Student Association : Dedication to results stirs presidential candidate Casey
‘Most of my time — actually, all of my time — goes to SA,’ Casey said. ‘Any free time I have, I’m in the office. And I only expect that to increase.’
After holding several positions with SA since the end of his freshman year, Casey, a junior supply chain and finance major, said he believes he is ready for the challenge of president. Casey is running on the platform of ‘Putting Students First’ and said he plans to make SA a more results-based and student-focused organization. Co-workers describe Casey the same way he describes himself, as someone who takes the initiative to make things happen.
‘On a broader level, I can see the good that SA can offer to every single student, but in order for that full potential to be filled, we need a good leader at the helm,’ Casey said.
Casey said he wants to take SA to a new level. Although there have been major improvements throughout the past couple of years, ‘we’re not where we need to be at, and that’s where I plan to take us,’ Casey said.
Casey was first elected as an assembly representative in January 2009 and then selected as SA’s recorder. Soon after, then-SA president Larry Seivert, who Casey calls his mentor, appointed Casey as his chief of staff. Casey also sat on the Finance Board, was a student representative for the Board of Trustees and now serves as the chairman of the Student Life Committee.
Current SA president Jon Barnhart said he calls Casey his ‘go-to guy,’ and he knows Casey is correct in thinking the presidential role will take up much of his time. Barnhart said 50 to 60 hours of his week are dedicated to his role as president and the many obligations it entails.
Being on SA ‘is not even just a role, it’s not just one thing that I do; it is the thing that I do, and everything else is a result of that,’ Barnhart said.
Barnhart said Casey’s love of Syracuse University is unparalleled by anyone else he knows at SU. And ‘you’ve got to love what you do to be able to handle this job,’ he said.
Casey’s affection for SU began at an early age. Though he is from New Jersey, his grandfather earned his master’s degree at SU, and his parents are from Syracuse. He spent his summers on Lake Ontario and spent a lot of time growing up watching SU sports.
‘I knew I wanted to come to school in Central New York, and Syracuse was an obvious choice for me,’ Casey said.
Outside of SA, Casey said he enjoys going downtown to take in the local festivals with his grandparents and is a huge Yankees fan. He and SA Comptroller Jeff Rickert have sat next to each other at every home football game in the same seats since freshman year, Casey said. He attends the final four lacrosse games every year and follows politics at every level. Barnhart said the two of them could be found at 3 a.m. in the SA office, wrapped deeply in a political discussion.
Casey, a member of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, has no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he sees a continued political career in his future.
‘I probably can’t stay away,’ Casey said. ‘It’s too much fun for me.’
Dan Scorpio, SA communications director, served as a resident adviser in Haven Hall with Casey for a semester and has worked on several projects with him, including last semester’s MayFest at Walnut Park, which Scorpio said Casey masterminded.
‘If I could say he had a signature accomplishment, I think it’s navigating the waters of the MayFest meetings and getting some really good things done for students that I know he will never get credit for,’ Scorpio said.
In addition to ensuring there are fun activities, such as MayFest, for students, Casey has a serious side, Scorpio said.
‘He makes fun of me for always wearing basketball shorts and T-shirts, but he needs to try to be a little more casual,’ Scorpio said.
‘I remember the first time we had RA training, he walked in, and I was like, ‘Who the hell is this kid?’ He was wearing a tucked-in shirt, and it was 95 degrees,’ Scorpio said.
Casey also takes his campaign slogan, ‘Putting Students First,’ seriously, Scorpio said. Casey can build off of Barnhart’s presidential term by continuing to find ways to insert the student voice into campus organizations and politics, Scorpio said. He wants to further develop the University Union programming board, free up money for other student organizations, make SU a smoke-free campus and uphold and improve the tradition of MayFest.
‘That’s my goal, turning SA into a results-based organization,’ Casey said. ‘We should only be judging ourselves and our success on what we accomplish. Just because we take these things on doesn’t mean we’re getting anywhere.’
Published on November 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm
