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Syracuse University’s Student Association swore in 19 new assembly members during its Monday night meeting. It also elected three new associate justices and two new Board of Elections members.

SA first announced this year’s election results in a campus-wide email Saturday afternoon. The assembly added six first-year representatives, four at-large representatives and nine individual school representatives. The appointees will serve as part of the assembly, where they will draft legislation and vote on bills.

Caroline Ridge, SA’s Board of Elections chair, reported that SA election turnout this fall was higher than in the past two years. She said only 815 undergraduates voted, representing less than 10% of the student body, which had been the association’s goal. Its most recent general elections, conducted in April, saw a turnout of 743 students.

“The goal for next year is to get to 10%,” Ridge said. “I think it’s achievable, and … definitely possible.”

The student body elected Sophie Mays as an assembly representative for the School of Architecture, Taylor Kellett and Gianmarco Pretto for the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Muhammad Ghazali for the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Solomon Burt for the School of Information Studies, Megan Halsey for the College of Visual and Performing Arts and three students — Emily Castillo, Beckam Polis and Sadie Brown — for the College of Arts & Sciences.

After introductions from the association’s cabinet, new members took the oath of office and were sworn in by SA President German Nolivos and Vice President Reed Granger. Elected members will undergo training and receive committee assignments following next week’s meeting, SA Speaker Pro Tempore Tim Wong said.

After the new assembly members were sworn in, three nominees for an associate justice position with SA’s Supreme Court and two nominees for its Board of Elections stood before the assembly and presented ideas for their prospective positions.

Hunter Tryloff, Andrew Rymes and Leah Kim were appointed to the associate justice positions. In their statements, the nominees emphasized promoting equity, justice and adherence to SA’s internal rules and procedures.

All three nominees were approved for the positions. In the role, they will be responsible for drafting opinions, reviewing legislation and providing advice on internal legislative questions, according to SA’s position list.

Caroline Goodhart and Brianna Barragan were nominated to positions on the Board of Elections. In their statements, both emphasized the need to increase student engagement with SA elections.

“I think people just aren’t really informed and potentially don’t care enough to vote,” Goodhart said.

In SA’s weekly executive report, Nolivos discussed expanding the association’s No Problem Too Small initiative, which uses feedback forms to facilitate communication between SA and the student body. This year, SA has split the form into five new sections, each addressing different categories of on-campus life: transportation, housing, academics, dining services/catering and general student experience.

SA will begin hosting tabling events promoting No Problem Too Small from this Tuesday through Thursday, Nolivos said. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Shaw Quadrangle.

“It is designed to collect feedback on various aspects of the student experience, and your input helps us understand the issues affecting students and bring them to the attention of administrators,” Nolivos said.

The association will share the feedback from the No Problem Too Small forms with SU’s Board of Trustees at a later date, Nolivos said.

Published on October 1, 2024 at 12:02 am

Contact Anna: aclevitt@syr.edu