Transcript: Student Association hopefuls Ghufran Salih and Kyle Rosenblum sit down with The Daily Orange Editorial Board
Editor’s note: The Daily Orange Editorial Board interviewed the three sets of presidential and vice presidential candidates running for the Student Association’s 62nd session. In an effort to provide transparency in the editorial board’s endorsement decision, The D.O. has published the transcript of each interview. The following interview has been edited for clarity.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What do you believe are the biggest issues facing student life at Syracuse University, and how do you plan to address them?
Kyle Rosenblum: I think that one of the biggest ones is the tuition increase, like even though it doesn’t affect us with the $3,300 increase, that’s a lot, and the effect that is going to have on incoming students is still important, and I think that considering how there’s a lot of students that are paying for college themselves … that’s something that really needs to be addressed in one way or another. So, we’ve talked about how we want to push the administration to release a detailed cost report that’s actually telling us where that money’s going. Why are these tuition increases happening? Yes, they’re funding Invest Syracuse, but what specifically is Invest Syracuse funding? Rather than just these vague ideas (that are) on the Invest Syracuse website. Right now we are looking to push the administration for more detailed numbers and reports about where that’s going.
Ghufran Salih: And that also has kind of a direct effect on student body that’s coming in. If the tuition increases and there’s not a lot of sustainable scholarships to help students pay for it, it kind of just has an effect on what kind of students get to come to Syracuse, because those that have a lower socioeconomic class don’t really have the advantage of getting those scholarships, maybe a full ride or a partial ride to come to Syracuse, and that’s so important because it also kind of lowers our diversity on campus, which is something we’ve talked about in the past.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What would you say are three tangible things you would want to improve in the undergraduate experience at SU?
K.R.: I think one of the easiest things to talk about is the First-Year Forum just because that is such an introduction to Syracuse for all incoming students, and I know that’s being looked at this summer, so that’s going to be really important for whoever is elected. It’s going to be important for them to have their voices on there and to make sure it’s being shaped into something that’s really addressing what needs to be addressed. So, we talked about making sure that there are programs included within the First-Year Forum that are addressing diversity and inclusion on campus, that are addressing things like resources and making it known and available about the Disability Cultural Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the LGBT (Resource) Center and the Slutzker Center (for International Services), making the resources known as well as fostering an environment where students can kind of talk about what they want to see from Syracuse and how to better make Syracuse feel like a home for all students.
G.S.: And kind of sticking with the whole curriculum thing, is taking a look at every college and school’s diversity requirements because a lot of schools kind of just go by using diversity requirements that aren’t really that diverse. My diversity requirement is American history. I’m in America, I’m an American citizen. I know about American history. But it’s about encouraging other students to go into classes like Native American studies or African American studies or religious studies and really encouraging the student body to have a full college experience because that’s so important, and that kind of goes along with the academic experience that students have here on campus.
K.R.: So, the third one, I would think is — I’m pretty sure The Daily Orange wrote about the fan-first pricing model. I think I saw it in a newspaper earlier this year. But we were talking about trying to implement that here. Just in case any of you weren’t aware of what (the fan-first pricing model) is — the Atlanta Falcons implemented that in their new stadium, and essentially what it did is lower concession prices to what they should be, like $2 for a hot dog, $2 for soda, $3 for nachos. And that would really benefit undergraduate students because you’re going to a game and you want to buy food, and right now food is really expensive. (Carrier Dome) nachos are like $7.50. That’s a lot of money for Dome nachos. So, if we can lower the concession prices, it makes food at games more accessible to students. And the Atlanta Falcons saw their profits rise up to the first year with that new program. So you get more money for the university as well as increase the affordability of food at games for students.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What experiences have you both had that would help you in leading SA?
G.S.: So I have had no prior SA experience. I’ve been to a couple meetings, and I’ve seen how it works. I’ve talked to a couple Assembly members and Cabinet members, but I think what really brings me out as a candidate is I work for Student Centers & Programming Services. I work for the event and technical services department, which has me work hands-on with organizations putting on events that they’ve been planning for months. And that’s me seeing them go through the struggles of seeing — for example, one thing that we talked about was ASL interpreters. They’re really hard to come by at the university. I’ve seen the struggles that some events have come by in terms of those organizations, maybe not having ASL interpreters and coming into a bit of a problem or just that sense of affordability, because they are expensive because they have to hire them from a third-party company. So, from ETS I get to see how these organizations function, how they solve problems and what they really need from Student Association because I’ve seen the frustrations. But I’ve also seen the final product of events that they put on. My freshman year, my first event that I ever worked was Pride Union’s drag show. I got to meet Trixie Mattel and Milk, and it was amazing, and at the end everyone on the e-board was smiling and were so happy because they put on this event, and that’s something that’s been so invaluable to my college experience. I sat on the board of the Muslim Students Association as the public relations director, so I got to talk to a lot of different religious chaplaincies. I developed a close relationship with (Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol) and my own chaplain, Amir (Duric), and it was just one of the best experiences. I’m also an Orientation Leader and involved in First Year Players, which has me work with first-year students and see them grow, which is something that is so great to see in the students.
K.R.: I am the co-chair for the health and wellness subcommittee, which is a subcommittee of the Student Life committee within Student Association, and through that role — obviously, it’s not the same as the Assembly experience — but I have been able to get this hands-on experience with how Student Association operates from that subcommittee level. I’ve been working with my co-chair, Mackenzie Mertikas, right now on creating a stressbuster event for the end of the semester, so I’m learning about what goes into planning an event through Student Association, how to get funding through Student Association, how to go through the right processes to order things to come to campus. I’ve also been involved with working on the peer listening service through that co-chair position. I’ve been working really closely with Mackenzie and (SA Vice President Angie Pati) on implementing the peer listening service, and I’m in the process of writing a report right now to work on how we want to see it implemented. So it’s been really amazing to be on that level because I’ve been able to hear what it means to create this report for administrators, what they’re going to listen to, how they’ve responded to it and what we can change moving forward. The other experience I have is I’m programming chair for OrangeSeeds, which is the first-year leadership empowerment program. So, you not only get to interact with those first-year students and kind of learn their experiences as first-year students, but as programming chair I try to bring in speakers from across the university. So we’ve had the opportunity to meet with and talk with and kind of form relationships with different campus officials, like (Associate Dean of Hendricks Chapel Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz), Dean Konkol, (Office of Engagement Programs Director) Syeisha Byrd, different officials across campus. It’s just been a really amazing opportunity getting to work with them and getting to know them. I’m also an Orientation Leader like Ghufran, so I facilitate that first week of move-ins and experience for the first-year students.
G.S.: That’s how we met.
K.R.: Yes, it is.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What are some areas that you would say need to be improved in Student Association, and how would you address them?
G.S.: I think one thing is accessibility to the students. A lot of students are intimidated by what Student Association stands for. It is the (undergraduate student) governing body of the university, and I’ve met people who don’t even know what Student Association is. So making sure that Student Association is well-known in different parts of campus, especially in areas where they may be needed the most by other student organizations who kind of need their support and need their help in order to reach a broader audience on campus, so smaller advocacy organizations, religious, cultural, things like that. Making sure that they know that Student Association is there for them because that’s in the name: Students Association.
K.R.: I also think that there’s a lot of tension within Student Association, and I think that’s not only between members of the Assembly. I think that there’s a lot of tension between the Assembly and Cabinet and even upward on the chain (to) James and Angie. I just think there’s a lot of tension within Student Association right now, and I think that trying to foster a better environment where all the components of Student Association can work more closely together and weakening that divide between Assembly and Cabinet and having them work closer together. I think that could really result in a lot more effective things being accomplished throughout the year. So, that’s kind of what we talked about, how it is. It can be a little bit intimidating. Like, we’ve sat in on Student Association meetings, and there’s sometimes a very intimidating atmosphere for even the Assembly members to kind of put their input in because a lot of times there will be almost a hostility towards other members, which is something that we would like to work on, trying to create a better atmosphere.
G.S.: Within that atmosphere, it goes to the Assembly members themselves, encouraging them because the Cabinet has their committees and then they put on events by themselves and they have their own initiatives, so encouraging the Assembly members for their own home colleges or even for their own interest to do events, to put on something, to have an idea that Student Association can support them on is something that’s so important because it’s their association, too.
The D.O. Editorial Board: The tension, I’m just curious to learn a little more about — you said you’ve noticed it between Assembly members, specifically, and Cabinet — what is the root of the tension, do you think? Is it differences in goals or priorities?
G.S.: Their roles within Student Association differ. I can’t pinpoint exactly — because Cabinet members are selected by the president and vice president, and then the Assembly is elected. So, not everyone bonds and knows how to work together. They’re not really a cohesive unit, and they don’t really have that atmosphere of like, “We’re all here to work together.” It’s kind of like, “Oh, we were elected and we worked hard for this.” But I’ve heard other Cabinet members say, “We also worked hard because we applied for these positions,” and we definitely believe in that. Because we’re both outsiders, we don’t really exactly know the perspective and where the root of that tension, is but it’s definitely visible sometimes in meetings.
The D.O. Editorial Board: If you were elected, how would you approach your relationship with SU leadership, administrators, in terms of advocating for student needs?
G.S.: So, it’s always difficult building relationships with administrators. Me and Kyle have first-hand experience just because we’re students, and sometimes we don’t really know how to approach administrators, but they’re also there to help us. So, going to them and asking them questions about the different programs they have or asking questions about what they do and what they want to see from Student Association and how Student Association can help them, but also putting forth your own ideas and making sure that they understand those because that’s something that’s so important, especially for the students, and making sure that the students’ voices are heard within those meetings.
K.R.: I think that the other thing is it’s about balancing a line between showing respect — because there is a lot of respect that the administration deserves — but also you have to push sometimes because the administration’s going to be hesitant on certain things. They are going to be hesitant on releasing a detailed cost report about where our money is going, but that’s an instance where Ghufran and I, if elected, would have to kind of push the administration for that. But there also needs to be a level of respect in order to successfully work with them and have a close relationship with them to accomplish what we want to accomplish.
The D.O. Editorial Board: And could you describe the SU administration in three words?
G.S.: Are you talking about the offices or —
The D.O. Editorial Board: Like the university leadership, the chancellor’s office, where all the big decisions are made.
G.S.: Passionate is a word that I would use because all of them are passionate about Syracuse University.
K.R.: I would use the word hesitant. I would use it lightly because I do think that they definitely are working towards the best interests of the students, but I do think there’s a lot of times where they’re kind of hesitant to push for certain things. Like I said with the tuition increases, that’s an example. But there are other things as well, like when the peer listening service was first introduced, there was hesitation on the part of the administration to kind of implement that. So, I think that they’re definitely doing really amazing things, and they are a good administration, but there is hesitation on their part for a lot of these different ideas coming from Student Association.
G.S.: And I also think that they’re logical. They want to see facts, they want to see numbers. That’s something that’s so important to administrators, and so if they know that a certain amount of students see that this is a problem, they will be hesitant about it, but they will look into it. But they’re very logical when it comes to the changes that they want to see happen on this campus.
The D.O. Editorial Board: And what would you say (SA President James Franco and Vice President Angie Pati) have done well in leading SA over the past year?
G.S.: From the past administrations they’ve built a partnership. So yes, James is the president and Angie is the vice president, but they both have their own initiatives and they both support each other. And I think that’s something that they did so well is that they work together and they support each other, but they also sometimes challenge each other, which is really important. I know I challenge Kyle a lot. But that’s something that’s so important, that cohesive partnership and especially understanding the person that you’re going to be working with and understanding your own team. I’ve seen them interact with their Cabinet, and they’ve done nothing but be kind and understanding and open to their Cabinet and the rest of the Student Association and all students actually. They always want to listen, they put out their emails to make sure people know like, “Hey, here’s our emails, please contact us if you have any questions.” Their emails are always so personable. You always know that they’re there to help you, so I think that’s something they did right. And also the success of their initiatives, the Euclid Shuttle — I rode the Euclid Shuttle yesterday, it was great. Mental Health Awareness Week was a huge success in my opinion, that so many students came out and did the activities and wore the T-shirts. It was really something to put SA’s name out there and show that they really cared about things like that.
K.R.: Yeah, I think just going off the personability aspect, I think that is so important because I do think that they’ve started working on addressing the intimidation of Student Association as a whole. I think there’s still a long way to go, but I do think they’ve started on that, and I think that starts with them. So like for example, there’s times where I’ll see James in (Panasci Lounge in Schine Student Center) and all of a sudden this student will just recognize him, who he’s never met before, and say, “Hey, I want to see this idea implemented” or “I see this problem with campus,” and he’ll talk to them and be like, “Yeah, here’s my email, let’s talk about it.” It’s just being able to recognize a Syracuse student leader and being able to approach them and talk with them about what you would want to see. I think that is so critical to being able to understand student voices, and then I think that they’re setting the example for the rest of the Student Association. I think by the way they lead with this openness and with this connection to the student body, I think that in turn has become a really important example for the SA Assembly and Cabinet as well.
G.S.: You can see how close they are and how well that they know each other, and that makes you feel like, “Wow, I trust them and how they’re running their legislative session this year.”
The D.O. Editorial Board: What do you think are some things that didn’t work well with them? What would you like to improve?
G.S.: The relationship with SUNY-ESF is something that we definitely want to work on. We sat in on an ESF Undergraduate Student Association meeting, and there was — at that specific meeting there was not an SA representative present, whereas the three meetings that I attended this semester for Student Association, there were ESF students present and being active and asking questions. So, improving relations with ESF is something that’s so important, and that starts with leadership. So if Kyle and I were elected, we would be working really closely with James Quinn, who is the newly elected ESF Undergraduate Student Association president. And I think that setting that example of, “Look, these leaders are getting along,” so pushing our student associations to kind of work together and get to know each other, that’s something that’s so important because it’s laying that foundation of “Let’s go to know each other.” We can do things together and improve the relationship that we have, because ESF is our sister school, our next-door neighbor, our new best friend that we’re trying to get to know better. And building that relationship is so important because ESF students do come to SU and are in so many registered student organizations, like Food Recovery Network, the Quidditch team. We had a SUNY-ESF member of First Year Players, which was awesome. So all of that, but also making sure that SU students know that they can go take a class at ESF and go hang out at ESF, join one of their awesome organizations, stuff like that.
K.R.: Yeah, I think that one of the other things — it wasn’t necessarily something that they did wrong but something that could be improved upon from their administration — is the accessibility of committees in Student Association because you don’t have to be in Assembly or Cabinet to be on a committee or subcommittee, at least within Student Association. And I think that — so this year, for example, I was talking to an InclusiveU student who joined Student Association for the first time, and we would like to expand on that and be able to open that up to more students across campus. We want to see a wider reach of students within Student Association, even if it’s just on a committee or a subcommittee because it is so critical to have these different perspectives and opinions throughout the entire Student Association on all these different issues. So I think that’s something that James and Angie have kind of started, but I definitely think that it’s something that can be expanded a lot and kind of pursued within the next legislative session.
G.S.: Especially encouraging students who are not history or political science or civic engagement or policy studies majors, students who are engineers, or are in (the College of Visual and Performing Arts), or are in the (School of Information Studies) — I love the iSchool, I’m in the iSchool — have them also come in and have their say in how the Student Association is run because it’s for them, too.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What sets you apart from other candidates?
K.R.: So I think that one of the things that I see is that we do have the Student Association experience, with me being the co-chair of a subcommittee, but at the same time it’s not within the Assembly or within Cabinet, so we still have that outsider perspective, and I think that kind of distinguishes us on a very — I don’t want to say surface level — but it’s something that does distinguish us at face value, I would say.
G.S.: Yeah, good job Kyle. Something else I think that we tried to do a little differently, especially with our campaign, was have student voices be heard. Whenever we went on a listening tour with our five themes, the last theme was called the “unwritten theme,” and that’s left for the students to help write, because there are over 15,000 students on campus, and that’s 15,000 lifetimes and perspectives that we can’t understand as two people, and it’s so important to speak up. So, we try as much as possible to talk as little as possible, just to make sure that we’re hearing students and understanding them, and if we say something that sparks their interest or we’ve done some research on and we’re like, “Oh hey, we’ve done this, but maybe this can be improved.” So I think that’s something else that kind of sets us apart.
K.R.: And I think that especially, too, with this election and all the candidates in this race are obviously amazing people and they’re really qualified, and ultimately I think it comes down to the specific ideas are what sets us apart, and I do believe that the ideas we have and the ideas that we want to see implemented are very — I think they’re feasible, and I think that they have substance to them, and I think they cover a wide array of issues that are on Syracuse’s campus, so that also is really important to take into consideration.
G.S.: I also have really bright scarves, that I bought specifically for this campaign, so it’s fine.
The D.O. Editorial Board: I know you’ve mentioned the cost report a few times. Would you urge the university administration to allocate Invest Syracuse funds to specific programs and initiatives on campus, and if so, could you name three specific examples?
G.S.: The resource centers that we have on campus definitely need to be staffed with more staff, like the LGBT Resource Center, the Disability Cultural Center, the Slutzker Center (for International Services). Those are centers that students utilize a lot — a lot of different kinds of students — and so it’s really important that they have enough staff to be there and their hours are sustainable to students with crazy schedules, like Kyle or I or any other student, because that’s so important. These resource centers act as kind of an anchor to some students. I know that international students talk about how they have — like my roommate from this year, she was talking about how she was having visa problems, but when she went to Slutzker, they didn’t really have a person to deal with her type of visa, and so she had to go to an outside source. So making sure that those resources are available to students like that is so important, and allocating more funding to that would just help them immensely.
K.R.: I also think — so Invest Syracuse has gone to expanding the Counseling Center’s hours and hiring new counselors, toward expanding health and wellness on campus, and we would like to see more funds being invested into health and wellness, because it is more broad than just the Counseling Center. There’s a lot more aspects to mental health and also health and wellness in general on campus. So I would like to see more money diverted into different offices like the Office of Health Promotion and things like that as well, so that would involve the peer listening service that’ll need funding once it’s implemented. Also, for programs like — so I’ve been talking about the sexual assault and relationship violence report we want to create. There’s a program that we want to see implemented here called Callisto. Things like that are going to cost money, and that’s something that Invest Syracuse could be used for.
G.S.: Another thing is putting more money into helping the community. That’s something that’s so important. Invest Syracuse doesn’t just stop at Syracuse University. It’s the Syracuse community as a whole, and the raw contrast between the university campus and the community is very apparent to a lot of students, and me especially as someone who goes out into the community and does volunteer work. With my students, it’s like I see them struggle to get textbooks, and when I brought my two high school mentees onto campus, they were like, “We didn’t think we were allowed on here.” And so making sure that Syracuse recognizes that the community is a part. We’re situated in this community, so we might as well do some good in it. So, like sponsoring a community date or a clothing drive, something like that, like making sure some of those funds are allocated either towards organizations that are already going into the community and doing some good or having their own initiatives in order to make the surrounding community know that Syracuse University is not just turning the other cheek.
The D.O. Editorial Board: Do you think SU has a responsibility to support the greater Syracuse community. If so, to what extent?
G.S.: One of our platforms for this campaign is community engagement, and that really just stems from the fact that not a lot of students get to go out into the community in their four years, sometimes more, sometimes less, here at Syracuse University, and it’s so important for the university — because it is situated in this community, in this city, and it gets a huge tax break for being a nonprofit, private institution — that we give back to the community that we’re kind of — not taking from, but we’re not benefiting in terms of how they’re living. I gave the example of how my mentees. They go to Nottingham High School, which is overcrowded and underfunded, and sometimes people forget that there are high schools here and that these students want to come to Syracuse University and don’t feel like they can because this university’s so detached from its community, so, yes, Syracuse University … kind of does have its responsibility of making sure the community knows it’s in its community.
K.R.: I also think — I think that the students at Syracuse would benefit from community engagement as well. The city of Syracuse has such a cultural and religious diversity, and there’s so many people from different backgrounds and experiences that being able to interact with all this diversity within the Syracuse city is going to open students’ minds, and it’s going to lead to them having a new perspective on the world and having their minds opened up to different people and different ways of life, and I just think it’s so important, because, yes, education, it’s academic, it’s about your major, what you want to do with your life, but I think another critical component of education is being able to experiences these different perspectives and learn a different angle from a different person.
The D.O. Editorial Board: And what would you say the line is between community engagement and poverty tourism and kind of the inherent racism associated with that?
G.S.: Oh, wow, that’s a really good question. That’s — there is a line, and now that I’m thinking about, I’m like, wow. I think what it comes down to is making sure that the university is doing it for a good reason, making sure that the students benefit from that and that they actually like it they’re not forced to do it. Because once students are, for example, forced — well, not forced, like doing it just because they’re told they have to, not because they want to or are given the opportunity to — so, I think that that line, when crossed, it is very apparent in times of how the students interact and how the community is being like, “OK no, this is not what we need.” That’s when it is, so I don’t think that, for example, having a clothing drive would do that or, for example, supporting the organizations that are going out into the community.
K.R.: Yeah, I think the other thing is just making sure that the mindset of students in the community is not — students cannot be coming from the mindset of “I am at an elevated position, and therefore I am helping or I am providing a service to the community.” Because that’s not what it is, and that’s not what it should be thought of. I think it’s just about interacting with the community. I think that there is a level of community engagement — community service is very important, but I do think it is the way you go about it that makes the difference between poverty tourism, as you said, and really creating an experience that interacts with the entire community.
The D.O. Editorial Board: We’ve already touched on SU’s tuition hike and Invest Syracuse already, but you mentioned the concerns that might limit the ability of underrepresented students coming to SU. So, I was wondering if you could explain a little more on that and how you would make sure that doesn’t happen.
G.S.: So the way we looked at it was a couple of years ago they cut off the POSSE, Los Angeles and Atlanta scholarships, which help students from a diverse background and more diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to come to Syracuse University, so things like that have happened, especially with this tuition hike. Less opportunity for students to come from places like that, especially with the experiences that they’ve had. That’s something that we’ve taken into consideration in terms of how that will affect others students from coming in but also looking at the fact (that) a student who has already entered Syracuse University with a certain merit scholarship cannot gain another scholarship, in terms of a merit-based scholarship from the university. And so things like that kind of just lead to the conclusion of “OK, so if this tuition keeps rising and students don’t have as many opportunities to gain scholarships as they would before, how can we address this?” And it’s something we’ve talked about many, many times. It’s very different, but making sure the administration is aware of that fact is one way, but also asking them if — because they’ve said they have a plan to make sure that there are proper scholarships allocated to make up for the rise in tuition, but how are they going to do that? And that kind of just comes from a lot of talking and a lot of pushing the administration to talk about that and making sure that they know this is a problem that’s going to affect us and that we need to address it. In terms of tangible ways of doing that, that’s very difficult to gauge in terms of how Student Association’s power can kind of address that problem. It’s very much on a higher level than we can understand, so the first baseline is understanding how they’re going to address that problem but also making sure they address the problem.
K.R.: Also, like Ghufran said, they did say financial aid would be raised as well to kind of supplement this rising tuition for those lower socioeconomic classes, but it’s not something where — to my knowledge, the university hasn’t released any information to tell where that cutoff line is, so who is going to have that full $3,300 increase covered by financial aid, who’s going to only have a part of it. It really does make a difference. Even if you’re paying $500 more, that makes a difference for a lot of students, so I think that it’s about getting in those conversations and making sure administrators are really taking into consideration the effects this will have on different socioeconomic groups and making sure that financial aid is truly raised that they kind of seemed like they said it’s going to.
G.S.: Because the majority of financial aid comes from the federal level, and the federal government doesn’t control our tuition, it just controls how much they can give us. So if tuition keeps rising, the federal government really can’t do anything exclusively to Syracuse University about that, so it’s about making sure the administrators know that and they are aware of that and know that they need to come up with some type of solution process to that.
The D.O. Editorial Board: In the fall, we sat down with the administrators and one of their defenses on this is they don’t believe students look at sticker prices when applying to universities. Do you agree or disagree with that?
G.S.: But Syracuse University is a need-blind university, so they will accept students — it is need-blind, but it’s one of the few universities that meets 60, 70 percent of the students’ need … Students apply because this is their dream school. This is the college their parents went to, but looking at sticker prices, I think, in the perspective of a high school student, if Syracuse is their dream school they want to go to, that would kind of discourage them, discourage possibly a student leader or a great student from coming to Syracuse University, and that’s unfortunate. Everyone should have the opportunity to have a quality education like Syracuse University, so if looking at a sticker price is how someone should apply whether or not they go to colleges, I don’t think that’s really the best thing.
Rosenblum: I do think students consider the sticker prices when they’re looking at universities. The College Board is what most high schools students use to look at colleges and find that information, and if you go on and click on a university, the price of tuition is in big letters, like that’s like the first thing you see, so I definitely think the sticker price is something that (has an impact).
The D.O. Editorial Board: So with Invest Syracuse being such a high-level project at the university, when it comes to anything you’ve talked about relating to Invest Syracuse, you want to see — how do you plan to negotiate with administrators in the sense of how are you going to have leverage, because they’re sort of at this interesting point where a lot of their decisions are made by influenced trustees. What do you think you guys can do to kind of put yourselves out in their minds as a body that is really to be listened to?
G.S.: Based on the Board of Trustees and the Syracuse University bylaws, which I combed through — it was great. The Student Association president is a nonvoting member of the Board of Trustees, so they go into their scheduled meetings with a report, and I think they have about five minutes to present on something, and so if the Student Association president was to collect, for example, data on students and all of the — everything that has to do with Invest Syracuse, how students feel, how students think that money should be allocated, that’s something that will get the Board of Trustees talking because the Student Association president does have those five minutes to talk to the Board of Trustees, like right in front of them to make sure that they hear them. But also the SA president and vice president get to meet with the chancellor and make sure that they are aware of what the students are feeling. It’s all about being open to the students and how they feel about it, because not everyone feels the same about Invest Syracuse, and not everyone knows what Invest Syracuse is, so making sure that the students are informed and making sure that we as student leaders are also informed is something that’s super important.
K.R.: A lot of students were angered by the tuition increase, and even though there wasn’t a lot of information about what it was, the administration was kind of like, “Well, it’s going to be helping you, so you shouldn’t be angry about it.” I think that while the Student Association president and vice president do have a lot of power with their position, I think it is much more powerful for the entire student body to have a consensus on the issue, so I think the job of the president and the vice president is if their voice is not being listened to, they need to tap into the student body’s collective voice and kind of find a way to show the Board of Trustees and show the chancellor that this student body is not going to accept a tuition increase without getting more information about what it is and without having this detailed cost report, so I think it’s very critical to be able to obtain that.
The D.O. Editorial Board: Would you continue the Euclid Shuttle program if elected, and, if so, why? Do you think it’s worth the cost and that it’s been successful?
G.S.: As someone who used it yesterday, yes. I think it is a very useful resource that the students have, because it is scary walking out there. I was walking — I think it was 10:30, and I was like, “I don’t want to walk this alone.” So I would love to continue the running of the Euclid Shuttle, but it is something that I’ve seen other students use and other students talk about and be like, “Oh, this is useful for me. I feel much safer.” It’s all about making the students feel safe.
K.R.: It does need to be improved though, definitely. I think, especially, knowledge about it is one of the most important things, because it runs, I believe, once an hour, around that time. But for a lot of students, it means you can’t just go to the bus stop for it because you’d be waiting for an hour. So making sure students know how they can check when the next bus is coming, making sure students know the Euclid Shuttle actually does exist. I think that’s critical to be able to continue the program.
The D.O. Editorial Board: This one’s mainly for Ghufran, but also a little for you, Kyle. Having never been in SA before, do you guys feel any limitations?
G.S.: Limitations? I don’t think so, because, as a student, I think I know my camus pretty well, but I’m also willing to listen to other students. I will be — kind of not more so at a disadvantage, it would be a huge learning curve. I’d be trying to read up on the constitution, the bylaws, Robert’s Rules, all that. I’d be doing a lot of reading, which is not something a lot of iSchool students do. No shade at the iSchool, oh my God. It’s definitely going to be a huge learning curve. It’s going to be a lot of patience, not only with myself but with Kyle and with Cabinet members and Assembly members and making sure I know what I need to do and what others need to do, making sure I don’t get in anyone’s way but also making sure that my initiatives and ideas and platform are heard. It’s not going to be easy, and I recognize that, and it kind of went into the decision-making process of us wanting to run, but I think that it’d be worth it, and I don’t think it would be a limitation. I just think it’d be a great learning experience.
K.R.: Also, it’s not just us. We have a Cabinet, we have an Assembly there, and we can use them to help us. If we have an Assembly member on our Cabinet, we can use them as a resource. I know we’re both going to be very dedicated in learning how Student Association operates and learning that process, but even if we do face difficulties or have questions or are unsure about something, we’ll have people to go to. Especially with this transition period that’s almost a month, we’ll be able to work with James and Angie to kind of get that, have an effective transition between the two legislative sessions.
The D.O. Editorial Board: One thing our editorial board will be discussing a bit on Sunday are the campaigns opting out to take part in our independent debate. And to just give you a bit of background, we hosted it for the first time last year with CitrusTV. It was great. Being independent, we believe we may know a little bit more than the average student in terms of what’s going on and wanted to give you a chance to respond.
G.S.: We both had previous engagements that we weren’t willing to move around. I’m in FYP, and so we’re having show week. I’m assistant stage manager, so I have to be there basically all day tomorrow, and I asked my stage manager if I would be able to leave, but I would only be able to go for a short period of time, and I’d be probably dressed in sweats because we’d be doing set-building, which is not a pretty occasion. When I spoke to Kaitlyn and John, I wanted to make sure that all of us were going to be there because I have such high respect for all of them. There’s so many photos of me just looking lovingly at Kaitlyn as she’s talking. That’s just how much respect I have for both of them, so if they also had previous engagements that they didn’t feel comfortable going out with, I did not want to put on this debate without them, because it wouldn’t be fair to the audience, but also in terms of just hearing everyone’s perspectives, so we did — you had something tomorrow —
K.R.: I have a marathon tomorrow, so I was going to like — I was planning on running 5 miles and then dipping out and coming back, but I also don’t know if I would still have time, so we were really, really — initially we had said yes because we were talking about it, and we were like, “It’s going to be a struggle. We’re going to make it work. We’re going to try.” But I think as we talked more and more about it, it was going to be very difficult to kind of level out our time commitments, especially because we both have those commitments around the same time, so we didn’t want to commit to it and then end up having something happen and not showing up, so if I wasn’t able to get back in time or if Ghufran was required to stay at FYP longer, I just think it was an uncertainty that we didn’t want to have fall apart.
G.S.: I definitely did want to redeem myself for the fact that I sounded like a teenage boy on Monday, but again those commitments to my organizations. Those are my student organizations. I have to be there for them and make sure that they know I took on this responsibility, and I’m going to be here but also making sure that I’m my best self, so if I did participate in the debate I would be exhausted and tired, and something we both learned in this entire campaign process is know your limits and respect yourself and practice self-care, and so we would love to participate in the debate, but with our prior commitments and also the constraints of the other campaigns, we feel as though it would be best that we just didn’t.
The D.O. Editorial Board: And I know Jankovic’s campaign kind of pointed to the (SA) bylaws, and whereas The D.O. is independent and doesn’t apply to the RSO rule, it would apply to Citrus. Do you think that was valid, to point to that as not hosting the debate, not taking part in it?
G.S.: I think, yes, it was valid, but I personally — I think it is valid to look at the bylaws and be like, OK, because we need time to prepare for debates, but I don’t think that that’s our reason, like we wouldn’t —
K.R.: I just think that through this whole process there’s been some … the bylaws seem to be kind of a flexible document. I think this is one of those instances where it could have been flexible. Obviously, we wouldn’t have been able to participate in it because of those commitments, but I do think in this election if we can have students informed and know more about it, kind of trying to detract from that is not the way to go.
G.S.: It’s also been such a condensed campaign period. The reason why I got sick is because we’ve talked a lot, to 20, 25 organizations in the span of like two weeks. It’s very exhausting. It takes a lot of time out, so like we recognize it’s something (The D.O. has) been busy with covering, but yeah, I mean bylaws are important but they could’ve worked around it.
The D.O. Editorial Board: What are your plans if you’re not elected?
G.S.: I think that we both will still want to get involved in Student Association because it is a great organization, and how they interact with each other and what they do on this campus but also the initiatives and the things that we want to do extend outside of it, like doing community service or trying to work more with the Council on Diversity and Inclusion, so that’s something we can stretch outside of Student Association. We can still make change on this campus, and I’m pretty sure that all the events and things we want to do, we’re still going to go out and do them no matter what happens, no matter what the turnout of this election is. It’s been an amazing campaign period. Whatever happens, I still want to — there’s an event I want to put on called the Love Yourself Day, which is all about self-care and indulgence versus self-care, and that’s something I’ve already starting talking to other student organizations about. So yeah, the Student Association’s great, and we’re going to get involved with that, but we can still make this happen, because there are 15,000 people on this campus. We can make it happen.
K.R.: I personally, so the health and wellness subcommittee, if I’m not elected, I would want to see that expanded. I would want to kind of solidify it within Student Association, build up a bigger base and still accomplish what we’ve been talking about on health and wellness … That’s also a platform that could be used to create the sexual assault and relationship violence report. I think it’s important the Student Association president and vice president, yes, are the biggest faces on the campus for change, but it’s not the only method through which change can be made. I also think that would apply for Cabinet, but I don’t think that you need to be president, vice president, Cabinet or Assembly to be able to make change. I think there’s so many other ways, and I think that’s something we’ve learned throughout this campaign.
G.S.: So many students make change on this campus, and they’re not even recognized for it. We went and talked to InclusiveU with Tori Cedar, and they’ve extended their program immensely since her freshman year, and with those connections we’ve made we’ll definitely continue trying to make change on this campus, because there’s so many different ways to do that. It doesn’t just stop at the president and vice president. That’s why we encourage students to ask themselves, “Why not now?” because we did it. We ran, and if we don’t win, there are still other things we can do. We’ll keep asking ourselves, “Why not now?” until senior year or until we check into a senior center.
The D.O. Editorial Board: Why do you two, in particular, think you are a good pair to be SA leaders, and what is it about you two that will make you an effective president and vice president?
G.S.: I think that, on a personal level, me and Kyle are best friends. We are best friends first. We always make sure the other is OK. And we know how to lean on each other, which is something that’s hard. It’s hard to work in teams sometimes where you don’t really know a person, but since I know Kyle, I know what his strengths and what my strengths are, where my weaknesses are, and where his strengths can fill in, and that’s so important. And our personalities work well together. You’re very logistical and logical, and I’m very passionate and empathetic, and that’s something we definitely complement each other a lot, and I think I’ve learned so much from Kyle throughout our campaign and the last year and a half we’ve known each other, so I think we’ve just created this bond of friendship but also professionalism that has really made this experience awesome.
K.R.: One of the most important things you talked about was being able to lean on each other, because when the position is … Obviously, a huge time commitment and a lot of work needs to be done starting Friday after the election, and I think that it’s going to be stressful. I know it’s going to be stressful. It’s going to have a lot of further implications, but being able to have that person you’re working directly with, being able to lean on them for support and kind of know their thought process and how they function within this position, I think that is so critical to be able to have an effective team, and I think we do have that. Even though we’ve only really gotten to know each other since Welcome Week of this year, we’ve truly gotten so close since then. I think it definitely contributes to how we function.
G.S.: And we do have our disagreements about things. We do have initiatives where it’s like, “Uh, maybe I should take a look at that.” But I think it’s good that we challenge each other and we get sick of each other, but we know that in the end we can still come together and work together. We work really well together. We’re both hilarious, so that’s also a thing.
The D.O. Editorial Board: Is there anything either of you would like to add before we wrap up?
G.S.: I don’t know … Kyle’s great!
The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. You can read more about the editorial board here. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com.