In the warm summer air of Croydon, N.H., Dylan Lustig relaxed and reflected on the first half of his term as Student Association president while working as a counselor-in-training director.

The experience not only provided him the chance to recharge after a draining semester — one that saw the deaths of three close relatives and the departure of his chief of staff — it gave Lustig a new outlook on the world around him.

“It taught me what was important in life,” he said frankly, reminiscing about his summer job training staff members at YMCA Camp Coniston. “And that is just helping other people, and that’s what I want to do with my life — help other people.”

This summer experience helped Lustig rekindle his enthusiasm for leadership, and he’s ready to bring the same energy back to SA in fall 2012.

Unlike last semester, which some claim was marred by a tendency to leave projects incomplete, this semester, Lustig has clearer goals: help students give back to Syracuse University, avoid fixating on internal proceedings and execute his ambitious campaign promise of a campus-wide day of community service.

In terms of philanthropy, one project he’s looking to complete by the end of his term is an initiative previously introduced to the general assembly as “Keep The Change Syracuse.”

Students who opt into the program would have their SUpercard purchases at SU cafes such as Eggers Cafe and Food.com rounded to the nearest dollar, with the extra funds going toward improving specific schools within SU, he said.

Lustig, who’s also a member of the Student Philanthropy Council, has advocated for students to provide long-lasting contributions to the university in the past, as well.

But in order to achieve tangible results, he recognizes SA’s discussion process needs to be changed.

Student government exists to help and defend the student population, not to follow its sometimes-rigid codes verbatim, he said, and so there needs to be less of a preoccupation on procedural matters.

“I respect the fact that maybe you have a passion for following the codes, or passion for reading the codes and updating them and making sure they’re grammatically correct,” Lustig said. “But I hope you have an equal passion for helping the students.”

His campaign promise of a signature day of community service, something that did not occur during the spring like many anticipated, is now closer to becoming a reality.

Tentatively set for November, the ambitious event appears as though it will be one of, if not the defining moment of his presidency. More details will be available in the coming weeks when a formal announcement is made, he said.

Similar to Lustig, high-ranking members of SA’s cabinet have a multitude of initiatives and events planned for fall 2012.

The cabinet conducted conference calls on a near-daily basis during the summer, Vice President Allie Curtis said. With a new chief of staff, Janine Savage, in place, Curtis is focused on being more visible on campus interacting with students.

“When I came to Syracuse I met the vice president the first day I came, and after that, never saw him again,” she said. “Literally never saw him again.”

Communication between the president, vice president and chief of staff will improve this semester, Curtis said. Meetings will be held weekly and evaluation sheets will be utilized to document the progress of initiatives.

For Savage, who was appointed during SA’s final spring meeting on April 30, the transition into her role was a quick one.

She has taken the lead on the administration’s signature day of service initiative and has contracted several Syracuse-area nonprofits to find the best way SA can give back.

Savage said she also finished her initiatives from the previous semester, including one that will provide free binders for loose-leaf textbooks sold at the University Bookstore. The program is launching this semester for one book in a trial run, she said.

This desire to rebound from the shortcomings of last semester is also illustrated by the Finance Board.

In order to make student government more cost-effective and efficient, Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo created an online budget application process that will save time and money for SA and student organizations alike. He said SA is looking to move on from the incident regarding March’s “SA Formal,” where approximately $4,000 from the organization’s operating budget was incorrectly utilized.

DeSalvo called it a “learning lesson” for the organization.

Lustig said SA is discussing requesting $4,000 less for its operating budget next year to make up for the miscue.

The Board of Elections and Membership is looking to fill more seats in the general assembly, which is currently at 67 percent, chair of board Jen Bacolores announced at SA’s Monday meeting. The board will be recruiting at several campus events during the next few weeks, she said.

Bacolores said the board will play a significant role in promoting the upcoming SA election and Colin Brown, director of public relations, said he spent part of the summer creating advertisements to promote this event.

The Student Life committee, headed by PJ Alampi, is looking to make SU’s campus more accessible by fixing the “little ticks” that exist around campus. For example, he said, no elevators exist on the first floor of Flint Hall, making it difficult for students to move into their rooms.

Alampi said the bike-share initiative he discussed last semester is still in the works, but will likely involve contracting a bike shop on campus in order to provide students who already own bikes a place to have them serviced for now.

He said SA is also going to update its website so representatives are more accessible, as its current site is not very user-friendly for students.

“If they don’t know who we are and they don’t know how to contact us, how can they give us recommendations on what we can do to better the university as a whole?” Alampi said.

Lustig expressed the same opinion and echoed a desire to bring SA back to its essence.

Said Lustig: “As long as the students are benefiting from what we’re doing, or they know about what we’re doing, that’s all I care about.”

Published on August 29, 2012 at 3:39 am

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum