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Syracuse University’s Student Association has hosted two town hall meetings in the fall 2021 semester. SA President David Bruen said that SA plans to have at least three more town hall meetings in the spring semester.

“When Darnelle (Stinfort, SA vice president) and I were running for these positions, we made a promise, a commitment, that we would have town halls,” Bruen said.

Following an assault that occurred on Marshall Street in October, the first town hall meeting was sparked by campus safety concerns. Along with the attack, SA discussed a rapid increase in crime in the city of Syracuse, on- and off-campus theft and gun incidents. Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado provided updates at the town hall.

“I think it (the first town hall) was extremely valuable because the chief was able to come and candidly explain the situation in an amount of detail that he did not get into in the emails,” Bruen said.

Bruen said that one of SA’s goals is to inform more people about what is happening on campus in a detailed manner.

“We want to continue these town halls, promoting them and making them accessible because it shouldn’t just be the few people that come to the town hall that have that access to information,” Bruen said.

The second town hall meeting discussed topics including sexual violence, campus dining halls and SU’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Plan. SA created an ad hoc committee to review the university’s DEIA plan in early November.

The town hall also discussed students’ concerns about the campus dining halls, including concerns about food options, sustainability and budgeting numbers of meals. Bruen said that he believes Jon Webster, SU’s executive director of hospitality, will bring positive changes to the dining halls soon.

Once students return to campus after winter break, the first town hall meeting will focus on campus organizational culture and student organizations, Bruen said. From there, SA plans to send out a survey and solicit feedback from that town hall to set the agenda for the following town halls.

“We can make a lot more ground and be a lot more substantive in the time that we have if we focus on one particular issue,” Bruen said.

Published on December 9, 2021 at 12:55 am

Contact Hannah: hcferrer@syr.edu