There is a new quote written on the wall of Student Association’s office: “What have we done for students?”

At the organization’s meeting on Monday night in the Life Sciences Complex, President Boris Gresely posed this question to assembly members. The question became the theme of the meeting. In addition, Gresely described his recent meetings regarding Chancellor Kent Syverud’s Fast Forward Syracuse strategic plan and SA passed law student Zachary Greenberg’s resolution supporting changes to Syracuse University’s harassment policy.

In his meeting with the Strategic Plan Steering Committee last week, Gresely discussed Fast Forward Syracuse’s vision and mission statements. He asked assembly members for their opinions on the statements, which he thinks are “too generic.” Gresely believes the vision statement, which says SU is “renowned for academic rigor, richly diverse learning experiences and a spirit of discovery,” isn’t distinct to SU. Assembly members felt similarly and suggested changing the word “renowned.”

Gresely also met with the Operational Excellence Steering Committee, which focuses on increasing efficiency within the university. Gresely said the work this committee does mostly pertains to the internal operations of SU.

Though the Operational Excellence Steering Committee “doesn’t have a direct impact on students,” Gresely said he also serves on the Working Group for Undergraduate Excellence, which focuses on issues that solely involve students. This workgroup tries to foster a better environment for students both inside and outside the classroom. Another key concern for the group is to ensure a satisfactory campus life for international students.

In addition to Gresely’s reports, Zachary Greenberg, a law student, presented a resolution he has written to make SU’s subjective harassment policy more specific. Greenberg said SU is one of the worst universities in the nation for free speech, and as a member of the Student Bar Association, the law school’s equivalent of SA, he wants to change that.

Greenberg said SU’s harassment policy is “egregious to free speech,” especially through digital communication. The university has taken serious action against students who have violated this policy. In the past few years alone, an education student was expelled for a comment they wrote on Facebook, and an investigation into something a law student said online was conducted. These instances, which, according to the resolution, are “widely considered to be within the bounds of protected expression,” have damaged SU’s reputation.

Greenberg said he believes that constitutionally protected free speech should also be protected at SU. He wants to replace the policy’s vague and subjective definitions of harassment as “offensive” and “annoying” actions “with more specific language such as ‘threats of violence, obscenity, child pornography and harassing communications as defined by law.’”

SA passed Greenberg’s resolution and gave him several suggestions of what to do next. SA representative Nicole Sherwood advised Greenberg to open a forum so students can discuss what they classify as harassment. SA Vice President Daniela Lopez suggested that Greenberg should discuss his resolution with the Graduate Student Organization.

Assembly members are involved in SA during a crucial time for the university as administrators create their master plan for its future, said SA adviser Kerry Fox. Fox encouraged student representatives to talk about these changes with their constituencies. Fox warned that if assembly members are “not making noise,” then their hopes for the path SU will take may not be acknowledged.

Published on October 7, 2014 at 12:47 am

Contact Alexa: atorrens@syr.edu