The Student Association is working to create a student merit scholarship of more than $1,000, said President Ryan Kelly at Monday night’s meeting.

‘Cabinet, last semester, gave $5,000 to be put into some type of SA scholarship,’ Kelly said. The reasoning behind it was ‘there weren’t a lot of scholarships for students excelling in school.’

Drawing from that money, a scholarship between $1,000 and $2,000 will be awarded to one academically excelling SU student, though the specifics of the bill are still being worked out, Kelly said.

‘From there, we will see if we want to keep this going.’

Kelly also announced the resignation of Eric Morrissette, head of judicial review board, an independent review board for all student organizations. Kelly said Morrissette was too busy to commit enough time to his position.

Angela Tucciarone, the only other review board member, will take over his duties, said Parliamentarian Marko Markov. She is a senior and will need a replacement for next year, which Markov hopes to have by the end of the semester.

In November 2006, both Morrissette and Tucciarone had been asked to resign by the SA Cabinet because of a procedural error in their appointments. But an Assembly vote on Nov. 28 did not achieve the 4/5 majority vote needed to remove them from the review board.

Turning from the future to the present, comptroller Mike Rizzolo reminded the assembly about the upcoming budget deadline.

Student organization’s budgets are due by 5 p.m. on April 5, said Rizzolo. After they have been reviewed by the finance board, the budgets will be voted on by the assembly at a special meeting April 30.

All nine finance board members will be holding office hours this week so student organizations can seek advice on their budgets, Rizzolo said.

After announcing last week they would donate to the Vera House campaign, SA will also take part in the Take Back the Night rally at Hendricks Chapel at 7 p.m. Wednesday, said Katherine Chillscyzn, chair of the committee on student engagement.

‘Since we did that, I’d like us to attend Take Back the Night,’ she said, adding that her committee will make signs promoting the rally.

Representatives from Asian Students in America and Asian Journalists Association concluded the meeting with a presentation on the 10th anniversary of the ‘Denny’s Incident,’ during which four SU students – three Japanese, one white – were assaulted outside of a Denny’s restaurant in Syracuse.

The representative asked for SA’s help in promoting several events next week to commemorate the assault, which occurred April 11, 1997.

Appointment and funding

Freshman Natalie Clay was voted into the assembly. She will represent the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

The assembly also approved $2,114 for the Muslim Student Association to host a speaker on women and the advancement of Africa. The Society for Conservation Biology was approved $591.71 to host a speaker from the World Wildlife Foundation.

The next SA meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Maxwell Auditorium.

Published on April 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm