Student Association established mental health awareness as a top priority for the 2019-20 academic year in its first meeting of the fall semester.

SA President Mackenzie Mertikas and Vice President Sameeha Saied announced plans to promote and expand support networks for student health and well-being at Syracuse University — namely mental health awareness and sexual health. Their focus on mental health echoes previous SA administrations who also launched initiatives for the fall semester.

“It’s important to continue to bring awareness to mental health and make sure there’s not any stigma around it,” Mertikas said.

Their objectives included setting a date for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. The event, part of an extended partnership with the Office of Health Promotion, will begin on Oct. 7. The week will cost SA roughly $885 — a sizable decrease from last year’s $2,600 — but the amount is subject to change as new expenses may arise.

John Fisher, SA’s public relations chair, told The Daily Orange that the decrease is a result of not renting inflatables to “avoid any superfluous spending and mishaps with weather.”

The president and vice president also announced the continuation of the “Get Yourself Tested” program, which provides free STI testing to students, and pledged to push for more full-credit courses surrounding social justice and civil engagement.

Several SA cabinet members at the meeting emphasized the importance of maintaining an open, transparent and civil culture within the organization in the upcoming year.

“Everyone should feel welcome coming into this room every single Monday, and they should feel that they are able to communicate their opinions, whatever they may be,” Speaker of the Assembly Lilly Umana.

Mertikas echoed Umana’s sentiment.

“The (Student Association) is supposed to be a productive, professional environment,” she said. “So that’s one of our main focuses … we just really hope to improve the internal culture.”

The statements come after a contentious spring semester that ended with several SA campaigns placed under investigation. A candidate for comptroller was disqualified minutes before the election took place.

Last year, President Ghufran Salih and Vice President Kyle Rosenblum also worked to improve internal tensions in the spring after several Assembly members were placed under Judicial Review Board sanctions.

Other business:

• During the meeting, SA also confirmed a litany of new cabinet members, including Emberlin Leja as chief of staff; Stephanie Hausman as the Academic Affairs chair; Sofia Rossi and Brianna Ward as Community Engagement co-chairs; Kennedy Hagens and Lujane Juburi as Diversity and Inclusion co-chairs; John Fisher as Public Relations chair; John Jankovic and Amber Grant as Student Life co-chairs; and Netania Kligerman as Director of Technology.

• Due to a scheduling conflict, future SA Meetings will take place in Eggers 010 instead of the Maxwell Auditorium until otherwise announced.

• Bike-share company Gotcha Bikes gave a presentation about the new electric bike-sharing program coming to campus in the next few weeks.

Published on August 27, 2019 at 12:44 am

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu