The Student Association general assembly erupted in applause with the election of the 71st representative at Monday night’s meeting. This final representative election for the 55th session brought the general assembly to 100 percent capacity.

‘When I stood up here on January 14, at our first meeting, we said we are going to get results, that we were going to set specific goals, and we were going to accomplish them,’ SA President Neal Casey said after the 7:30 p.m. meeting in Maxwell Auditorium ended. ‘This is a very numeric goal that we set and accomplished in a very short period of time. It would have never happened without every member of the assembly stepping up and chipping in.’

The final three seats in the assembly all belonged to the School of Visual and Performing Arts. Three candidates ran for the positions. Carmen Ramirez and Ana Karina Vasquez, both sophomore art photography majors, were elected, as well as Elizabeth Webster, a freshman fashion design major,

The new representatives said they believe VPA is underrepresented and they could easily keep in touch with their constituents because of the close-knit nature. They also gave several suggestions on making rental equipment and studio time more accessible and adding weekend hours to the food services at The Warehouse.

‘It is very exciting for us to say that now we can pass something that is the voice of the students, and we know that it is truly representative of what is happening on campus,’ Casey said after the meeting.

Representatives Nick Iaquinto and Jesse Feitel presented a report titled ‘Selectivity and Diversity at Syracuse University.’ Before the presentation began, Iaquinto clarified that this was only a presentation of the facts and that he and Feitel were an impartial voice.

The report outlined the issue of selectivity and diversity as it affects the admissions process at SU after professors raised concern about the university’s reputation at the March 23 University Senate meeting. The admissions policy was defended by administration at the meeting.

On Sept. 14, Chancellor Nancy Cantor wrote a letter to The Daily Orange regarding SU’s drop in rankings by U.S. News and World Report. Cantor defended SU’s admission rates and goal in attaining diversity, according to the report.

An article published Oct. 2 in The Chronicle of Higher Education, titled ‘Syracuse Slides,’ argued the university is sacrificing its prestige in an attempt to be a public good. The article stated that faculty disagrees on this issue. Many rebuttals to the article support the chancellor’s stance.

Iaquinto and Feitel said after the meeting that they presented the report to educate the assembly before Don Saleh, the vice president for enrollment management, speaks with the assembly on Nov. 14.

Although there are more than two sides to this issue, speaking to people that are at the forefront of contesting what the university is doing gives the student body a perspective, Feitel said.

‘I would like to see student input on this and not just assembly members,’ Feitel said. ‘I want to see Maxwell Auditorium packed with undergraduate, graduate and law students because this affects all of them.’

After all the sides are presented and everyone is informed, a bill on the students’ perspective will be drafted, Iaquinto said.

Both representatives said they were cautious about putting a timeline on when the bill will form.

Ross Lazerowitz, SA director of technology, presented several updates to the assembly, including a voting system and better technological coverage for the upcoming presidential debate. The voting system is done via text message and representatives can each vote once.

The coverage of the debate, Thursday, Nov. 10, will have several interactive features, Lazerowitz said. Features include the ability to send in questions and comments directly via Twitter.

rebarill@syr.edu

Published on October 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm