Student Association

Student Association plans to help implement student demands

Hannah Ly | Contributing Photographer

As the university begins working to implement the #NotAgainSU demands, Mertikas said SA would continue to stand in solidarity with the student protesters.

Student Association President Mackenzie Mertikas canceled the organization’s Nov. 18 assembly meeting, instead leading SA’s cabinet to The Barnes Center at The Arch to support the #NotAgainSU protesters gathered inside.

Mertikas’ decision to join the sit-in reflects what she said has been SA’s goal throughout the #NotAgainSU protest: to support the student movement, not lead it. #NotAgainSU, led by black students, began protesting in the Barnes Center on Nov. 13 in response to racist graffiti found in a SU residence hall.

The protesters presented demands to Chancellor Kent Syverud, who signed 16 of their 19 demands as written. Now that the chancellor has agreed to demands, Mertikas said her administration will continue to support the protesters in their efforts to ensure the demands are met.

“I think we should be involved in some capacity, and we’re going to need to figure out exactly what that looks like,” she said.

Protesters are calling for the resignation of Syverud, Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado, DPS Associate Chief John Sardino and Senior Vice President for Enrollment and the Student Experience Dolan Evanovich. Mertikas and Sameeha Saied, SA Vice President, have not decided if they will support #NotAgainSU’s calls for the resignation of university administration.



“I think our stance right now is to wait and see what happens,” Saied said. “The demands are the most important part because those are what’s going to make such lasting change on campus.”

In a university-wide email sent Nov. 19, Syverud said he would seek the input of student governments when working on the demands. As of Friday, SA has not been contacted by SU officials or the #NotAgainSU organizers about assisting in the implementation of the demands, Mertikas said.

“It’s important the student representatives don’t necessarily come from SA, that it’s a bunch of different groups coming together to make sure these changes are happening,” she said.

SA can use its resources to help carry out the demands, Saied said. If the university isn’t implementing demands in a timely fashion, the organization could help move the process along, she said.

One such resource is Mertikas’ position as one of two non-voting undergraduate representatives on SU’s Board of Trustees. Through this platform, Mertikas hopes to convey the student body’s wishes to the board’s voting members, she said.

“It’s our job to bring those demands to the Board of Trustees, let them know that this is, what students want here on campus and work with them to find ways to make that happen,” Mertikas said.

One #NotAgainSU demand calls on the Board of Trustees to host a forum twice a year for students to share their concerns. The demand was one of three that Syverud made alterations to, adding that he would encourage the board to hold the forums. Mertikas will push for the board to agree to the demands, she said.

Prior to the #NotAgainSU movement, the SA Diversity Affairs Committee had planned a series of student-faculty forums to discuss issues of racial bias on campus. Those plans were postponed, Mertikas said.

Kennedy Hagens and Lujane Juburi, SA’s Diversity Affairs co-chairs, said in a statement that their first step after the Thanksgiving break will be to see if any progress has been made on the demands.

“We anticipate that a large part of our role in the implementation will consist of serving as a liaison between student leaders and administration while also checking in on the progress of the demands to ensure they are not only carried out but produce a result the students need and expect,” the statement reads.

As the university begins working to implement the #NotAgainSU demands, Mertikas said SA will continue to stand in solidarity with the student protesters.

“It’s important that #NotAgainSU continue to be student activists that they continue to be present here on campus,” Mertikas said.





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