Student Association held elections Monday to confirm new members tothe Finance Board, Judicial Review Board, and Assembly.

The Assembly elected seven members to the Finance Board, leaving only one seat open. The board assists the comptroller with day-to-day responsibilities and typically allocates between $3 and $4 million to registered student organizations each year.

Finance Board elections normally take place in February, but a section of the SA bylaws allowed Comptroller Stacy Omosa to call the election early to fill eight open seats on the board.

The Assembly later selected sophomore Alex Stolfe, sophomore Maddie Law, and junior Nurie Metodieva to the Judicial Review Board. That board enforces SA’s constitution and bylaws and investigates any alleged infractions.

Judicial Board Review Chair Grace Johnson said the board’s goals for the year include increasing transparency and revising the process it uses to sanction Assembly members for improper conduct.

SA President Mackenzie Mertikas expressed excitement to begin working with the new class of representatives.

“They’re all very impressive individuals,” Mertikas said. “It’s good that we had a bunch of representation (from different schools and colleges) this year. And all of their ideas are things we’re hoping to focus on this year, so we’re excited to work with them.”

Even after the elections, a substantial number of seats in the SA assembly remain open. SA Vice President Sameeha Saied stressed the importance of recruiting as many new representatives as possible to represent a larger portion of the student body.

“We’re a campus of over 15,000 students, so the more people we have in this room representing different students, the more effective we can be,” Saied said. “The more voices we can get in this room, the better.”

In addition to electing new members, the Assembly agreed to advance a proposal to pay for and distribute 1,000 free student tickets for Syracuse football games during the 2019 season. The plan is part of SA’s existing partnership with the university’s athletics department.

“It’s something we’re very excited about,” said SA Parliamentarian Josh Shub-Seltzer. “Football is a major part of the Syracuse experience, so it’s important to us that … it’s an accessible event for students who don’t have the means to pay for a student pass.”

Other Business

• The Finance Board passed two special programming measures: $1,125 toward a conference for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and $610 toward a networking event for the SU Real Estate Club.
• Mertikas and Saied proposed funding a free e-bike sharing program through Gotcha Bike. The company has already installed stations around Syracuse and on campus, but students currently have to pay to use the service. Assembly members expressed reluctance toward the initiative, citing concerns about the bikes’ viability during the winter.
• The Student Life Committee will vote on the Get Yourself Tested STI testing program this week. If approved, the Assembly will make the final decision whether to fund the initiative next Monday.
• Freshman David Bruen, freshman Skylar Swart and sophomore Ashley Tubens from the College of Arts and Sciences were elected to the Assembly.
• Sophomore Kazi Rafee and sophomore Brendan Treloar from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were elected to the Assembly.
• Freshman Christine Kim from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was elected to the Assembly. Sophomore Elvis Crespo from the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics was also elected.

Published on September 17, 2019 at 12:50 am

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu