What is SA?

The Student Association is the student government body of Syracuse University. SA will begin its 62nd legislative session in the fall. Ghufran Salih and Kyle Rosenblum are the incoming president and vice president, respectively.

SA serves as a channel to represent the undergraduate student body at SU. Its mission statement says SA “exists as a right and for the benefit of the student body” to meet students’ needs, represent students’ rights and hear students’ voices.

How is SA organized?

SA consists of three separate parts: the assembly, the cabinet and the Judicial Review Board.

The assembly is made up of students representing each school and college at SU. Assembly members vote on SA policies and initiatives. Each members sits on at least one of five standing committees:

• Student Life
• Diversity Affairs
• Academic Affairs
• Public Relations
• Community Engagement

There is also a director of technology, who can choose to head a committee. Chris Yin, the director of technology for the 61st legislative session, chose to forego a committee.

The president, vice president, comptroller and standing committee chairs are all part of the cabinet. Ambrose Gonzalez will be comptroller for the 2018-19 school year.

In addition to the JRB, which consists of five members nominated by the cabinet, there are three boards associated with SA:

• Board of Elections and Membership
• Administrative Operations
• Finance

In the past year, SA has made changes to its structure and organization. In October 2017, a bill was passed that created the historian position. Responsibilities of the historian include the oversight of the documentation of events and initiatives of SA to preserve the history of the group.

SA also created a new constitution, which will go into effect on August 26. Members of the Constitutional Review Committee, an ad hoc committee created solely to update the constitution, said the purpose of the new document was to increase the constitution’s clarity, adaptability and relevance.

What are SA’s initiatives?

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In addition to internal changes, SA pursued several initiatives under the leadership of former presidents and vice presidents. Here are some of those initiatives:

Cycle Share Program

SA launched a bike share program in September 2016. Bikes are available for rent at the Schine Student Center. Individuals who check out a bike must return it by 10 a.m. the following day and those who rent bikes on a Friday must return it the following Monday.

This program was developed by past SA administrations, beginning during the 2014-15 academic year.

In April 2017, the bike share program was updated and renamed to “Cycle Share.” In addition to 10 available bicycles, SA added two adaptive cycles to accommodate students with disabilities.

Salih said she plans to meet with SCPS to discuss expanding the program. Possible additions include adding a bike rack near Huntington Beard Crouse Hall and Campus West to increase accessibility.

Mental Health Awareness

SA announced plans to implement a peer listening service, an initiative that would allow students to anonymously discuss difficult situations with peers trained in active listening. The service is tentatively set to begin in fall 2019 or spring 2020, said Angie Pati, vice president of SA’s 61st legislative session.

Currently, SA is putting the finishing touches on the official peer listening service proposal that will be sent to SU administrators, Rosenblum said. As a member of SA’s Health and Wellness Subcommittee, Rosenblum worked with Pati on the service throughout the last year.

SA introduced and developed a partnership with Crisis Text Line, another service meant to provide people in need with emotional support, during the 2017-18 academic year. If implemented, the service would allow individuals to text a trained volunteer counselor 24/7.

SA also helped to organize the second annual Mental Health Awareness Week in fall 2017. The organization provided $5,000 to help sponsor the initiative, which consisted of events including activities on the Quad, therapy dogs and discussions on mental health topics. The week was also co-sponsored by other organizations, such as the Office of Health Promotion, Active Minds and the National Association for Mental Illness at SU, among others.

The event was first organized in 2016 by then-Vice President Joyce LaLonde, who approached the Office of Health Promotion with the idea for a weeklong mental health awareness effort. New to the event this year were videos showing SU community members talking about mental health stories and time slots for people to tie green ribbons around trees on the Quad if they or someone they knew had been affected by mental illness.

Sexual Health Awareness

In collaboration with Health Services and Be Well SU, SA organized multiple sexually transmitted disease clinics. Pati said the program would be expanded to four clinics during the 2018-19 school year. Outside of the clinics, SU students are eligible for one free HIV test each year.

SA also organized its first Sexual Health Resource Fair as part of Frisky February, a month-long initiative that brings together various SU departments, student organizations and community partners to increase awareness of and knowledge about sexual health. SA members said the purpose of the fair was to introduce students to the resources SU provides and to facilitate discussions about sexual health.

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In October 2017, SA began buying and offering menstrual hygiene products to students. The program was temporarily halted in spring 2017 after products were stolen, but James Franco, president of SA’s 61st legislation, and Pati worked to restart the program. Salih said SA is looking to continue the program in the next year and will talk with Physical Plant in order to assure the products are being efficiently distributed and kept in stock regularly.

Athletics

Through a partnership with SU Athletics, SA distributed 1,000 free tickets to students for one football and two basketball games. SA bought the football tickets at half-price through a deal with SU Athletics, while the basketball tickets were paid for by a sponsorship from Original Italian Pizza.

The goal of the tickets was to provide access to students who were previously unable to attend games, SA members have said.

In the next academic year, SA is looking to execute a “fans first pricing model” for Carrier Dome concessions, Rosenblum said. The model would reduce food costs for sporting events and help make games more cost effective for students, he added.

Euclid Avenue Safety

In January, SA helped to launch the Euclid Shuttle, a late-night bus to transport students around heavily trafficked areas of University Hill.

The shuttle operates Thursday through Saturday. Its route, whichs starts at 10:30 p.m. and ends at 3:25 a.m., stretches from Euclid Avenue to Westcott Street.

The shuttle, a major focus of Franco and Pati’s 2017 SA campaign, was a collaboration between SA, SU’s Graduate Student Organization and the university. It was funded by Invest Syracuse, a $100 million university initiative to “enhance the student experience.”

Salih and Rosenblum said they are hoping to continue the shuttle initiative but want to make sure it is updated and renovated to best serve the needs of students. Some concerns include a lack of bus schedules at the actual stops and a long gap between runs, they said.

In an effort to increase off-campus security, eight security cameras were installed on Euclid Avenue in 2017. The idea was originally suggested by SU alum Alexander Lynch, who worked with former SA President Eric Evangelista and LaLonde, members of SA’s 60th legislative session, to develop the plan to install the cameras.

At an April SA meeting, Franco praised the cameras’ installation, saying that early statistics have shown the cameras may be effective in reducing crime.

Diversity and Inclusion

Under the guidance of Diversity Affairs Committee Co-Chair Diasia Robinson and SU National Pan-Hellenic Council President Andrew Fowler, SA organized and funded three buses to the Washington, D.C., branch of March for Our Lives. Transportation was also provided to the rally’s Syracuse branch.

SA hosted the second annual Diversity Week during the spring semester. Robinson and fellow co-chair Khalid Khan worked to create the event, which ran from March 25-29. The Diversity Affairs Committee co-chairs said the goal of Diversity Week was to create a space for inclusivity on campus and celebrate a diverse campus community with events for everyone. Such events included a Pride Parade, comedy performance and #nohate candlelight vigil on the steps of Hendricks Chapel.

Sponsored by SA and hosted by University Union and The National Pan-Hellenic Council, the first ever Cuse For Good: Social Justice event was held in February 2018. The event consisted of three parts: a social justice panel, lunch with food from eight different cultures and a concert.

Before the event occured, SA collaborated with Orange After Dark, Light on Ebony, NPHC, Mixtape, Renegades and Femme Noir to send students to a “Black Panther” movie premiere for $3 a ticket, including transportation. All proceeds from the “Black Panther” event and Cuse For Good were donated to Syracuse City schools.

Greek Life

After videos were released of Theta Tau fraternity members using language that Chancellor Kent Syverud called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities,” Franco and Pati called on the university to conduct an audit of all Greek life.

SA and SU administrators had talked about the idea of an audit before the Theta Tau event, and an audit was scheduled to begin in summer 2018. However, with the release of the videos, SA pushed for the audit to begin sooner.

Syverud announced a “top to bottom review” of Greek life policies, activities and culture soon after Franco and Pati’s call for the audit.

Salih and Rosenblum expressed a desire to be involved in conversations regarding the audit. The two SA leaders attended several of the forums that emerged in response to the videos. Broadly, they said that listening to others and continuing conversations about diversity would help to create a better campus culture.

More specific suggested reforms from Salih and Rosenblum included assessing diversity requirements in colleges’ curriculums, developing first-year forums, requiring implicit bias training for faculty and students and hiring faculty from diverse backgrounds.

What are some future SA initiatives?

In addition to updating and improving initiatives, Salih and Rosenblum have many other plans for the 2018-19 academic year. Here are some of those plans:

Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Report

The organization is looking to create a sexual assault and relationship violence report, which will be conducted in a similar style to the mental health report produced by SA’s 60th legislative session, Rosenblum said. Research, through an assembled team, will be done to compile data from the SU and national level, he added.

The report will give recommendations on how to address sexual and relationship violence when it occurs, how to prevent it and how to change the campus culture overall, Rosenblum said.

Technology

Salih said she will work with SU’s Information Technology Services to help ensure technology on campus is accessible and functional. Students have reported problems with their internet connection and remote access tools, she added.

On the SA website itself, Salih said she wants to create a digital drop box for SU community members to express their concerns.

Invest Syracuse

Throughout their campaign, Salih and Rosenblum called on the university to release a report on how Invest Syracuse funds are being allocated.

In April, Pati announced that her and Franco had met with Syverud to discuss increasing the transparency of the initiative. Periodic reports informing students of Invest Syracuse’s progress are expected to start circulating in fall 2018, she had said.

Salih said she has talked with administrators about the periodic reports and was told that a report would be released at the end of every semester. Rosenblum added that he and Salih will follow up with the university to ensure the reports are published.

Published on January 2, 2017 at 1:26 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu