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In a follow-up to the Student Association’s last meeting of the fall semester, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Jamie Winders gave a presentation on Syracuse University’s updated Academic Strategic Plan draft released Feb. 17 to SA during Monday night’s meeting.

The initial draft of the ASP, a five-year plan which outlines the University’s academic plans, was published on Feb. 17 after seeking faculty and student feedback. Members of ASP previously asked for SA feedback in November 2022 when members discussed issues including global engagement, enrollment strategy, budget resources and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

Winders emphasized the importance of SA’s work and contributions on Monday, and explained that the plan is set to impact the student experience academically and the culture at SU.

“What we want to commit to is really orienting the curriculum and our academic programs toward fostering a stronger sense of belonging for all of our students, and toward helping them find ways to work with us to ensure equitable and transparent access for all of our students to all of our offerings,” Winders said.

After Winders’ presentation, SA members pooled ideas and feedback for potential next steps to submit to the plan in groups with faculty members involved in the ASP committees.

Last week, SA President David Bruen traveled to Washington, D.C. with other student leaders to attend the National Pathways Summit, an event that promotes major U.S. education reform.

The summit discussed alternative pathways for K-12 students, Bruen said, which included ways to get rid of social and cultural expectations that students attend four-year colleges and universities after high school. They suggested putting more emphasis on trade schools and community colleges, Bruen said, and which he pointed to as more financially attainable post-secondary education options for many Americans.

Bruen emphasized that he hopes to continue working on projects outside of SU, and said he urges other SA members to do the same.

“I think the extent of our advocacy should not be limited by the bounds of this campus, and should not be bound by the fact that we’re only in college now,” Bruen said.

SA also passed its bill addressing Syracuse’s lead crisis during the meeting. With this bill, Bruen said he hopes to move forward in SA’s lead crisis initiative by communicating SA’s concerns with city leaders.

“As I recall, there was a question about what the next steps would be and what the mission of this bill is,” Bruen said. “And it’s really just to get a coherent and consistent opinion of the organization so that we can move forward as executives to write letters and advocate to community partners on this issue.”

Board of Elections Chair Otto Sutton announced an ongoing investigation into an assembly member’s alleged violation in the election process. Election candidates Elliot Salas and Brendan Murty were accused of a false vote in which an individual was on their voting ticket when they did not want to be. They were fined $10 and suspended from SA activities for the next two days. Sutton told the assembly that the investigation documents were available, but said he was not able to discuss any further specifics relating to the investigation.

Other business:

SA will hold a Spring Formal in Goldstein Auditorium on Friday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., which it planned and is hosting in collaboration with Orange After Dark.

Syracuse Graduate Employees United is hosting “Prep for the Polls Party!” Wednesday on the Shaw Quadrangle from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. SGEU will provide free donuts and coffee in celebration of the vote on April 3 and 4 to officially unionize.

The assembly passed the Sustainability Peer to Peer Funding bill, which sets up an event for students to discuss sustainability on campus and work towards building more sustainable lifestyles. SA will fund food and drinks for the event.

Published on March 21, 2023 at 1:03 am

Contact Roxanne: rmboychu@syr.edu