“I’ve never been more proud of a session I’ve been a part of in terms of how strong our assembly is and how much potential you guys have,” Vice President Duane Ford told the general assembly of its work during the semester.

The meeting was held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. It unofficially marked the halfway point of the 57th Session, which saw the resignation of several cabinet members, a six-hour impeachment proceeding against President Allie Curtis and the subsequent loss of her right to preside over meetings.

With a vote of 20 in favor, nine opposed and one abstention, the general assembly approved a bill changing presidential elections: The president and vice president will now run together on one ticket. Right now, the president appoints the vice president after he or she is elected by the student body.

Curtis called the passing of the bill a “historic moment.”

The bill was introduced now to give potential candidates time to prepare during the summer, she said.

“This is the time of year where anyone who has the slightest inclination to run for president is already beginning to get together their campaign team,” she said.

Before the vote, former parliamentarian and current assembly representative Eugene Law motioned to amend the bill. Instead of having the president and vice president run on one ticket, he argued, there should be separate elections for both.

Law said he hasn’t seen a student government in which the students don’t elect their vice president.

Recorder Nick Bonafilia and several assembly representatives said the election of a vice president with different ideas than the president could cause tension.

“I think we’ve shown this semester — and last semester — what can happen when you have a cabinet that’s divided in ideologies,” he said. “It’s good to have diverse opinions and dialogue, but you want to make sure as president that you’re appointing somebody or running with somebody who can work with you.”

But Law said this shouldn’t make a difference because both are representing the student body.

“When there is responsibility given by the students in terms of an elected position, I feel there should be and would be a lot less issues between personalities,” Law said.

The assembly did not pass the proposed amendment.

Toward the end of the meeting, Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard and former Technology Director Ross Lazerowitz introduced a resolution calling for SU Athletics, not the entire university, to pay for the Big East exit fee.

Though a few assembly representatives expressed hesitations about the bill, it ultimately passed.

Ballard and Lazerowitz started an online petition last week calling for SU Athletics to pay the fee. The University Senate passed a similar resolution earlier this month.

“It’s really on principle,” Ballard said. “Are they putting athletics first or are they putting academics first?”

Other business discussed:

• Three members of the Finance Board — Nick Mancari, Matt Fraser and Kyle Coleman — ran for re-election. In the end, the assembly re-confirmed Mancari and Fraser, but not Coleman.
• The general assembly passed a resolution calling for SU to divest its endowment from the top 200 publically traded fossil fuel companies.

At Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, the committee presented its annual report, which addressed homophobia in athletics, along with updates to Health Services, health coverage and gender-neutral housing.

“One of the issues that we looked at very deeply this semester was the experience of our LGBT athletes, and I think what we found was pretty shocking,” said Beth Ferri, the committee member who presented the report.

Ferri added that SU has received positive marks from the Campus Climate Index, a national non-profit survey that assesses the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campus climate. Looking into homophobia in athletics was a new issue for the committee, Ferri said.

At the end of the spring 2012 semester, the committee said it was made aware of issues student-athletes were having on and off campus with homophobia. The committee reported having difficulty in getting students to come forward to speak openly on the topic.

According to the committee’s report, the committee examined the 2012 LGBTQ College Athlete Report, which reports on national LGBT issues in college athletics. The committee reported that the national findings were mirrored in events at SU, such as the fact that student-athletes who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to experience harassment than their heterosexual teammates.

Ferri presented the report and brought up concerns that student-athletes expressed, from having to share hotel beds with teammates to experiencing coaches walk into locker rooms before student-athletes were fully dressed.

“The No. 1 issue that students brought up were their experiences in locker rooms as being really a dangerous place and a very hostile place and very uncomfortable place,” Ferri said.

The committee presented the following recommendations to improve the atmosphere for student-athletes, which present Senate members unanimously approved.

The full recommendations included:

• Remodel all locker rooms and shower facilities to provide adequate privacy for showering and dressing for all athletes of all sports.

• Ensure that until locker rooms and shower facilities are remodeled, no coaches — male or female — are allowed into locker rooms until athletes are fully dressed.

• Ensure all athletes staying in hotels are provided with their own beds.

• In consultation with the LGBT Resource Center and outside consultants, establish on-going and mandatory anti-harassment training for all coaches, staff and athletic personnel.

• In consultation with the LGBT Resource Center and outside consultants, develop explicit anti-harassment and anti-homophobia policies for athletes, coaches and referees. There should be set consequences for violations to this policy and procedures to ensure the policy is implemented consistently.

• Consult NCAA and LGBT Resource Center in developing a proactive policy for transgender athletes.

• Eliminate all gender-normative expectations and requirements for appearance for student-athletes.

• In consultation with the LGBT Subcommittee, conduct a survey of current and former student-athletes to explore climate issues around LGBT issues.

• Offer exit interviews with a neutral party or exit survey for any student-athlete that quits a team.

• Ensure NCAA officials or referees are aware of anti-harassment and anti-homophobia policy, and ensure any violation to this policy is included in any referee evaluation.

There were a number of other updates the committee presented covering health services, gender-neutral housing and the registrar.

Regarding health coverage, SU Insurance now covers domestic partner benefits and transition-related services for transgender faculty and staff. Health Services at SU also recently formed a committee charged with making “Health Services more inclusive to the LGBTQ community,” according to the report.

The committee also reviewed university forms and information related to name and gender markers on university forms.

Senators asked for the athletic department report during the first meeting of the 2013-14 academic year in response to the LGBT Concerns Committee’s report. Senators also recommended that a member of the committee be appointed liaison to the Athletics Policy Committee.

Syracuse leaves the Big East conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference this summer. The Syracuse University Board of Trustees unanimously approved the entire university shouldering the cost of the move during its January meeting.

How the university should cover SU’s move to the ACC was included in the annual report from the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee, and caused the most discussion during Wednesday’s University Senate meeting at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. It was the final meeting for the 2013-14 academic year.

The athletics program will make money from its annual conference payout, which comes from conference television contracts, the committee argued.

At a time when SU is financially challenged, “asking the entire university to bear the cost of the exit fee so that coaches’ salaries and facilities for athletics may be improved does not align with the core academic mission of the University,” according to the committee’s report.

At Wednesday’s meeting, several senators spoke up to disagree with the decision of the board. Senators supported the committee’s recommendation and approved a resolution for the Senate to back the athletic department covering the cost.

Committee chair Craig Dudczak presented the report and said the decision to disagree with the board was not made lightly.

“It may be that our recommendation to the trustees just becomes that: a recommendation. But it is important for us to honestly voice our differences,” Dudczak said.

Robert van Gulick, a member of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution for the entire Senate to recommend the university not directly or indirectly subsidize the cost of conference transition.

“We’re told that this decision has been made and we think it’s the wrong decision,” Van Gulick said.

He said this is a matter the athletic department should handle, especially since the it will be the one benefiting from the move. The athletic department will receive a regular payout from the ACC that is far larger than it has been receiving from the Big East, he said.

Van Gulick also noted that SU schools and colleges already indirectly subsidize the athletic department by paying the full cost of athletic scholarships, a cost of approximately $16 million per year.

Other senators, such as history professor David Bennett, said the exit fee will be a burden the athletics department should share.

“Intercollegiate athletics should not be a burden on the academic budget,” Bennett said.

The board believes the entire university will benefit from the move to the ACC, said Dick Thompson, chairman of the board, in a statement Wednesday following the Senate meeting.

“In just a few years, the annual increases in new ACC revenue that will be returned to the University’s academic and auxiliary centers via budget redistribution will exceed the total cost of the exit fee,” Thompson said.

At the Senate meeting, Lou Marcoccia, chief financial officer at SU, noted there would be benefits to the entire university joining the ACC. Such benefits include joining the ranks of national research institutions to attract new staff, faculty and students.

“There are an awful lot of reasons why this is an all-university matter and why it should be handled that way,” Marcoccia said.

In addition to the presentation on the athletic department, the committee also made recommendations on enrollment management, the library and reassessing the growth of the administration:

Enrollment management

For graduate students, the discount rate — or institutional grant aid awarded to students as a percentage of an institution’s gross tuition — varies widely, according to the report. The majority of doctoral students receive discount rates of 80 percent or more.

International students comprise 15 percent of SU’s total student population, with about two-thirds of international students coming from India or China.

The report looked into how the number of international students could change and concerns the university might have looking forward. The committee pointed out that a high concentration of international students from a few countries might make students subject to political or economic disruptions. Additionally, as places like China and India continue to develop their higher education opportunities, international students from these countries could decrease.

The committee also made two specific recommendations for undergraduate aid. First, the committee recommended the university annually evaluate the financial aid a student receives. The committee suggested this could help direct aid to those students with the greatest need.

The committee then recommended that the next major fundraising campaign give priority to financial aid.

University library

The library has been continually underfunded, especially when it comes to the library meeting new technology needs, according to the committee’s report. An external review committee recommended a baseline need of $7 million to assist in meeting the library’s needs.

The committee recommended the library find a long-term plan to bring it up to standards.

Administration

The committee questioned whether the growth of administrative offices is warranted.

SU is currently using a Responsibility Center Management Model. An RCM is a management concept that decentralizes decisions and financial authority with the goal of improving institutional performance.

The committee recommended that the trustees hire an external consultant to evaluate central administration and responsibility centers. This consultant would examine reducing the size of senior administrative offices and determine whether SU’s current administrative model is meeting its goals.

This was the common piece of advice three former SA presidents gave for those currently in the organization, as its members look to move past recent internal issues.

Focus on the students. Focus on producing results. Focus on the future.

“Internal issues can be inevitable. There are some things you just have to deal with. They are not always bad, but you need a proper balance of focusing internally and externally to be effective,” said Dylan Lustig, 56th Session president, in an email. “Just focus on what truly counts, continuing the passion for helping students and being involved.”

SA’s focus has been increasingly internal since news broke three weeks ago that President Allie Curtis had kept a non-student, former public relations co-director Colin Crowley, in the organization without informing her cabinet.

This prompted impeachment proceedings against Curtis and the investigation of Curtis and three cabinet members. After a six-hour, closed-door session last Monday, the assembly decided not to continue impeachment proceedings against Curtis by a vote of 29-18. During the vote, four fraudulent ballots were cast. The organization later decided not to revote.

In the days after the impeachment proceedings, Chief of Staff PJ Alampi resigned and Curtis was stripped of her power to preside over assembly meetings, part of a three-pronged disciplinary plan against her.

Lustig also faced internal issues during his first semester as SA president when his chief of staff, Taylor Carr, resigned. As a result, most of his first semester was very internally focused, but he said Carr’s resignation was a “wake-up call.”

“After his resignation, we looked outward, we looked toward the students we represented, and things seemed to be quite easily sailing from then on,” he said.

But Lustig pointed out that fixing internal issues makes SA more efficient as a governing body, which then enables it to better focus on outside issues.

Though these internal conflicts might have damaged SA’s reputation on campus, Lustig said SU students need to remember that these issues involve only a small section of those in SA, and that many other members and non-members continue to work toward improving the university.

“They are the ones who keep SA going, and they will never quit, and they will rise above what’s been happening,” he said. “This mess will pass, that I promise, they just need to keep doing their work.”

Neal Casey, 55th Session president, said it’s important for SA cabinet members to learn to work together early so they can spend most of the session working to achieve their goals. During his time as president, Casey held a leadership retreat before the session started so his cabinet could develop as a team and build working relationships.

Going forward, SA needs to focus more on delivering results, he said. One of the biggest things he battled while president was student apathy and getting students to understand that SA cares and does have an effect on campus.

If SA starts to achieve its goals and produce results, Casey said he believes the organization’s reputation on campus will improve. Having worked with other student governments outside of SA, Casey said focusing too much on internal matters is one of the biggest mistakes student governments make.

“A student government that focuses more on how it operates internally will never be able to accomplish anything for the betterment of campus,” he said.

While internal issues within SA are almost unavoidable, they rarely escalate to the point of impeachment proceedings, said Jon Barnhart, 54th Session president.

Every president faces questions from cabinet and assembly members, Barnhart said, and if a president isn’t being questioned, there’s a good chance the president is questioning his or herself.

“I think every president ends up faced with that, and the way they respond to it and grow from it is really what makes each session unique, and what I think makes each session most successful is when they’re able to move past those,” he said.

Barnhart said the best way he found to move past internal issues was to bring up concerns early and have “off-the-record informal conversations” before these concerns turned into formal proceedings.

If these internal concerns become more formalized, they can become a distraction, he said.

Barnhart said it’s unfortunate that many students on campus are hearing about SA for the first time in such a negative way. But, he said, members must work to make sure students “see past the headlines” to the positives of the organization.

With only three weeks left in the semester, it will be difficult to achieve any significant goals, Barnhart said, making this summer a critical period for the 57th Session.

The assembly’s decision not to impeach Curtis means there is some confidence in her leadership, and she needs to capitalize on this during the summer, he said.

“There’s a reason that SA president is a calendar-year position and not an academic-year position,” Barnhart said. “(The summer) is definitely one of the most productive times in terms of being able to take a step back, really look at the initiatives that are going well, look at the ones that need more work, start to reprioritize for the semester coming up.”

The summer is also a good opportunity for Curtis to reconnect with SA members, make sure everyone is on the same page and address any concerns, he said.

Said Barnhart: “Sometimes it’s a good time to play catch-up, but it’s also a great time to get ahead.”

“Tonight was a great step in the right direction. SA demonstrated that even when faced with internal issues, we are still doing work and impacting students,” said President Allie Curtis after the meeting.

Curtis sat in the front row of Maxwell Auditorium as Vice President Duane Ford led the meeting. The assembly stripped Curtis of her ability to preside over the semester’s remaining meetings in a special session Sunday as a part of a three-pronged punishment for a decision-making process during the session that has “promoted non-transparency and a lack of integrity,” according to a censure issued Sunday.

Recorder resignation and election

After sending an email notifying the general assembly of her resignation as recorder last week, Belen Crisp acknowledged her decision to step down at Monday’s meeting.

Crisp, who headed the Department of Public Safety advisory board, said the organization helped foster her interest in campus safety. Serving on the cabinet detracted from Crisp’s ability to address safety issues, to which she said she’d like to return.

Despite a rocky couple of weeks for SA, which included a call for President Curtis’ resignation, the resignation of two other cabinet members and investigations into the conduct of four cabinet officials, Crisp said her decision to resign didn’t stem from discontent within the organization.

“I will always love this organization,” she said.

Crisp is taking a leave of absence from her assembly position this semester, but intends to return in the fall.

Nick Bonafilia, a junior representative from the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, was elected as recorder for the remainder of the session.

Addressing the assembly, Bonafilia underscored his critical yet constructive personality, and said he’d like to make improving communication within the organization a focal point.

Resolution opposing off-campus housing ordinances

SA adopted a stance opposing proposed ordinances that would restrict off-campus housing to students.

The ordinance, which was proposed by the South East University Neighborhood Association and is under deliberation by the Syracuse Common Council, would limit the expansion of student-rented properties in neighborhoods surrounding the university. In the resolution, SA implored the Common Council to reject the motion.

If passed, the ordinance would also require a registry with the names and academic institutions of student-renters, a move that resolution sponsor Sean Dinan called a “violation of students’ privacy.”

Initiatives

As a part of an assembly-wide exercise to close Monday’s meeting, Vice President Ford urged representatives to name any campus issues they felt should be addressed.

After narrowing the list, the general assembly resolved to zero-in on tuition, advising and campus hunger. A point person will be assigned to address the individual issues at the next general assembly meeting.

Most assembly representatives identified tuition and poor advising — especially within the College of Arts and Sciences — as points that needed to be addressed.

Judicial Review Board Chair Lynde Folsom made a case for campus hunger and said students have moved off campus or reduced their meal plans because they can’t afford to maintain it. SA would work with Hendricks Chapel in addressing campus hunger issues, as Hendricks provides a pantry for students, Folsom said.

Other business discussed:

• Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo presented the Finance Board’s rulings on appeals to the special programming decisions handed in at last Monday’s meeting. None of the organizations that were partially funded or were denied funding after the final decisions on appeals were presented expressed dissatisfaction with the Finance Board’s decision. In total, approximately $249,088 in appeal funding was issued Monday.

• Assembly representative Dinan announced his intention to run for chief of staff, which was left vacant after PJ Alampi’s resignation last week.

Student Association President Allie Curtis will no longer occupy the podium for the remainder of the semester’s general assembly meetings.

The decision to withdraw Curtis’ ability to preside over assembly meetings was part of a three-pronged disciplinary effort against Curtis that was reached during Sunday’s special general assembly meeting in the Schine Student Center. Additionally, Curtis was censured for allowing a non-matriculated student to serve in the cabinet, and ordered to submit proof of cost before she’s issued stipend money to conduct business over the summer.

The general assembly also decided against revoting on continuing the impeachment process against Curtis after four fraudulent ballots were cast during last Monday’s vote.

Eugene Law, the assembly representative who submitted the motion to remove Curtis from presiding over the remaining assembly meetings, said he doesn’t believe discussion relating to Curtis’s conduct will conclude by semester’s end.

“I feel that it’s sort of inappropriate for her to chair meetings that are discussing her actions,” Law said.

The motion passed 18 to 15. Vice President Duane Ford will oversee the remaining meetings, though Curtis will continue in her capacity as president outside the Monday general assembly meetings.

Following the meeting, Curtis said a number of assembly meetings will take place in the coming weeks, including an open forum regarding the renovation of the Schine Student Center. It’s not a matter of who leads the meetings, but that they happen, she said.

Curtis will also have to provide proof of cost for items such as travel and lodging for events such as student send-offs before any of the $2,000 summer stipend she’s allotted through SA can be dispersed. Law initially motioned to strip Curtis of the summer stipend entirely, but was struck down by the assembly.

The censure admonishing Curtis for her actions states she has “kept her decision-making private and undisclosed,” throughout the 57th session. Curtis proposed the idea of creating a press secretary position to keep a non-student — former public relations co-director Colin Crowley — in the organization without informing cabinet members of her intentions. The censure didn’t refer to Crowley by name.

“Her closed decision-making process has promoted non-transparency and a lack of integrity,” according to the censure, which also criticized Curtis for missed meetings and demonstrating a lack of professionalism.

Assembly representative Sean Dinan said he once waited two hours for Curtis to appear during her office hours and said he was in the office on occasions when Curtis did not show for meetings with then-Chief of Staff PJ Alampi. During the meeting, Curtis acknowledged she missed some meetings, but notified Ford beforehand in those instances.

The assembly voted against issuing a censure against chair of the Student Life Committee Ivan Rosales-Robles for anonymously sending a cryptically worded email to a Daily Orange editor and Curtis indicating Crowley’s academic status.

While some assembly representatives called Rosales-Robles’ actions inappropriate, they conceded his actions were not as severe as Curtis’ and did not merit the same level of punishment. Rosales-Robles issued an apology to the general assembly and media on Tuesday.

The general assembly did not motion to issue a censure against Public Relations Director Cara Johnson who, along with Curtis and Alampi, had knowledge of Crowley’s status as a non-matriculated student.

Alampi resigned as chief of staff on Tuesday. The organization is in search of chief of staff applicants, Curtis said before Sunday’s meeting concluded.

Curtis also said the organization is looking for a recorder, as Belen Crisp, who is currently holding the position, is taking a leave of absence. Crisp acted as recorder on Sunday, but couldn’t be reached for comment after the meeting.

Fraudulent votes

Despite the discovery of four fraudulent votes, the general assembly voted against rescinding Monday’s vote to halt impeachment proceedings against Curtis.

The votes were discovered after Board of Elections and Membership chair Emily Ballard cross-checked the ballots with the final roll call, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. The four votes were not signed and could not be attributed to any individual, Ballard said. SA’s advisers counted Monday’s votes and did not realize there were four unsigned votes.

During Monday’s vote, 29 assembly members voted against continuing with the impeachment process against Curtis and 18 voted in favor. The vote was originally counted as 31-20, in favor of stopping the impeachment process.

While the votes did not sway the decision in either direction, a revote would have been “important from the standpoint of integrity,” Parliamentarian Ben Jones said.

The meeting will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. in room 304ABC of the Schine Student Center to resolve the final set of disciplinary matters for cabinet officials under investigation for their role in allowing an individual not enrolled in classes to serve as the organization’s public relations co-chair. Cabinet members voted for the meeting on Thursday, according to a press release issued Friday.

Censures will likely be imposed, though Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard said a general assembly member must first motion for the censure. SA cabinet members could not confirm if the meeting will take place in a closed-door executive session. A censure is a formal statement expressing disapproval.

The conduct of three cabinet members will be discussed.

• President Allie Curtis, who avoided impeachment following a six-hour assembly meeting Monday, has been under investigation for allowing Colin Crowley to serve as the co-chair of the public relations committee without being enrolled in classes. Crowley resigned from the organization March 24.
• Public relations chair Cara Johnson has been under investigation for having knowledge of Crowley’s status as a non-matriculated student.
• Chair of the Student Life Committee Ivan Robles-Rosales has been under investigation after admitting he sent an anonymous email in the form of a riddle to a Daily Orange editor and Curtis regarding Crowley’s academic status.

PJ Alampi, who resigned as Chief of Staff on Tuesday, was also under investigation for having knowledge of Crowley’s academic situation and withholding that information from other cabinet members.

Four false ballots were cast during Monday night’s closed-door impeachment vote against Student Association President Allie Curtis.

During Monday night’s vote, 29 general assembly members voted against continuing the impeachment process and 18 voted in favor. The vote was originally recorded as 31 for not continuing with the impeachment process and 20 in favor.

The four false ballots did not swing the result of the vote one way or another.

The Student Association issued a press release Wednesday afternoon stating it will look into the matter fully. Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard referenced the attendance records with the ballots and discovered inconsistencies, according to the release. All of Monday’s ballots were signed by those in attendance, and collected and counted by the Office of Student Activities Advisors, according to the release.

The Daily Orange obtained a copy of an email Ballard sent to assembly members, informing them of the inconsistencies. The general assembly can either accept the vote with the false ballots thrown out or motion for a revote, Ballard said.

Information regarding what the assembly will choose to do has not yet been released.

“The action of submitting fraudulent votes was wrong and deceiving to the entire Student Association and the student body in a time that was crucial for us to conduct business and make decisions properly,” Ballard told the assembly in the email.

At 1:52 a.m., Curtis emerged from the doors of Maxwell Auditorium and shared a long embrace with Vice President Duane Ford. The general assembly remained in the auditorium for an additional 30 minutes before emerging with the verdict — it voted 31-20 against impeachment.

Curtis said this was “without a doubt, the hardest week of my life.”

“There’s one thing for sure, I’m going to be the most honest woman in politics,” she said. “I’m really going to be pushing for communication and looking for deficiencies and voids in organizations.”

Prior to closing the doors to the public for an executive session, Curtis fielded questions and comments from those in the gallery, as well as cabinet members during the meeting. The executive session came after regular business, including the budget meeting, concluded. The general assembly needed a two-thirds vote to charge Curtis with impeachment.

In an emergency cabinet meeting Thursday, SA cabinet members approved a resolution calling for Curtis’ resignation. Curtis didn’t resign and instead, the vote to proceed with the impeachment process was put in the hands of the general assembly.

Cabinet members said the resolution calling for Curtis’ resignation arose from issues of accountability, accessibility and transparency raised at different points in the semester. The resolution was drafted after cabinet members learned Curtis allowed Colin Crowley to serve as public relations director without being enrolled in classes and withheld the information.

During the questioning that preceded the closed-door meeting on Monday, some came to Curtis’ defense while others, including Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo, questioned her more fiercely.

“I don’t think that you would ever do anything to put this organization you’ve dedicated yourself to since freshman year in trouble,” said a gallery member, addressing Curtis.

During the initial round of questioning, DeSalvo pressed Curtis on the conversation she had with Chief of Staff PJ Alampi and Crowley a couple of weeks into the semester. During that meeting, Crowley informed the two he would not be enrolling in classes this semester. Curtis maintained she and Alampi permitted Crowley to serve as co-director of the public relations committee based on their interpretation of a bylaw in the Registered Student Organization handbook that states non-students can serve as associate members if the organization’s constitution permits. Non-students, however, are not permitted to hold cabinet positions.

Alampi has previously said the bylaw in the handbook was not used by Curtis as a reason to justify keeping Crowley as co-director of the public relations committee until weeks after the initial meeting. Crowley relinquished his formal voting power and general assembly representative seat after notifying Curtis and Alampi he was not enrolled in classes.

After DeSalvo posed his question, SA entered an executive session. The decision to close the meeting was done so members could speak openly, said Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard.

But Taylor Carr, who stepped down as the 56th Session’s chief of staff, said closing the room to students and press raises issues of transparency.

“I don’t think you can blast the president for lack of transparency and then close the doors to constituents that are actually here to see what is happening to their student government,” he said.

Curtis’ father, Mark Curtis, sat on a bench outside of the auditorium as the executive session wore on.

Mark Curtis, who made the trip from Rhode Island, said he doesn’t believe his daughter was ill-intentioned in allowing Crowley to continue serving. He said she kept Crowley’s academic status from other cabinet members in sensitivity to Crowley, as he was unable to enroll due to finances.

“We know in our hearts she would never do anything to intentionally hurt the Student Association,” he said. “She loves Syracuse University.”

After being told of the vote, Curtis hugged her father and Ford, thanking them for their support.

“I’m overwhelmed I’ll be able to stay in this role,” Curtis said. “I think it’s going to do great things for the student body that I can persist in this capacity.”

“I think the budgets went well. I’m hoping appeals go just as well, too,” Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo said in an interview after the meeting. “The Finance Board is going to be working hard between now and then to get everything done.”

The meeting was held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. More than 60 people — mostly representatives of student organizations — filled the gallery as the general assembly voted on the Finance Board’s budget recommendations. In the end, all 127 bills — totaling $1,780,012.88 — passed.

The meeting took approximately 16 minutes.

There was relatively little discussion about specific bills in each category. The general assembly voted on operating budgets, programming budgets, full-funded bills, non-funded bills and partially funded bills separately.

The general assembly voted to fully fund Student Legal Services and the New York Public Interest Group at a cost of $175,293.77 and $88,000, respectively.

The assembly voted to partially fund operating budgets for organizations such as CitrusTV, SA and University Union. The only significant difference was the budget for MayFest 2014, which was recommended as $23,859 instead of the $33,859 UU requested, about a 29.5-percent decrease.

But UU President Lindsey Colegrove said members within the organization were happy with the funding it received, and she said she had no plans to appeal it.

“We realized we asked for a lot,” Colegrove said in an interview after the meeting. “We’re always looking to expand our programs, so we asked for additional things that haven’t been a part of our program budget before.”

The Finance Board recommended no funding for 55 bills. It did recommend full funding for 48 bills — including those for organizations such as Jerk magazine, La LUCHA and the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations.

The general assembly chose to partially fund nine bills.

In previous meetings, the assembly discussed the fairness of the tier system — a set of classifications that determines how much funding a student organization is eligible to receive.

Monday’s meeting appeared to run smoothly. Representatives from student organizations thanked SA members after their budgets were approved. Others seemed to understand why their organization’s budget was denied funding and said they planned to appeal the decision.

Student organizations have until Thursday at 4:30 p.m. to appeal the budget decisions. The process opened early Tuesday. SA has $639,806.28 left for the appeals process.

After a brief round of questioning from students in the audience and assembly representatives about Curtis’ conduct, she called SA into a closed executive session at 8:14 p.m.