When Tatiana Cadet looked at other Syracuse University Student Association candidates’ platforms, she felt there were issues not being addressed.

So she decided to join the campaign herself as a write-in candidate.

Cadet’s platform includes four main points: strengthening community, improving security, improving SA and addressing student needs. As a part of her platform, Cadet, a transfer junior communication and rhetorical studies major, wants to decrease SA’s exclusivity and make the organization “more than just a middleman.” She added that she would like to increase SA’s transparency so that more students can get involved.

“I want SA to be more open with students,” Cadet said. “I want students to feel like they can come to me with any of their problems or issues.”

Other issues Cadet addresses in her platform are the need for further action on sexual assault awareness and prevention, better security at both entrances to Bird Library and what she said is gender and race bias toward students who request security vehicle escorts back to their South Campus housing.

Cadet said she decided to run for SA president as a write-in candidate because she wanted to “put (herself) out there to be an advocate for all students.”

Cadet said she does not see a challenge in being a write-in candidate in this election because “there is no challenge that (she) cannot overcome.” She added that she believes this experience will make her a stronger individual.

As a transfer student who has only spent two semesters on the Syracuse University campus, Cadet said she provides a different perspective than most people. She added that her firsthand experiences with THE General Body have also helped her to understand the group’s grievances and how the university has handled them so far.

“While some people may think that me being here for only two semesters is a downfall, I think it shows how much I care about this institution,” Cadet said.

Cadet said her running mate, Fatima Bangura, has helped “provide her with a perspective that (she) doesn’t necessarily have.”

Cadet said Bangura, a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major, is involved with many student organizations at SU. In addition to being a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Association of Black Journalists at SU, Bangura also writes for The NewsHouse and Renegade Magazine, Cadet said.

When it comes to the transparency component of her platform, Cadet said it’s important students are aware of who is making decisions and who is advocating for them.

“Students are at this university and decisions are being made for them,” Cadet said. “We are an entire student body; not just one exclusive group.”

Published on April 6, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann