In Monday’s final Student Association meeting of the semester, SA awarded Syracuse University’s chapter of Students in Free Enterprise $100 after choosing it as the student organization of the month for April.

SA presented SIFE with a large ceremonial check. The $100 will be placed into the group’s miscellaneous funds account, said Student Engagement Committee chair Jenn McKay.

SIFE is the first group to receive an award through the new student organization recognition program SA set up this semester, McKay said. SA will choose one organization each month that it feels has gone ‘above and beyond’ its purpose, she said. The money awarded comes from SA’s operating budget and is meant for a celebration like a pizza party.

SIFE’s ‘DOT: Do One Thing’ campaign — an effort to promote environmental and social sustainability — is its most notable program, said SA President Neal Casey.

SA also held elections for the Judicial Review Board. For the second week in a row, Nick Iaquinto was unable to gain the four-fifths majority of the votes necessary to be elected to the position, Casey said. SA did not elect Iaquinto, a freshman German language, literature and culture and international relations major, to the Judicial Review Board during the meeting.

There are three members currently on the review board, but none of them are returning in the fall semester, Iaquinto said. There has yet to be anyone elected to the review board for next semester. The review board is in charge of dealing with SA members who miss meetings and office hours, Iaquinto said. The board also serves as a mediator between student organizations, he said.

Before SA voted, Iaquinto said it is important to have some measure of the review board in place for next semester. Casey said he isn’t concerned that there has yet to be anyone elected because other students have expressed interest, and there is plenty of time at the start of next semester for elections.

Student Life Committee chair Taylor Carr presented data to SA about the Wegmans and Target bus program. The buses, which have run every Saturday since March 5, had 803 riders during the course of the program, Carr said. He said student feedback has been positive, but students suggested buses run earlier and also on Sundays. The program will continue next semester, but will probably not include the final loop of buses, as later buses are used less by students, Carr said.

Also at Monday’s meeting, SA honored its nine graduating seniors. Board of Elections and Membership chair Andrea Rosko, Director of Technology Sean Herron and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry liaison Tim Wilke are the only three current SA seniors. Former members who were also honored were Jon Barnhart, who served as president; Dan Scorpio, who served as public relations director; Marion Araque and Katie Lewinski, who served as College of Arts and Sciences representatives; and Leigh Ryan and Aleecia Kaloustian, who served as College of Visual and Performing Arts representatives.

At the meeting, all seniors spoke highly about their time in SA. Some, like Herron, joked and said SA would be in bad shape without them. But Rosko became emotional at the end of her speech as she returned to her seat.

Casey said his biggest focus over the summer will be the tobacco policy. This policy will run through the Student Life Committee, and Carr said he hopes to have a resolution for the assembly to vote on early next semester.

Said Casey: ‘The term runs through the end of December — no need to stop working over the summer.’

Other business discussed:

• Carr said SA will distribute ‘safety magnets’ next semester that have phone numbers on them, such as those of the Department of Public Safety, Syracuse University Ambulance, the Counseling Center and SA.

• Carr also said SA and the administration are discussing the use of social media in educating students about cyberbullying in the fall, which would address the educational side of the new policy.

spcotter@syr.edu

 

Published on May 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm