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student association

SA explains how students can provide input

Elizabeth Billman | Asst. Photo Editor

The ability to provide public comment is stated in SA’s bylaws and has been in practice for years.

By Maggie HicksSenior staff writer

Student Association discussed how students can provide input at the Assembly’s Monday meeting.

Undergraduate students at Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF have full speaking rights during meetings and are welcome to attend, said Parliamentarian Josh Shub-Seltzer after the meeting.

“We are in a location that is much harder to get to this year, and that is something that we are grappling with as an organization in terms of getting people here to check in rather than just being able to come see us in Schine,” Shub-Seltzer said.

During the public comment period at Monday’s meeting, two event coordinators from Slow Food Syracuse University brought up concerns about a denied request for funding. Slow Food is a nationwide organization that emphasizes cooking with local ingredients.

The two coordinators claimed their funding request was denied due to a lack of proof of transportation to their event. Slow Food arranged for executive board members to bring their own private cars to the event, which is allowed in the Office of Student Activities handbook, they said.



The event chairs expressed frustration during Monday’s meeting with the SA website as well as with SA communications. They said they were unable to hold their event due to the lack of funding.

Shub-Seltzer, SA Comptroller Stacy Omosa and SA President Mackenzie Mertikas apologized for the misunderstanding and lack of communication. Shub-Seltzer and Omosa also set up a meeting with Slow Food to discuss what went wrong and how they can improve communication in the future.

“The public comment area is for anyone to speak about what they want to speak about,” Mertikas said. “We want to make that clear to all students on campus who have any kind of concerns, issues, or questions for the SA.”

Other business:

  • Mertikas and SA Vice President Sameeha Saied addressed the recent relocation of the 2020 Commencement ceremony. Mertikas said she attended a meeting for the Campus Facilities Advisory Board last week and brought up various student concerns regarding the relocation. The board said it would get back to her by Tuesday night, she said.
  • Members of the Community Engagement Committee said they are starting to plan the second annual Thankful for Syracuse Food Drive, held in November. The committee is hoping to focus this year’s event on food justice awareness and food deserts in the greater Syracuse area.
  • The Stop the Stigma concert for Mental Health Awareness Week is officially set to take place Oct. 10 at Hendricks Chapel.
  • The Community Engagement Committee proposed funding for an interactive student art project where students can bring up problems they face as members of the Syracuse community and propose a solution for those problems. The funding will be voted on at Monday’s meeting.
  • Assembly members voted to approve the allocation of $5,000 in funds to support the Get Yourself Tested initiative.
  • The Assembly approved funding for home football games this season. SA representatives will be handing out tickets later this week on the Quad for the upcoming game against Holy Cross.





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