SA to hold town hall to gather university academic freedom statement feedback

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Syracuse University’s Student Association announced its plans to hold a “Freedom of Speech Town Hall” to gather student feedback on what the university should include in its “Syracuse Statement” — its upcoming stance on academic freedom and free speech — during its Monday meeting.

SA will hold the town hall next Tuesday, March 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Lyman Hall Room 132, SA President William Treloar said. It will be open to all SU community members.

“This statement will really shape freedom of speech and academic freedom on campus for a while,” Treloar said. “It’s really, really important that if you have input on it, you go to (the town hall).”

Treloar said SA has formed a committee surrounding the statement which will use student feedback from the forum to bring questions to SU administrators developing the official stance.

SU Chancellor Kent Syverud first revealed his plans to draft the statement during a Dec. 13, 2023 University Senate meeting. During a Jan. 24 USen meeting, the university also created a working group dedicated to developing the statement before announcing in a March 7 campus-wide email that it would conduct a virtual open forum for the community on March 19. Treloar did not suggest that SA’s town hall is associated with the university’s forum.

Along with announcing the town hall, Treloar and other SA leaders provided updates on its student advocacy programming — such as the several upcoming Sexual Assault Awareness Month events, hosted in collaboration with the Syracuse Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and SA’s annual Multicultural Week celebrations.

Kaitlyn Paige, SA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, presented a funding bill outlining the tentative agenda for Multicultural Week — which will include programming such as an international film screening, an Arab Heritage Month painting event and an International Festival. The bill was passed during the meeting.

Paige said Multicultural Week will feature “smaller-scale events” than in years past, which she hopes will make the programming less “overwhelming” for students and allow them to feel more comfortable engaging in conversations about cultures other than their own.

“I’m really excited to get students talking and get them stepping out of their comfort zones,” Paige said. “I think every conversation on cultural acceptance kind of starts with a good conversation, just getting to know a little bit more about another culture.”

Multicultural Week events will occur from April 8 to 14, Williams said, and SA will publish more information about the activities at a later date.

For Sexual Assault Awareness Month, SA and SCASA plan to distribute sexual and relationship violence prevention kits in the Schine Student Center, a plan SA first piloted in late November. Treloar said they plan to give out the kits on April 1 from 5 to 9 p.m.

SA will also host a series of keynote lectures on April 1 based on the theme of ending sexual assault, which will occur from 4 to 9 p.m. at SU’s National Veterans Resource Center. The talk will feature speakers like Bonny Shade, a public speaker and sexual violence prevention educator, according to a March 18 Instagram post.

SA assembly members also approved updates to the internal operating budget, which was reduced by about $25,000 — 20% — from the previous fiscal year, Treloar said. Changes to the approved budget will now be reviewed by SA’s Finance Board.

A majority of the changes cut provisions in the budget that “aren’t really used,” such as the funds allocated to allow registered student organizations to use SA’s printer for advertising. Instead, Treloar said SA would reallocate the funds to support RSOs’ promotional materials through more modern and cost-effective mediums.

“(The new budget) leaves more money for RSOs to be able to pull from the student activity fee, and it makes us more fiscally responsible in how we’re spending our money year to year,” Treloar said.

Other business:

• Speaker Kennedy Williams said SA will now hold a town hall instead of an executive debate on Wednesday, March 27 in the NVRC. The event will feature the presidential and vice presidential candidates for its spring general elections.
• SA approved funding to distribute protective glasses on the quad for the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8.
• RSO advanced allocations for the fall 2024 semester will close at the end of this week, SA Comptroller Dylan France said.

DISCLAIMER: Kaitlyn Paige, SA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, is an opinion columnist for The Daily Orange. She does not influence the editorial content of the News section in her capacity as an opinion columnist.