said they looked to Black female politicians and “queer leaders” as role models. Granger said these individuals taught her the importance of being a “welcoming face” for marginalized groups who often feel isolated and “alone” on a campus as vast as SU.

Nolivos and Granger have been members of the association since their freshman year and assumed leadership positions in the past general election cycle.

This past semester, Nolivos organized SU’s inaugural Calentón Music Fest — the school’s first Hispanic/Latine music festival co-hosted by SA, Las Naranjas — a Spanish language and culture club at SU — and La L.U.C.H.A.

Nolivos said he was proud to introduce programming that created a space for Latino students on campus and hopes SA will continue to host programming with other cultural groups.

“If I hadn’t been in the organization, I don’t know if anyone else in the organization would have gone for this specific event,” Nolivos said. “We need to have all communities in positions of power, because, at the end of the day, we need everyone’s voices.”

Nolivos, who is also president of Las Naranjas, organized Calentón alongside María Quiñones Rios, a club member and junior in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Quiñones Rios said she met Nolivos last academic year, and he later convinced her to join Las Naranjas. He pitched the idea for Calentón to her in the summer of 2022.

Through organizing Calentón, which Quiñones Rios called a “surreal” experience, she developed a friendship with Nolivos and said she is “proud” of his decision to run for SA president.

“(Nolivos is) just a very resourceful person. If you need something at Syracuse, ask him and he’s going to know somebody who can help you … he has a contact for literally anything,” Quiñones Rios said. “It did not surprise me at all when he told me he wanted to be SA president.”

Kinara Orozco, a senior in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and friend to Granger, similarly expressed support for their Nolivos-Granger campaign. Orozco has worked with Granger through her position on the executive board of the SU chapter of Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity.

Orozco said Granger, who joined PSP last semester, stood out to her during the recruitment process for their “enthusiasm” and interest. She said they have continued to be an active and highly engaged member.

“(Reed’s) definitely somebody who works well to hear other people’s ideas,” Orozco said. “I’ve never seen Reed just dismiss anybody before, at all … they always listen to you and have good feedback.”

Granger said one of her proudest moments during her time as chief of staff was collecting student feedback during SA’s “No Problem Too Small” initiative.

Through No Problem Too Small, SA identified several issues pertinent to the student body. Nolivos and Granger have pledged in their platform to continue to focus on these concerns, including campus safety, food accessibility, transportation and sustainability on campus.

“People are often intimidated by trying to speak to leadership, but getting to be a vehicle for those concerns and bringing them to the people that can make change has been one of my favorite opportunities,” Granger said.

Nolivos and Granger also said they were heavily inspired by past SA executives, namely current SA President William Treloar, Nayrouz and Adia Santos, SA’s vice president during its 66th session. Nolivos Granger said Santos has advised them throughout their campaign, including before the March 27 executive debate town hall.

“(Nolivos and Granger’s) vision for a more inclusive and engaged student body aligns with my own values and past goals as EVP of the 66th session,” Santos wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange. “I have confidence that under their leadership, meaningful progress can be made on priorities that really matter to the student body.”

Nolivos said he was inspired by Santos’ passion for “defending students in marginalized communities,” citing her involvement with #NotAgainSU — a series of demonstrations organized by Black students in 2019 to protest the university’s response to hate incidents on campus.

Even the “Listen, Learn, Lead” campaign slogan was inspired by past SA leaders, Granger said. They said the phrase intends to serve as a continuation of the Treloar-Nayrouz campaign, which emphasized “amplifying student voices.”

Unless a write-in candidate receives more votes, Nolivos and Granger will likely assume their roles in SA’s 68th Session next week — following the April 1-5 election period.

“There’s not a right way for (SA) to work without student input,” Nolivos said. “(As president), I cannot talk on my behalf or Reed’s behalf, I need to be a voice for 15,000 other people.”

Published on April 4, 2024 at 12:06 am

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu