Student Association : Bus to transport students to Sweet 16 NCAA game
UPDATED: March 21, 2012, 7:25 p.m. EST
CORRECTION: The student who was named to the Judicial Review Board was previously incorrectly identified. Conor Sullivan was elected.
Student Association officials announced Monday evening that a bus will be provided to students for the Orange’s Sweet 16 matchup against Wisconsin.
PJ Alampi, chair of the Student Life Committee, introduced the plan in his report during SA’s weekly meeting, held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.
Fifty-five seats will be available for the bus, which will be free for students attending Thursday night’s game at the TD Garden in Boston. Additional details, including where to pick up a ticket for the bus, will likely be announced Tuesday on SA’s Twitter feed, Alampi said.
The plan to provide transportation to the event was discussed by various members of the cabinet, including President Dylan Lustig, after the SU men’s basketball team’s victory against Kansas State, he said.
‘We said once we got back to campus we would reach out to our advisers and see what we could do,’ Alampi said.
The decision for SA to coordinate the event instead of SU’s official student section, Otto’s Army, came down to logistics and the source of funding, Alampi said. He said he reached out to Ashley Andrew, president of Otto’s Army, to gauge member interest before deciding on using one bus.
It is yet to be discussed whether transportation will again be provided if the team advances to the Elite Eight, Alampi said.
Andrew said that while she was not informed that the plan to provide transportation to the game was finalized, she is grateful students attending the game will have a way to get there.
‘It’s great to see SA expressing interest in getting students there,’ Andrew said. ‘For Otto’s Army, that’s one of our main goals – to be able to get students there for the game, whether it’s at the Dome or anywhere off campus.’
Earlier in the meeting, representatives from Vera House and the SU Advocacy Center spoke to members of SA to discuss the White Ribbon Campaign and the various services that are available to students. SA wore white once again to show support for the cause.
Chauncey Brown, men’s outreach program coordinator for Vera House, discussed the origins of the campaign and some of the complexities of domestic violence and sexual abuse. The notion that women have the power to solve domestic violence by themselves is flawed, he said.
Being educated and empowered are essential to combating issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse, he said. This does not necessarily mean physically getting involved in an altercation.
‘I tell individuals all the time that it’s not about us putting on a Superman cape and thinking that you have to jump into every situation,’ Brown said.
Janet Epstein, director of the Advocacy Center, said its services are available at all times and that meetings are confidential. She also discussed how the significance of the White Ribbon Campaign extends beyond just wearing ribbons and pins.
‘The more we talk about it, the more we can understand our own personal power to make a positive change,’ Epstein said.
After the presentations, elections were held for an Alumni Board representative for the Class of 2015 and for positions on the Judicial Review Board.
Musu Sirleaf, of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and Ivan Rosales, of the College of Arts and Sciences, ran for the contested seat on the Alumni Board.
Sirleaf was elected to the position by the general assembly. Many members felt she had greater experience working with administrative officials and had taken the initiative to contact alumni before applying for the position.
Arts and Sciences representatives Michael Cacciatore and Conor Sullivan ran for positions on the Judicial Review Board.
Sullivan was elected by the general assembly, and Cacciatore was denied a position.
Several members, including Nick Iaquinto, who holds a position on the board, expressed concerns regarding Cacciatore’s ethical stance on approaching issues.
Other business discussed:
Iaquinto introduced a bill to solidify language in the SA codes that would ensure that home college committees must meet at least once per month. A system for enforcing the provision is still being discussed, and the bill will be voted on next week.
Three special programming bills were passed Monday night. Of the $140,000 in the account for the spring 2012 semester, only $329.73 remains.
Published on March 19, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum
