Editorial

Student Association making improvements to better serve student body

Two weeks into the 57th Session, Student Association members are creating a more effective and efficient student government by making substantial changes that benefit Syracuse University students.

The movement to become more constituent-focused began with President Allie Curtis making internal changes. During weekly general assembly meetings, representatives must now sit with fellow members of their home college. This is in contrast to the previous open seating arrangement.

Curtis’ policy encourages more interaction between representatives of the same home college, who must work together to make positive changes in their respective schools.

Another progressive change is the improved voting process, which stipulates that representative elections happen only once a month. Emily Ballard, the newly elected Board of Elections and Membership chair, said elections took up too much time during meetings in the 56th Session. Meeting times without elections allow SA to focus more on initiatives that aim to serve the student body.

SA has also made efforts to directly address student organizations’ concerns by unanimously passing an amendment to the Finance Board tier system during Monday’s meeting. With this new legislation, registered student organizations can now apply for more funding for events than they were previously eligible to receive.



This bill was created due to carry-over balances of the student activity fee. The amendment’s passage now means students currently enrolled at SU, and therefore pay the fee, will be able to take better advantage of the funding. This change is especially beneficial for lower-tier organizations that have access to the least amount of money.

Many members of the organization are working successfully together from several different angles to make SA a more effective and better-serving student government. But this momentum cannot be lost and must carry on throughout the session.





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