The Syracuse University Graduate Student Organization passed a resolution Wednesday night encouraging Chancellor Kent Syverud to investigate what happened in Crouse-Hinds Hall this past weekend.

On Friday night, university officials delivered copies of the student code of conduct to student protesters in Crouse-Hinds, where a sit-in has been held for the past two weeks. When a law professor tried to enter the building on Saturday to discuss the code of conduct with students, she was turned away by Department of Public Safety officials.

Crouse-Hinds closed at 5 p.m. on Friday. Students were allowed to stay in the building over the weekend and could leave at any time but were not allowed to re-enter until Monday morning.

“The resolution broadly acknowledges that the chancellor himself has been dealing with THE General Body very equitably and very fairly and he legitimately has the best interest of students in mind,” said Patrick Neary, president of the GSO. “Because of that we are calling on the chancellor to investigate how things have been handled over the last weekend and essentially report back on potential improvements.”

The resolution, titled, “A Resolution Concerning University Actions Relating to the Student Protestors” was passed without amendment.

Neary said the resolution says the actions of the administration, specifically not allowing legal counsel to the protesters, were ill advised.

“Resolved, that we respectfully ask the chancellor to investigate his administrative team’s response to the student protests, and to provide a written report that specifically addresses concerns of disrespectful administrative conduct,” says the resolution.

The resolution also asks Syverud to hold an open forum where he can receive feedback from the SU community and to create an ombudsperson position to protect student rights and interests. An ombudsperson is a public official who acts as an impartial intermediary.

GSO also voted on several other resolutions that deal with issues raised by THE General Body:

• A resolution supporting the hiring of an Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator was passed without amendment.
• A resolution supporting an increase in mental health services was passed without amendment.
• A resolution supporting an increase to library funding was withdrawn until January.
• A resolution supporting the proposed teaching assistant pay increase was passed with some modifications. The resolution calls for a 7 percent increase in the minimum TA and resident adviser stipend for the next fiscal year and a 6.25 percent increase the year after. These two increases would make the minimum stipend approximately equal to the living wage for the Syracuse area, Neary said.

Published on November 19, 2014 at 11:16 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306