SA fills appointed internal, USen positions in first general assembly meeting
Solange Jain | Asst. Photo Editor
Student Association voted in two new cabinet members, three justices and filled three USen seats. Along with the appointments, President Nolivos and Vice President Reed also gave their first executive report of the fall semester.
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Syracuse University’s Student Association held its first general assembly meeting of the academic year on Monday evening. The meeting began with the appointments of multiple cabinet, judicial and University Senate positions.
SA members voted in two people to its cabinet, three to its judicial branch and three to its open USen seats. Following its internal appointments, the association still has 10 additional USen seats left to fill. All of Monday’s appointees ran uncontested.
SA President German Nolivos and Vice President Reed Granger also introduced their legislative agenda for the fall semester to the assembly. The agenda highlighted the association’s recent involvement in First Year Seminar classes and a “lending closet” initiative, and encouraged the use of the Corq app to access on-campus student activity information.
“We have been working really hard these past couple weeks, including the summer, to make sure that everyone in our cabinet and everyone working with us hit the floor running with everything,” Nolivos said.
The association appointed Anna Ginelli, a senior studying political science and magazine, news and digital journalism, as chief of staff in SA’s cabinet. In a speech to the assembly, Ginelli highlighted her previous experience in the association, as she served as its speaker of the assembly last fall.
SA’s new communications director, the second cabinet position filled Monday, will be senior public relations student María Fernandez Quiñones. In her role, Fernandez Quiñones will be responsible for managing SA’s social media presence and facilitating communications between the association and the student body, Nolivos said.
Cabinet position approvals were followed by judiciary position nominees. Gustavo Madero, a senior who has been on the court since his sophomore year, was named chief justice of SA’s supreme court, the highest position in its judiciary. Bijan Starr and Nicholas Bula were named deputy justice and associate justice, respectively.
Seniors Zach Murray and Abi Greenfield were appointed to USen. Sophomore Tim Wong, SA’s current speaker pro tempore, was the third appointee to the senate.
Along with multiple new position appointments, Nolivos and Reed also delivered their first executive report of the semester.
Granger said one of SA’s new goals is to introduce the association to first-year students during the mandatory FYS 101 classes. Granger said they were inspired to pursue the endeavor due to her previous experience working on the university’s FYS undergraduate advisory board.
“(The introduction) is not like a ‘Hey, join Student Association,’ but, more of a ‘Here’s what we do for registered student organizations, here is the information on who you ask whenever it comes to funding for your organization,’” Granger said.
Nolivos discussed the association’s new RSO lending closet initiative, a joint project between the association and SU’s Student Engagement office. The program will encourage student organizations to reuse and repurpose materials they purchase for one-time events. Under the new project, RSOs can borrow used materials from other groups rather than purchasing new ones entirely, he said.
The president also said he is hopeful that the lending closet will benefit student organizations in environmental sustainability, something SA emphasized during its last session, and in saving money, he said.
The lending closet project’s relationship to Cuse Activities is part of a larger push to streamline student organization events and initiatives, Nolivos said. He also urged assembly members to log upcoming events for their respective RSOs using the Corq app.
“These organizations are buying material for their events that they only use once, and then they have it in their closet forever,” Nolivos said. “The idea is that we’re building a system inside of Cuse Activities so RSO leaders can land their own stuff … but also be able to request other items from other organizations, including the Student Association.”
Other Business:
- Nolivos outlined rollover budget allocations, granting $20,000 to hold SU’s second annual Calentón Music Fest, $50,000 to a comedy show for mental health awareness, $10,000 to Harvest Fest and a $100,000 set aside for the Finance Board’s upcoming semester allocations.
- Nolivos promoted SU’s Latine Heritage Month events and celebrations. Sept. 16 marks the opening ceremony, which will be held starting at 2 p.m. in the Schine Student Center atrium.
Published on September 10, 2024 at 1:34 am
Contact Anna: aclevitt@syr.edu
