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Ella Beauchaine, Student Association’s Student Life Committee co-chair, is developing plans to create an SA “welcome kit” to help first-year and transfer students acclimate to Syracuse University’s campus.

Beauchaine isn’t yet sure how the welcome kits will be presented to students but said she hopes they will be another resource for students to learn about the university. She hopes to have the initiative ready for incoming students in the 2021-22 academic year.

“(Students will) still be given a chance to get information without being completely reliant on checking their emails or asking questions,” Beauchaine said. “It can be overwhelming for new students on campus, and (the kit) has information that you may not know unless you ask a random person for questions.”

The size of SU can often be intimidating, and new students should be offered all the extra help they can get, Beauchaine said. The new initiative could help keep SA engaged with the student population, she said.

“I have a really less-than-normal story of coming to Syracuse. I transferred schools, I took a semester off,” Beauchaine said. “SA could be more engaged with a school this size, with a lot more resources with different kinds of students. This allows students to know what SA can do for them and what they can do for SA.”

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More stories on SU’s Student Association:

• Student Association votes to approve changes to constitution
• Student Association proposes changing start date of legislative session
• Student Association hopes to expand financial aid accessibility

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Although there are many resources to help students get involved on campus, Beauchaine said it can still be difficult for students to find something they’re interested in. SA can help give students a clearer path when they get to campus, she said.

The welcome kits will also be a way to encourage incoming students to join SA, Beauchaine said. She plans to make the organization more accessible to new students by using the kits to help them understand SA’s role as well as how to get involved and what resources the organization provides.

Along with the welcome kits, Beauchaine said she wants to ensure SA has a permanent presence in Welcome Week, SU’s orientation program for first-year and transfer students. The week typically involves activities to help students meet each other and learn about the campus as well as club fairs to help them get involved at SU.

Beauchaine also hopes to increase SA’s presence during the first few weeks of school through tabling, handing out pamphlets and being present for more orientation events.

“I want to create something that’s permanent every semester so that on move-in week, SA is around and available to students,” Beauchaine said. “I want to create something that’s distributed to students in different offices that has input from different places and people, that can be given each semester to first year students, freshman transfers and graduate students.”

Published on March 14, 2021 at 11:12 pm