Though it was meeting for the final time during the spring 2012 semester, Student Association confirmed a new chief of staff and voted on several critical pieces of legislation.
The general assembly unanimously elected Janine Savage, a representative from the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, as chief of staff at the meeting held Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.
The meeting marked the official halfway point of President Dylan Lustig’s term in office.
Lustig said SA wasted no time in selecting the most suitable candidate to fill the void left after the resignation of Taylor Carr April 23, and added that Savage was ‘right for the job the entire time.’
‘I was excited about the position. I think a lot of us were, and unfortunately, things didn’t work out,’ Lustig said. ‘It’s disappointing what happened, but I’m really excited for the future and I know Janine is going to do her job.’
Savage said she will advise Lustig on the initiatives members are working on, offer counsel to new representatives and be available in the SA office as much as possible.
‘I can’t think of any other organization on campus that I love more than SA,’ she said. ‘I plan to fill all 10 office hours and probably more. Unless I have an exam or a class, I plan to be at every single committee meeting for every committee that we have.’
Earlier in the meeting, several bills were presented to the general assembly. One piece of legislation involved a suggested change to the confirmation process of new representatives.
Officials from the Board of Elections and Membership would still interview prospective representatives, but candidates would also have to receive a recommendation from their respective home college committee.
The general assembly would then conduct a procedural vote to accept or deny the committee’s recommendation of the candidate, similar to how student organization budgets are voted on in SA.
The change was met with heavy opposition, and many claimed the process would simply extend home college committee meetings and would not fulfill its original purpose of saving time.
Duane Ford, a School of Education representative, expressed displeasure with the bill because he said it weakens the method of how new members are elected.
‘My problem with it is that it doesn’t necessarily take away from the democratic process, but it severely hinders it,’ he said.
The measure did not secure a majority vote and was not enacted.
Later in the meeting, PJ Alampi, chair of the Student Life Committee, introduced a resolution calling for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reverse the ban forbidding men who have had sex with other men from giving blood.
Alampi said student governments at other universities have drafted similar statements, and he has closely worked with the Division of Student Affairs and Pride Union on this resolution.
Though some members expressed concerns about why the ban is still in place, the resolution passed with 29 votes for, six against and seven abstentions.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the general assembly recognized past and present SA members who are graduating at the end of this academic year.
The ceremony acknowledged members such as former President Neal Casey, former Comptroller Jeff Rickert, former Chief of Staff Amy Snider and Senior Adviser Bonnie Kong.
In an emotional moment, Alampi announced Kong will have her named engraved in a plaque for her dedication to the organization, which she has been a part of since her freshman year.
Said Alampi: ‘I want to say that, Bonnie, we’re going to miss you so much. And you honestly have meant so much to SA and you deserve every bit of recognition.’
Other business discussed:
A bill clarifying the number of office hours certain cabinet members are required to serve was passed unanimously.
dmsegelb@syr.edu