Student Association President Dylan Lustig called for an increase in student interaction with the Department of Public Safety in response to a stabbing at Syracuse University’s Orange Madness event last weekend. 

“It’s one thing to have something like this happen off campus, and it’s a completely different thing when it happens right in our front yard,” Lustig said. “It’s scary.”

The safety issue was a major topic of discussion at Monday’s SA meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Panasci Lounge in the Schine Student Center.

Lustig said he spoke with DPS Chief Tony Callisto and Dean of Student Affairs Thomas Wolfe about improving communication between campus police and students. Lustig said the emails DPS sends to the student body often go unread and that DPS needs to create a better way to inform students about campus safety issues.

“We want to do something that gets more people’s attention,” Lustig said.

He suggested DPS officers host a town hall-style meeting open to students with any questions or concerns. SA is also working on improving its DPS advisory board, an initiative meant to create an additional avenue for communication between students and campus police.

At this point, students need to take safety measures into their own hands, Lustig said. He also mentioned that some of the crimes being reported are “crimes of opportunity” that victims could prevent by taking the necessary precautions.

“We really need to remember to do our part (as students),” Lustig said, “DPS and SPD (Syracuse Police Department) can only do so much. It’s up to us to work with them to make sure we stay safe.”

Lustig said employees at the Carrier Dome are doing everything they can to improve security after Friday night’s stabbing during Orange Madness. He said metal detectors at Dome events might be necessary to protect students.

Some of the candidates for SA president presented their platforms to the student body last week. So far, Vice President Allie Curtis and Chair of Student Life PJ Alampi have entered the race.

“I think it’s going to be a very interesting and unique election season. We have more candidates than we have had in a number of years,” SA member Dan Hernandez said.

The general assembly passed a bill at the meeting prohibiting campaign activity within 100 feet of a polling station during the SA elections. Polling stations are designated areas where students will be able to vote for the next SA president through MySlice. Hernandez said the new regulations are designed to keep the elections fair.

Both Hernandez and Lustig expressed concerns over rising tensions in SA because of the elections. At the beginning of the meeting, Lustig asked SA members to limit debate over SA codes on the SA Facebook page. He said the primary concern should be serving students.

“We are going to see some tensions,” Lustig said. “But for the most part people are going to work through it.”

On top of new election regulations, minor changes to the SA constitution were proposed at the meeting. One new regulation would allow part-time students at University College to vote in SA elections.

In other business, free online access to The New York Times is now available for SU students, Lustig said. Every day, 600 students will be able to access the online version of the paper with their NetID. Students may have access for 24 hours, and after, they will have the option to renew. The 600 slots are given on a first-come, first-serve basis. More details will be released at next week’s meeting, Lustig said.

The next SA meeting will be held on Monday in Schine Underground at 7:30 p.m.

Published on October 16, 2012 at 1:57 am

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