The mounting tensions between Syracuse University and its surrounding community led to the reinstatement of classes during MayFest. The change was not just a move to prevent partying, according to research done by an SU political science class, which was presented at Monday’s Student Association meeting.

Students from the honors section of PSC 202: Introduction to Political Analysis concluded that the permanent residents surrounding the university, specifically those involved in the Southeast University Neighborhood Association, strongly affected the university’s decision to reinstate classes on MayFest, said Melissa Weston, a sophomore public relations and political science major. Chelsea Moubarak, a sophomore broadcast journalism and international relations major, presented the research with Weston at Monday’s meeting.

‘We basically asked for the class to come up with a political puzzle and research all the different questions surrounding that puzzle,’ Weston said after the presentation. ‘At the time that we needed to finalize what we needed to do, the whole MayFest controversy came.’

The students in the class put out surveys and did campus-wide research regarding student, faculty and community opinions on MayFest.

To conduct the research, the class broke up into four student groups. Each group was assigned a different task. The four jobs included:

* Surveying students and faculty about MayFest

* Researching the university’s brand and if MayFest was reflecting poorly on that brand

* Studying the history of MayFest

* Learning about the politics behind the event and looking at why Syracuse’s mayoral candidates talked about it during November’s general election

Weston and Moubarak’s presentation was a brief summary of an hour-long seminar the class conducted, showing the results of their research. SA President-elect Jon Barnhart attended the class presentation to further understand the data. The students presented the data to SA at the request of Larry Seivert, the current SA president, because of the assembly’s large role in working with university administrators to re-create MayFest.

Seivert and Barnhart have been meeting with Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Thomas Wolfe on a weekly basis to discuss MayFest. They and other assembly members will have an expanded meeting, scheduled for Friday, with additional university administrators and officers from the university’s Department of Public Safety.

After Weston and Moubarak’s presentation, Barnhart announced to the assembly that he will hold interviews for his cabinet positions until Saturday. Students who wish to join the assembly for the 54th session can turn in petitions until Friday to Angelo Coker, chair of the board of elections and membership.

As the 53rd session comes to a close, many of SA’s committees are waiting until next semester to begin new initiatives. Assembly members will be meeting with the Board of Trustees this week to highlight the session’s achievements. The final meeting of the session will be held next Monday in the Schine Student Center, room 304, instead of Maxwell Auditorium, where SA meetings regularly take place.

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on December 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm