Every politician is a politician because he or she believes, or at least says, that it’s possible to make your world a better place. Politicians want to influence you, their constituent, with ideas and plans regarding economic and social policies.

But great ideas only go so far. It takes a dedicated leader, not just a skilled politician vying for your vote, to take promised concepts into a concrete reality. Three student politicians at Syracuse University claim they are leaders working to improve your livelihood on campus. Because of their high ranking positions in the Student Association, these peers have the opportunity to make tangible differences.

Here is a glimpse into what you can expect from your student officials this semester, and which promoted plans you may or may not see take form in the next 15 weeks.

PJ Alampi – Student Life Committee Chair

Walking into Schine Dining, you will probably find Alampi talking with students about their campus woes while eating a chicken and cheese quesadilla. Alampi’s push to connect with students one-on-one derives from his goal to address problems that affect student life today, instead of focusing solely on the future.

You won’t need to wait very long to experience Alampi’s first spearheaded initiative of the semester. As chair of the Student Life Committee, this junior film major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts has coordinated free busing to take students from campus to the SU football game in Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 8.

In the long term, Alampi has implemented initial stages for a bike rental program, but there is no official date for completion.

Allie Curtis – Vice President

One of the first actions Dylan Lustig made as president was appoint representative and campaign manager Curtis, a junior broadcast journalism and political science major, to the role of vice president.

Though Curtis said she “has a hand in all aspects of SA,” her largest projects this semester include implementing Lustig’s concept for a week of community service and recruitment for SA.

Last year, Curtis worked to recruit many new members to reach a goal of filling each representative seat. This is commendable, as full representation is necessary to truly speak on behalf of the student body. You can expect Curtis’ efforts to continue, but you can only wait and see if she will be as successful rounding up recruits this semester.

If she doesn’t approach you with a petition to join SA on the Quad, you can pick one up yourself from Curtis, who can usually be found around Food.com in Newhouse III.

Dylan Lustig – President

The junior international relations and economics major captured the presidency last November after winning over the student body with his charismatic personality and promise of being their voice.

Lustig has acted on a pledge of personable leadership and accessibility, as he can usually be found in his office in the Schine Student Center. But there is more to being president than being present for the role. Though Lustig has proposed large initiatives, they often lack a specific date of completion.

What you can expect to see this semester is Lustig’s campaign promise of a campus-wide day of community service, which has now turned into a weeklong event to take place in November. However, it seems his staff has taken over much of the legwork.

Several other plans, like his concept for Keep the Change Syracuse, seem unlikely to form in the near future.

Rachael Barillari is a junior political science and Middle Eastern studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at rebarill@syr.edu.

Published on August 30, 2012 at 12:30 am