A few months ago, Eric Evangelista and Joyce LaLonde had never met each other, but on Monday, they announced they would be running as a team for president and vice president, respectively, of Syracuse University’s Student Association.

Evangelista, a junior history and political science dual major, and LaLonde, a junior policy studies and public relations dual major, announced their campaign for president and vice president for the 60th Session of SA to a crowd of about 30 students on Monday at 11 a.m. in the Maxwell Atrium.

Evangelista and LaLonde met through a mutual friend when Evanglista was looking for a running mate, Evangelista said. That friend, a former member of SA, introduced the two to discuss the possibility of them running together. Now, they are the first students to announce their candidacy for this round of elections for SA president and vice president.

LaLonde has no experience with SA, but Evangelista is currently the longest-serving member of the organization, Evangelista said.

Since the first week of his freshman year, Evangelista has been involved in SA, he said. Throughout his time with SA, he has served as vice chair of student engagement and director of recognized student organization outreach. Now, he is the SA recorder.

Although she has never been involved in SA, LaLonde said she has participated in several organizations on the SU campus and in the Syracuse community, including University 100, the Boys and Girls Club and Nourish International. She is also an Orientation Leader.

LaLonde said in an interview with The Daily Orange that she thinks her and Evangelista’s relationship is “very unique in the balance that we have” because of the institutional background Evangelista provides through his SA knowledge and experience, and her experience with various student organizations and campus life.

“Just balancing those two, I think that’s very unique and brings a different perspective to Student Association that’s needed,” LaLonde said.

The pair’s campaign platform is called CARE, which stands for “Committed to collaboration, Anti-discriminatory, Ready for reform and Excited for excellence.” Evangelista and LaLonde said they have organized their platform and all of their policy positions under these four sections.

If elected, though, Evangelista said he and LaLonde will each be in charge of their own initiatives.

“What’s really great about Joyce and I, besides working really well together and just really, really respecting each other so much, is that we have very different viewpoints on a whole variety of issues, which means that we are not only able to cover more of what the students care about … but we are also going to be able to address different types of issues that we see as being important,” Evangelista said.

Evangelista and LaLonde said that if elected into office, they will continue the initiatives that current SA President Aysha Seedat and Vice President Jane Hong have worked on during their tenure. Seedat and Hong have worked on several initiatives during their tenure, including implementing a bike share program, increasing Carrier Dome accessibility for people with disabilities and adding heat lamps to all of the campus bus stops.

“I think it’s really important that Eric and I are coming in, and we’re not gonna just dictate all these new things that are ours,” LaLonde said. “It’s so important to have this smooth transition.”

One of the issues Evangelista said he would like to see addressed is the fact that Bird Library closes at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, whereas Kimmel Dining Hall is open until 3 a.m. on the same days.

He added that he would also like to see increased printing capabilities in every academic building on campus for undergraduate students at SU.

LaLonde said one of her favorite initiatives that she is working on for the campaign is the concept of SU as one university. She has attended meetings held by the Chancellor’s Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion to better understand what it means to be a member of the SU community, she said.

She added that she also wants to tie this initiative into the accessibility of resources on the SU campus. She said she wants to see the freshman year forum that includes freshmen from all schools and colleges allow different resource centers the opportunity to give presentations about the services they offer.

One of the resource centers LaLonde would like students at SU to know more about is the Counseling Center because she said access to mental health care is “super important.”

“How can we make the Counseling Center come to the students and how can we make them be there for us in a better location?” LaLonde said. “… If that’s not the answer, then how can we work with the Counseling Center to get the students care on or off campus that they need? It’s just really important and something that’s often overlooked when it cannot be.”

LaLonde said she is also passionate about bringing the SU campus to the greater Syracuse community, and vice versa. She said it’s important to give back to the community “that’s done so much for us.”

“There’s a whole host of things that we want to work on, but we’re just trying to scratch the surface right now as we’re getting into the nitty gritty of the campaign,” Evangelista said.

Published on February 29, 2016 at 11:21 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann