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With the goal of improving campus community involvement, Syracuse University’s Student Association is set to begin its first “Student Association on Tour” initiative this week to facilitate interactions between SA members and other student organizations.

SA on Tour, which the organization announced at an April 3 meeting, will consist of a series of SA-led presentations to various registered student organizations on campus about SA’s role in student life at the university, SA President-elect William Treloar said.

Members of SA will visit as many registered student organizations as possible during the tour to share information, Treloar said, which will consist of brief presentations on SA and its mission, followed by discussions about how SU’s campus can be improved.

“(Students) should expect an opportunity to share their thoughts about campus and get to know the student leaders that represent their voices,” Treloar said.

The initiative comes after Treloar and Nayrouz’s election to the positions of president and executive vice president, respectively, on a campaign platform which emphasized improved communication between SA and the student body. Treloar said he hopes to facilitate conversation between RSOs and students, as well as to help them better understand SA and its goals.

Treloar also is looking to use the tour to increase responses to the Student Body Needs survey — a form where students can express their concerns to SA directly — which he hopes to relaunch a second time this month, Treloar told The Daily Orange last week. He intends to increase SA’s involvement with the student body by going to members of RSOs directly.

“SA on Tour is one of the initiatives that will help further our goal to engage more students in the advocacy process,” Treloar said. “We hope to hear from as many students as possible, and this program is one of our steps towards doing that.”

One topic Treloar said members of SA will cover with RSOs while ‘on tour’ is the association’s budget process. SA allocates thousands of dollars in funds to more than 300 RSOs at the university and makes the financial decisions for RSOs on campus via its Finance Board.

SA’s Finance Board, which will be led by Comptroller-elect Dylan France in the 2023-24 academic year, weighs funding proposals to make decisions, which then go to SA’s Assembly for approval.

Throughout the tour, RSOs and students will be able to gain a better understanding of SA’s role on campus and how it can support students’ needs, Treloar said.

Outgoing SA President David Bruen and Executive Vice President Adia Santos have aimed throughout the 2022-23 academic year to increase communication with students and RSOs through various campus efforts, including initiatives like No Problem Too Small, a tabling event which has aimed to provide a platform for students to share any of their campus concerns with SA members.

SA also hosted a Town Hall event in March where students shared their concerns about ongoing problems like access to on-campus housing, transportation deficiencies and issues with campus safety.

As Treloar and Nayrouz begin the transition into their new executive positions, Treloar wants to continue Bruen’s student outreach efforts heading into the next academic year.

“The main goal for this initiative is to better inform student organizations about what we are able to help them with and where students are able to go when issues do arise on campus,” Treloar said.

Published on April 9, 2023 at 11:51 pm

Contact Kendall: kaluther@syr.edu