SGA strives for campus visibility, targets concrete change in 70th session
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As a new academic year begins, Student Government Association President Emily Castillo-Melean and Executive Vice President Max Lachut said Syracuse University’s SGA is already developing initiatives aimed at increasing its visibility on campus and turning student complaints into concrete change.
Castillo-Melean and Lachut, longtime members of SGA, were sworn into the 70th session last spring during the semester’s final meeting. The pair said they’re used to working together and will both work to prioritize student engagement as well as input through their campus projects during their term.
This week, SGA is hosting its “Stop By and Say Hi” tabling event outside Schine Student Center during the first week of classes, where members share information about services like the grocery trolley, hand out free items and offer golf cart rides to get students around campus.
SGA’s priority of visibility ties directly into the “Promise to Progress” campaign Castillo-Melean and Lachut ran on to gain their current positions. The campaign centered on the three pillars of connection, clarity and commitment to the student body.
“We don’t want to just say platitudes and go about our day. We want to actually make change and make progress,” Lachut said. “Every single thing that we do here to make students’ lives better usually starts with students coming to us with a problem that they want us to fix. We’re only as good as the pulse that we have on the student body.”
SGA has also restructured internally this year, adding several new boards and positions, including a press secretary, and expanded the public health team. Additionally, SGA added a new campus traditions board in hopes of reaching “different areas of campus that, in the past, maybe haven’t been so engaged with SGA,” Castillo-Melean said.
SGA’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Beckam Polis said the new public health director position under the Community and Government Affairs Office has worked over the summer to plan a “Bystanding Training” initiative to implement this semester.
“We are currently hammering down the details and plan to partner with other organizations on campus including Syracuse University Ambulance and End Overdose,” Polis said in a statement to The Daily Orange.
SGA is also beginning the year with a free textbook giveaway this Friday, Sept. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first floor of Bird Library, distributing roughly 40 textbooks collected from students last semester as part of the group’s ongoing Textbook Affordability initiative, Polis said.
“This will be our committee’s first event of the year,” Polis said. “We plan to grow this initiative this year so that we can reach more students and repurpose many of the textbooks that are used on campus.”
With a new freshman class settling in, SGA’s leadership also had plenty of advice for getting involved.
“Get out there.” Castillo-Melean said. “You have such a big support group on campus. My biggest advice is get out of your dorm as much as you can. Don’t be afraid to just walk up to someone. Get out of your comfort zone as much as you can.”
Lachut agreed, pointing to the “low-stakes” nature of trying new things freshman year. As first year university students, there is an immense opportunity to try many things, including checking out the over 300 organizations SU offers.
Looking ahead, Castillo-Melean and Lachut said they want to ensure students have an “amazing” university experience.
“I’m just so excited to meet as many students as possible and hear what their concerns are and how we can help,” Lachut said.
The first SGA assembly meeting will be held Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Maxwell Auditorium.
