While some students receive awards and accolades for their service to the Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF community, the contributions of others go relatively unnoticed. Organizers of a new award ceremony taking place tonight hope to change that.

The first-ever awards in Leadership, Professionalism, Humanitarianism and Academics, or ALPHA awards, were created to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of SU and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students, staff and faculty of color that usually go unrecognized, said Gezzer Ortega, a senior biochemistry major and president of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

“We want to help create a legacy on campus, make students more active and emphasize a key role in academics,” Ortega said.

The awards, sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will begin with dinner at 6 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium.

A committee of students from varying majors, years and organizations formed the selection committee, a detail that makes the ALPHA awards unique from other award ceremonies, Ortega said.

“These are your own peers selecting you, as opposed to faculty,” he added.

The selection committee developed 25 awards, including student of the year, organization of the year, most improved organization, community service organization of the year and the award for academic excellence, Ortega said. The committee advertised around campus, asking students and faculty to nominate students deserving of recognition.

For the individual awards, students were required to meet a 2.5 GPA, carry 12 credits and participate in at least one extracurricular activity that involved any underrepresented population, such as blacks, Latinos, Asians, or Native Americans, said Joy Smith, a senior psychology and African-American studies major and corresponding secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Applicants also submitted a personal statement, a copy of their transcript and an optional letter of recommendation, Smith added.

“We did our best to get as many nominees as we could,” Ortega said. “There are always people that go unrecognized, but we hope people would nominate themselves and others if they thought they deserved an award.”

Smith added that the committee tabled in the Schine Student Center sent out e-mails and posted flyers to reach as many students as possible.

Ticket sales for the event have been going well, Smith said. Organizers expect at least 200 students, faculty and staff to attend.

“This event is a good opportunity for those organizations that aren’t recognized as much as the larger ones,” said Karista Vaeth, a junior public relations major and president of the Multiracial Experience. “If it’s successful I hope it continues on in the future.”

Published on April 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm