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During their meeting Monday night, Syracuse University’s Student Association instituted a new code of accountability for SA members.

SA President David Bruen introduced the 65th Session Standing Rules, which are guidelines for members of SA to abide by during their tenures. 

The rules included a new point-based accountability system. Members will receive “points” for fulfilling their SA obligations, and unexcused absences will cause them to lose points. An excused absence will not change their total of points.

The rules did not specify what measures will be taken if an SA member loses a certain number of points. The standard of points expected for members will be decided at a later date by the director of internal operations, speaker and chief justice. 

Bruen also announced new ethical standards adjudicated through the SA Supreme Court, requiring members to act “professionally” and warning against “discriminatory behavior”.

The rules were passed unanimously.

Yasmin Nayrouz, the vice president of the university affairs, announced that the group’s plans to hold a Mental Health Awareness Week in the beginning of October are progressing. She also emphasized the importance of SA participation in community events.

“Community engagement should be all of us here,” said William Treloar, chair of the Community Engagement and Government Affairs Committee. “We should have as many SA members out there as possible.”

Bruen said that several SA positions still need to be filled, and 26 out of the 41 available Assembly seats are also vacant, Speaker Thomas Simmons said. 

Additionally, there is still an open position for a Board of Trustees representative. Former SA President Jeremy Golden recently said that SA should not send a representative to the board until it allows students to have a vote. The board, which does not currently have any student voting members, previously rejected SA’s proposal that called for a student vote on the board.

Other news:

• Fiona Thayer, director of the sustainability committee, announced the committee’s plans to release a survey to the student body to collect information on what the campus can do to improve sustainability later this week.
• The Office of Multicultural Affairs will have its grand opening at 119 Euclid Ave. on Tuesday, said Malique Lewis, vice president of diversity and inclusion.
• SA Vice President Darnelle Stinfort said more should be done following SA’s advocacy for Hurricane Ida relief, and she said she would look into resources to provide aid to victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Disclaimer: Yasmin Nayrouz was a staff writer for The Daily Orange. Nayrouz no longer writes for The D.O. and has no bearing on editorial content.

Clarification: In a previous version of this post, it stated there were 15 vacant seats in the SA Assembly. There are 26 vacancies. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 7, 2021 at 12:59 am

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2