Members of Syracuse University’s Student Association kicked off the fall semester with a welcome back meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

“We are all ready to make some change around here and find out what students are craving on campus,” said President Dylan Lustig. “I hope we do some pretty great things for the rest of this session. We have a great outreach and a lot of amazing connections.”

The meeting marked the start of the final half of the 56th session, and various committee members were eager to share their latest initiatives with a crowd of returning SA members as well as new students interested in joining the organization.

One of SA’s recent accomplishments includes scheduling free buses to the SU Football team’s game against USC on Sept. 8 for season ticket holders. SA will be funding five buses that will travel to the football game at Metlife stadium outside of New York City.

“We are very excited about this new development,” said PJ Alampi, chair of the Student Life Committee.

Alampi said students without season tickets may also be eligible to take advantage of the free bus and should contact the SA office.

Another topic heavily discussed by committee members was recruitment of new SA members and retention of old SA members.

Jen Bacolores, chair of the Board of Elections and Membership, said she is confident that SA will reach full representation in SU’s colleges. Right now, SA has achieved 67 percent representation.

“We are looking to do a lot more one-on-one sessions as well as a lot more tabling and freshman recruiting,” she said.

Early in the meeting, Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo announced a $60,000 increase in special programming funding for SU’s student organizations. The extra money comes from finances that rolled over from last year.

He said there is $100,000 available for special programming, “which is a decent amount and more than usual.”

The money will be available for student organizations to host special events, he said.

Cyberbullying has officially been added to SU’s code of conduct, Alampi said. The Student Life Committee would also like to address a law preventing men who have had sex with men from donating blood. Alampi said he hopes they can “get something done about it.”

In other business discussed:

-Michael Cacciatore was appointed as the new vice chair of the Student Engagement Committee. The Student Life Committee is looking to get a bike shop on campus to benefit students as well as change the emergency contact stickers located on the stalls of university bathrooms.

-Duane Ford, a representative from the School of Education, mentioned a hazardous trash build up near Mount Olympus. Alampi plans to report the buildup to SU’s Department of Public Safety.

-The next SA meeting will be held next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

Published on August 28, 2012 at 12:15 am

Contact Anna: aegiles@syr.edu