Student Association : General assembly elects Board of Trustees liaison
Jesse Feitel, a Student Association member, promises to focus on achieving tangible changes on campus, such as adding more power outlets in E.S. Bird
A key election for the last undergraduate representative on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees was the main topic discussed Monday night by the Student Association.
The process was conducted differently than prior elections in an attempt to reduce the amount of redundant questions that were being directed at candidates, said Jennifer Bacolores, chair of the Board of Elections and Membership. In the end, Jesse Feitel secured the position.
‘The questions that you’ll be asking are going to be questions that we haven’t asked already,’ she said. ‘So if they are questions that are already answered in the letter of intent, or questions that are already answered in our reports, you will not be able to ask them.’
Bacolores addressed the general assembly about the candidates prior to bringing them before the assembly for questioning at the meeting, which was held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.
The SU Board of Trustees is the governing body legally responsible for protecting and managing the physical and financial assets of the university. Traditionally, the SA president serves as one of the two student representatives on the board.
President Dylan Lustig yielded his time to the gallery and allowed Chris Jennison, a senior public relations and policy studies major and current student liaison, to address the assembly on the particulars of the position he will no longer be filling.
The responsibilities of a student liaison include concisely conveying student concerns to other board members and attending monthly meetings, he said.
Former SA President Neal Casey was also in attendance and reaffirmed the importance of the position.
‘While it’s a small time commitment, it’s a very important time commitment,’ Casey said. ‘You can’t miss an executive session. You can’t miss big events. You have a limited amount of time in front of them. You need to maximize your face time to kind of get your points across.’
Four candidates ran for the contested seat, which required a four-fifths majority vote by the general assembly.
Jesse Feitel, Kyle Coleman and Nicolas Ignacio Nava were the SA members who ran for the seat. Andre Sadler, a junior marketing management and finance major, campaigned as well.
SA members questioned the candidates on topics such as the divide between international students and the rest of campus, diversity as a factor in admission and how each candidate could learn about what students want changed at SU.
Feitel emphasized his experience as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and said he is focused on achieving tangible changes on campus, such as adding more power outlets in E.S. Bird Library.
But Coleman countered and said segregation between different groups was the more pervasive issue on campus. He said that rewiring Bird would be difficult to accomplish.
‘I think this is an issue that’s going to get bigger as we continue to get more diverse, and nobody’s addressing it right now,’ Coleman said.
Nava highlighted his experience handling issues pertaining to diversity and said he would talk to leaders of student organizations to gain a better understanding of what students want.
Some members, including Student Engagement Committee Chair Sean Dinan, expressed concerns about Nava currently being a freshman. But Kemi Akindude, a College of Arts and Sciences representative, noted that Senior Adviser Bonnie Kong was elected to the liaison position during her freshman year.
Sadler discussed his involvement on campus and said he wished to ensure that SU continues providing generous scholarships and financial aid packages to students. He also expressed a desire to divert funding back into mentorship programs that had been cut.
Feitel was the only candidate who secured the majority vote for the position, and no additional rounds of voting were necessary.
After re-entering the room to applause, he quickly thanked members for their decision.
Said Feitel: ‘We’ll be able to do a fantastic job in moving on what we’ve already accomplished.’
Other business discussed:
The general assembly unanimously passed a resolution in support of the New York Public Interest Research Group’s plan for no-fee ATMs on campus. Officials from NYPIRG determined the new machines will cost $1,000 per month. They are currently looking for businesses to sponsor the project.
Published on April 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum
