In the second of his three semesters as Student Association President, Boris Gresely found himself playing a large role in the future of Syracuse University.

This semester, Gresely was especially involved in the development of Fast Forward Syracuse, an initiative created by Chancellor Kent Syverud to improve SU. Gresely is a member of the Strategic Plan Steering Committee and the Undergraduate Excellence working group, both of which are committees dedicated to Fast Forward. Gresely often reported progress on Fast Forward to assembly members at SA’s weekly meetings.

“My main role has been to make sure students understand what Fast Forward is and how we can move forward,” he said.

In addition to working with the administration on Fast Forward, Gresely and other SA members cooperated with THE General Body, a coalition of student groups that staged a sit-in for 18 days, at a few assembly meetings in November.

“A lot of the things THE General Body wanted SA has advocated for a while now,” Gresely said. “The chancellor is a lot more open. This is the perfect chance to really push for what we want.”

This semester, SA created a student affairs task force chaired by Iggy Nava, a senior international relations major. Gresely said the task force, which was a component of his presidential campaign, is a coalition of student leaders at SU that will assemble the Student Affairs Summit in February. The summit will be an opportunity for students to discuss issues they face at the university and potential resolutions to these problems.

Gresely said he wants students to feel ownership and said, “I think in the past there has been a lack of credibility with what student governments can do.”

Gresely wanted the summit to take place this semester, but the complexity of Fast Forward made it difficult to hold the summit, he said.

In addition to the summit, SA intends to pursue other initiatives next semester, including giving students access to wireless printing in buildings across campus, increasing awareness about financial aid and loans and establishing a program to help first generation students at SU.

Reflecting on his past year as SA president, Gresely said, “It hasn’t necessarily been easy. I don’t think any leadership position — big or small — is easy ever.” But, he added, “It has been a really good learning experience and a great experience overall. I’m excited for my last (semester).”

Student Life 

The Student Life Committee focused its efforts on four initiatives this semester. Three were successful and will be launching in the spring semester. These initiatives include the installation of heat lamps at the College Place bus stop, the establishment of the Chat and Dine program and the installation of more phone charging stations in campus buildings.

The heat lamps for the College Place bus stop have been ordered and will be installed next semester. The plan to purchase heat lamps for bus stops on South Campus is uncertain since Centro — not SU — owns these stops, said Aysha Seedat, the chair of the Student Life Committee.

Chat and Dine is an opportunity for students to eat a meal with any SU faculty or staff member. The initiative is a tool to help students transition into life at SU and get guidance from faculty and staff, Seedat said.

The university has also purchased phone charging stations which will be installed in areas on campus like Grant Auditorium and Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, Seedat said.

The fourth initiative is to implement nutritional information in dining halls to avoid allergic reactions from students who have food allergies. The Student Life Committee will meet with administrators and food service employees next semester to discuss the proposal, Seedat said.

Next semester, Seedat and committee members hope to change the rule that forbids transfer students from joining Greek life their first semester at SU. Another initiative is to bring more magazines to campus for students to purchase, she said. 

Student Engagement

This semester, the Student Engagement Committee worked on initiatives to raise awareness for sexual assault, consent, alcohol safety and diversity.

The committee partnered with several campus organizations, including the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, to launch a campaign for what it means to give consent, said Brittany Moore, the chair of the Student Engagement Committee.

An initiative to educate students about consent was “#notaskingforit,” an online campaign that launched on Halloween to ensure that students know that “no matter how you’re dancing or how you’re acting, nobody ever asks to be raped,” Moore said.

“SA is really committed to the consent campaign and to ending sexual assaults on college campuses,” Moore said.

In addition to the consent campaign, the Student Engagement Committee also held two focus groups on alcohol use, created a rankings campaign to counter SU’s top party school rating and held a forum called Express Yourself. The forum’s purpose was to increase diversity and inclusion efforts in the wake of the Hanna Strong incident in September, Moore said.

The committee’s plans for next semester include working with the Residence Hall Association to organize Impact Week, establishing a liaison with registered student organizations to inform them about Fast Forward and the rankings campaign and partnering with the counseling center to discuss mental health issues, Moore said.

Published on December 3, 2014 at 12:01 am

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