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Syracuse University’s Student Association promoted its upcoming events for Latine Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Week during its Monday night meeting. The assembly also filled its final open Finance Board seat.

During his weekly executive report, SA President German Nolivos encouraged assembly members to attend the university’s inaugural Latine Heritage Month Comedy Night. The performer has yet to be announced, but the association has high expectations for turnout, he said.

“This person is really good,” Nolivos said. “We are sure that this event will sell out in the first couple hours we put (tickets) out.”

The show is the result of collaboration between SA, BIPOC Student Success Programs and Services, the Barnes Center at The Arch and Orange After Dark, Nolivos said. The event will mark the end of Mental Health Awareness Week in addition to celebrating LHM.

It will be held in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center on Oct. 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets will be free for SU students, but SA expects space to be limited, he said.

Anna Mirer, SA’s vice president of university affairs, arranged the rest of the association’s Mental Health Awareness Week planning. At the meeting, assembly members passed a bill funding the week’s programming, including its main event, Butterflies and Bedtime Slumber Party. The party aims to help students relax and find support from their peers, Mirer said.

“We all have a butterfly effect, or ripple effect, on each other’s lives when we do small acts of kindness to support each other, especially when we’re going through it and when school is really rough,” Mirer said. “It matters when we can come together and do cool, comforting things and stray away from just the stressful hustle and bustle.”

Mental Health Awareness Week will run from Oct. 21 to 26. SA will use a majority of the approved funds toward the slumber party, which will include a screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mirer said. Other activities will include journal decorating, a fort-building competition and yoga.

The slumber party is a collaborative effort between SA, the Barnes Center and several registered student organizations, Mirer said.

Later in the meeting, the assembly appointed Emmy Njue, a senior majoring in finance and business analytics, to the final empty seat in SA’s Finance Board. Njue and Wilfredo Cruz, a senior studying economics and international relations, ran for the position.

Njue and Cruz each delivered a speech and answered questions from the assembly before members voted.

Njue previously served on SA’s Finance Board but left when she studied abroad last semester, she said. She had to re-run for the position, in accordance with SA’s bylaws.

During her statement to the assembly, Njue emphasized her goals of being fair and equitable in Finance Board decisions and strictly reviewing SA and SU fiscal codes. Njue also said she wants to improve the transparency of the review process for RSOs, as many have said they felt frustrated by denials of semester funding allocations.

She said she empathizes with students who may feel disconnected from the semester allocation process and offered herself as a resource to answer questions.

“Sometimes people feel like the Finance Board has been a bit mystified and a bit secretive, and they don’t really understand the ins-and-outs and how to ensure that they’re having successful fiscal requests,” Njue said.

Other Business:

• Nolivos and SA Vice President Reed Granger said SU’s Student Advisory Council met with Dean of Students Sheriah Dixon on Friday to discuss the feedback collected from the No Problem Too Small Initiative. They discussed concerns surrounding dorm safety, food accessibility and access to doctor appointments, Granger said.
• SA approved a bill to fund supplies for the Fall Into Action initiative, a series of events to celebrate the fall season. SA Senator Kate Richter, who organized the initiative, highlighted plans for “ready-jars” of non-perishable fall food items.

Published on October 8, 2024 at 12:48 am

Contact Anna: aclevitt@syr.edu