Syracuse University juniors Charlie Mastoloni and Jessica Brosofsky want to bring the Student Association at SU at back to its roots by making it a “partner,” rather than a government for students.

Mastoloni, a junior policy studies and political science major, and Brosofsky, a junior policy studies and international relations major, announced their campaign for SA president and vice president, respectively, on Monday afternoon in the Schine Student Center to a crowd of about 40 students.

They are the second pair to announce their candidacy for SA president and vice president. Eric Evangelista, who is the longest-serving member of SA, and Joyce LaLonde, who has no experience with SA, announced their candidacy last week in the Maxwell Atrium.

“I stand here today because I know that many of you are either unaware or disenchanted by the way Student Association has conducted itself in the past,” Mastoloni said during his announcement speech. “Let me tell you that will change under our leadership.”

Mastoloni said both he and Brosofsky would not immediately continue initiatives started by current SA President Aysha Seedat and Vice President Jane Hong. If elected, Mastoloni said, they will assess these initiatives before deciding whether it is best in their opinion to continue them.

This is in contrast to Evangelista and LaLonde, who said they will continue the initiatives started by Seedat and Hong in order to have “a smooth transition.”

Both Mastoloni and Brosofsky have had experience both inside and outside of SA.

Mastoloni first got involved with SA during his freshman year and continued his involvement until he went abroad to London last semester. During his time with SA, he served on the Student Life Committee, which serves “to be in sync with what students want and what students need from SA,” he said in an interview with The Daily Orange.

Brosofsky started her involvement with SA a couple weeks into her freshman year as an assembly representative. She then became the vice chair of the former Student Engagement Committee. When that committee was removed, Brosofsky became a member and then vice chair of the Board of Elections and Membership.

“That gave me great insight into the structure of SA and what type of people we’re looking for to lead our students and really forming the relationship between our actual representatives and the board,” Brosofsky said in an interview with The Daily Orange.

She added that she took a semester off from SA in the fall to be president of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.

The two decided to run together for SA president and vice president because of their previous involvement in SA and their experience working together on a number of SA initiatives. Through that, Mastoloni said he and Brosofsky have developed a “good team bond.”

Their campaign platform consists of four “simple, but essential” pillars: culture, community, diversity and safety.

Under culture, Mastoloni and Brosofsky said they want to make sure facilities are up-to-date and ensure the administration is giving proper attention to students’ needs.

The pair wants to strengthen SU’s sense of community with initiatives such as a start-up innovation series that would allow students to field their ideas through friendly competition. They also want to establish a flea market where students can sell their unwanted textbooks directly to other students.

For their diversity pillar, the pair would like to create a Diversity Outreach Committee so that they can better understand the different groups of people at SU.

Finally, for safety, their main initiative is the installment of more blue light stations in the off-campus areas where many students live.

The pair will also launch an initiative in which they will visit various recognized student organizations (RSOs) and other student organizations at SU to understand and become better equipped to meet their needs.

Brosofsky said she thinks she and Mastoloni have the most “unique” leadership experiences and that is why they should be elected.

“We’ve been in Student Association and then taken time off and out of it to just be regular students to see that perspective of SA, so I think that’s really unique compared to the other candidates who are either completely in Student Association or maybe never been in SA at all,” Brosofsky said. “I think that’s what makes us different and sets us apart from the pack.”

Published on March 7, 2016 at 8:22 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann