While SUNY-ESF has gone through changes in the past year, including the introduction of a new president, its Undergraduate Student Association is attempting to rediscover its place on campus.

This year the organization has been focusing on internal restructuring within USA, said P.J. Connell, who is the group’s president. Connell said he believes that some of the group’s constitution and bylaws are a little outdated, and he is working to update them. Additionally, USA has done marketing and research on campus as Connell has found that across the board, USA does not necessarily understand the role it plays on campus.

“What we’ve done best this year is feeling the pulse of the campus. It’s been survey after survey and making sure that we know what’s going on,” Connell said. “My first term was focused on understanding what the students wanted and this term is actually doing it.”

One of the newest additions to the student association was SER, the Society for Ecological Restoration, which is the student chapter of a global organization that focuses on reducing unsustainable activities that affect marine, terrestrial and aquatic environments. The organization was approved as a recognized student organization by USA in the fall but had existed on campus prior to its application to the organization this year. A tweet from the SER Twitter account on Feb. 13 announced the addition of USA as a member.

“I was deeply impressed by their presentation of their constitution and bylaws; it was really thorough, really well thought out and no one had any opposition to it,” said Connell. “They’ve already done a bunch of great things on campus, even without a budget and they’re already making themselves a really great name.”

Due to the way the budget is structured, first year organizations are not allowed to receive funding from USA for one fiscal year. Dom Delaney, vice president of USA, said that one focus of the organization will be to give SER a budget.

“They will be able to go to budget hearings and apply for more money and hopefully they’ll continue to do more service and provide more opportunities for students to get involved in ecological restoration and reach out to the community,” Delaney said.

Prior to joining USA, SER had established a name for themselves on campus through activity fairs, guest speakers and fundraising.

“They’ve established a brand for themselves as a legitimate organization. Some clubs that have been recognized for years still aren’t at that level,” Connell said.

He added that the future of SER will be bright as its focus will be helping to educate the campus and increasing membership. Currently, SER is playing a large role in the Edible Campus Initiative which involves many clubs across campus joining together with graduate students to try to find ways to have the plants around campus be edible.

The inclusion of SER to the Undergraduate Student Association is only one of the many steps the organization is taking in an attempt to reinvent its brand.

“We’re doing strategic planning until 2020,” Delaney said. He said he believes that USA is approaching a new phase and trying to figure out the bigger picture of what SUNY-ESF is going to be in the near future.

Said Delaney: “We want students to have input on what they want our campus and what they want our college and education to be like for the next five years because it impacts all of us.”

Published on February 23, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Anjali: acalwis@syr.edu