To support student journalism and the content you love, become a member of The Daily Orange today.

Syracuse University’s Student Association only awards semesterly stipends to a limited number of particular student leadership positions. The majority of stipends are within SA, with little going to outside organizations.

As a Board of Trustees member and participant in multiple committees, SA President David Bruen said he plans to introduce policies to extend financial support to benefit the broader student population. Bruen said his aim going forward will be to financially compensate other leaders who strive to “inspire and excite” the student body.

“We are not the only community-focused organization, so if stipends were expanded to other groups here, that would probably allow people to contribute more time and work to grow their organizations,” Bruen said.

Bruen said his vision is to create stipends, at the very least, for top leadership positions of critical organizations, specifically mentioning University Union and Otto’s Army.

Historically, only the Executive Vice President, the Comptroller, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Chief of Staff and the Board of Elections Chair in SA. Each semester, the Assembly votes to approve a stipend recipient in a given position following deliberations on their performance over the course of the previous semester, SA Executive Vice President Adia Santos said.

The assembly’s closed discussions provide a safe space to consider a student in an SA leadership position’s contributions, including commitment, resources, event planning and initiatives to engage students with SA, she said.

Santos said stipends for leadership positions except for the president’s stipend — which is funded through former SA President John Lyons’ donation to the endowment fund — come out of the SA’s budget. She said SA hopes to grow the endowment fund so that any additional stipends don’t come directly from the SA’s pocket.

Because of the significant commitments of time and energy required of SA members, Santos said it’s possible that other necessary jobs or extracurricular commitments may deter students from joining. She said stipends can help alleviate pressure for students dedicating so much of their time and help them to feel like they’ll be supported, no matter their role.

“People can feel like they have the financial support to spend time doing the things they are passionate about,” Santos said.

If voted on and approved, an expansion of the endowment fund would mean more people in SA will have the opportunity to receive a stipend, Santos said.

Bruen said that though conversations about expanding stipends are in early stages, he and other student leaders are committed to ensuring that student leaders both in SA and within other university organizations receive the support and compensation they need in order to maintain their work and move their groups forward.

“Organizations play such a key role in developing the student experience,” Bruen said. “They create core memory experiences.”

Published on December 4, 2022 at 11:17 pm

Contact Faith: flbolduc@syr.edu