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Syracuse University’s Student Association closed its 2021-22 election polls on Thursday with 10.2% of the vote to elect David Bruen, Darnelle Stintfort and Nyah Jones as president, vice president and comptroller, respectively, in an uncontested election. We call SA a government, one which advocates for student interests above all else. However, it cannot possibly advocate for those interests without the voice of the student body. 

There will be some who argue that this turnout was directly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet I believe that it is a symptom of poor public relations and student apathy, which cannot be solved without direct policy changes. 

Despite COVID-19, it is clear that we are not doing enough with our funding and influence to energize and engage student voters, let alone affect the campus environment. There are new paths that we must pursue to live up to the promise that we have made to the student body, including overhauling our public relations strategies and reforming how we budget the money the students have entrusted to us. 

SA receives over $200 of each undergraduate student’s money each year. I believe that some of this should be refunded when you vote. In my time as an SA Assembly representative, it seems that this money is often misused or taken for granted. 

Giving a portion of the student activity fee back to the students for voting would reduce government bloat and encourage the student body to hold SA accountable in elections. This would be the greatest way to have a significant increase in turnout: not paying people to vote, but giving them back their well-deserved money for supporting democracy.

Secondly, voting must be moved over to Blackboard. Some members of the university may push back against this, but this would be because they know that Blackboard has far more student activity and publicity than MySlice. The frequent surveys that professors send out are proof that this transition would be seamless. At the least, the website (sa.syr.edu) could be made a permanent link on Blackboard and MySlice. We are looking for ease of access, with fewer barriers to learn about the organization.

In addition, our first-year students aren’t educated about their rights and responsibilities, including the significant financial obligations that SA has toward them. By ensuring that students are informed on our role in their experience early within their college years, our government will be held accountable into the future.

Last but certainly not least, there are little things that can be accomplished without the aid of the university and its resources. For example, The Daily Orange’s news articles should link SA’s website in articles about SA such as this. Flyers in residential halls should be more apparent, not hung in trash cans near the exits.

The recent voter turnout for both the new constitution and the administration demonstrates that SA, a representative body, must prove its commitment to its community. Our failure to have an adequate presence on campus is a crisis within our identity as a representative body. A crisis that calls for bold solutions.

Maximus Short ‘24

Student Association Assembly Representative

Published on May 3, 2021 at 11:02 pm