The Student Assembly meeting opened Monday night with commentary from Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Anastasia Urtz regarding SA’s recent recommendations on campus security, focusing on student transportation and outdoor lighting.

After SA president Wayne Horton and several other members brought their concerns to a meeting committee of the Board of Trustees last week, Urtz said Chancellor Nancy Cantor was interested in what they had to say. Cantor commissioned a panel that will look at transportation and lighting to assess what needs to be done.

‘Clearly, the time has come for us to look again,’ Urtz said.

Interim Public Safety Chief Tony Callisto was also on hand to answer questions Urtz could not. Callisto and Urtz explained that lighting issues which could be fixed easily would be addressed sooner, but the installation of new lighting might take some time. The first step will be to send out groups of panel members to do lighting surveys and find out which areas need the most attention.

Callisto also said they have been working the past few months on a plan to increase the number of blue lights, especially on South Campus.

‘The challenge with putting blue lights off campus is that they are on city property,’ Callisto said after questions were asked in regards to that matter.

Following the question-and-answer session with Urtz and Callisto, several bills were brought to the assembly’s attention.

One that sparked some debate involved a funding request from Sigma Lambda Upsilon to put on ‘Platanos & Collard Greens.’ Some SA members questioned whether the event, which has been held before, would generate enough interest. The bill was approved twelve to seven, and the group received $5,863.07.

Also receiving funding were the Caribbean Student Association with $349.00, Lambda Pi Chi with $5,767.50, Intervarsity Syracuse Christian Fellowship with $292.50 and Verbal Seduction Magazine with $2,787.18.

SA members also voted to decide who would become the Chair of University Affairs, since former Chair Kiana Cornish resigned. Nominees Joy LaChelle Ingraham, a junior, and sophomore Courtney Carter answered questions about why they wanted the position and what they would bring to it if elected. After a vote, Ingraham won.

Several other people were accepted as assembly members. Junior Rosie Garcia was voted in as a College of Arts and Sciences representative, freshman Greg Lessans as an S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications representative and freshman Larry Seivert as a Martin J. Whitman School of Management representative. Sophomore Nida Javaid and freshman Chad Brooker were elected to the University Senate. Sophomore Ke Huang and senior Robert Magliaro were approved as new members of the Finance Board.

At the meeting’s end, Chair of the Board of Elections and Membership Marlene Goldenberg announced her resignation of her title, but assured everyone that she would stay an active member of SA.

In his report, Horton also mentioned how exciting Cantor’s interest in addressing the lighting and transportation issues is for SA.

‘This is a very big deal for us,’ Horton said.

Published on October 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm