Mackenzie Mertikas and Sameeha Saied were sworn in as president and vice president of the 63rd legislative session of Syracuse University’s Student Association during a meeting on Monday.

Mertikas and Saied were elected to their new positions on April 11. Recently passed legislation changed SA’s bylaws to allow incoming leaders to be sworn in during the spring semester instead of the fall. Stacy Omosa was also sworn in as SA’s comptroller for the 2019-2020 academic year, a position that oversees the organization’s Finance Board.

After being sworn in, Mertikas said she will channel the dedication she has seen from her fellow SA members in the two years she has been part of the organization. Her favorite part of campaigning was speaking with students about the changes they wanted to see.

“I couldn’t tell you where I would be on this campus right now if I didn’t join SA,” she said.

Omosa said she fell in love with the Finance Board when she first joined, and has wanted the comptroller position for a long time. She was applauded multiple times throughout her speech.

Outgoing SA President Ghufran Salih spoke about the work SA’s cabinet has done this year. She said her best moments happened during one-on-one interactions with students.

“This year has been one the most rewarding years of my life,” she said.

Mertikas and Saied previously said in interviews that they will use the summer to work on initiatives concerning Department of Public Safety relations, financial accessibility and mental health services. They will continue to build connections with different offices and campus organizations as well.

During her campaign, Omosa said that she plans to assign Finance Board advisers to assist registered student organizations and will increase transparency by sending weekly emails about the Student Activity Fee.

Other business:

• SA passed a resolution endorsing the community grid as the best replacement option for Interstate 81’s aging viaduct. The community grid would have the most positive impact on the greater Syracuse community, according to the resolution. Representative Kaleya Scott said the grid would bring more businesses to the inner city.
• The Assembly elected representative Josh Shub-Seltzer as the next SA parliamentarian. Shub-Seltzer’s initiatives include small-group workshops to educate new members about SA and a standardized audit procedure to improve accountability within the organization, he said.

Published on April 29, 2019 at 11:35 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21