Student Association members passed a bill that allows any recognized student organization to request to hold a debate between candidates on the ballot for SA president or comptroller.

Student Life Committee Chair and presidential candidate Taylor Carr presented the bill, Change of Election Debate Procedure, at Monday night’s Student Association meeting held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

According to the bill, any recognized student organization can request to hold a debate between the candidates on the ballot for president or comptroller. The request should be submitted in writing to the Board of Elections and Membership chair no less than one week prior to the debate being planned and the chair shall not confirm any debate until he or she confirms the attendance of all candidates on the ballot.

Previously, the election codes stated that only SA could hold the debates, Carr said. Carr said that candidates are not required to go to debates, as it is their right and their political decision not to attend.

‘I think this campus is run by student organizations, they have a very wide impact and reach, and the more opportunity that candidates can get out and speak to organizations, the closer they will be to the campus,’ Carr said.

The bill passed without contention and was also sponsored by the other presidential candidate, Dylan Lustig, and Stephen DeSalvo, comptroller candidate.

SA awarded Women in Sports and Events $100 at the meeting. Every month, a student organization that has done something exceptional gets the award, which is voted on by cabinet, SA President Neal Casey said.

‘They are really working to bring women into a male-dominated field of sports and events so they can feel empowered in the work place,’ Casey said.

Ross Lazerowitz, a freshman in the School of Information Studies, was confirmed as the SA director of technology by the assembly after being appointed to the position.

Lazerowitz said he has been doing tech consulting for the past five years. For initiatives directed toward SA, he said he wants to live cast the debates and take questions via Twitter so students can interact with SA.

‘I really want to bring all of the students directly to the representatives using social media to our best advantage,’ Lazerowitz said.

Ben Jones, an S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications representative, and Ivan Rosales, a College of Arts and Sciences representative, were elected to serve as student representatives to the University Senate. Rosales was also elected to the Board of Elections and Membership.

The last two representative seats were filled for the School of Education with the elections of freshmen Eva Truncellito and Daniel Hernandez. Only three seats are open in the general assembly, all in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Comptroller Jeff Rickert presented two special programming bills. Both passed without contention, as $1,114.60 was granted to STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition for a benefit concert for Somalia, and the Black Communications Society was not funded the $6,887 it requested for an event.

Paul Walsh, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry alumnus, presented his website for feedback from the representatives. The site, CampusLifeNow.com, has listings for off-campus housing, a roommate finding system and a map so visitors can see where the property is located. The assembly was supportive of the site.

rebarill@syr.edu

Published on October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm