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Running on a platform focused on issues such as increasing wellness days, bringing back meal swipes to the Schine Student Center, having Syracuse University achieve carbon neutrality ahead from 2040, expanding the current SA menstrual product initiative and increasing transparency and engagement with the student body, David Bruen and Adia Santos are running for president and vice president, respectively, of SU’s Student Association.

Bruen, the incumbent SA president, is a junior from Rockland County, New York, who majors in political science and policy studies. Santos, a junior from The Bronx, New York, majors in political science with a minor in religion.

Bruen said that he feels that his experience as president leaves him best equipped to achieve all his administration and SA goals for the coming year.

“There is a lot of unfinished business. I really want to see some of those make even more progress,” Bruen said. “A lot of ties back to our slogan, ‘Pursuing legacy,’ which is really about looking back at the history and the foundation that we stand upon and trying to make this place that we love even better.”

Santos said she also sees herself as an involved candidate. Her extensive experiences during her time as an SU student adequately prepares her to be a successful vice president, she said.

“Having participated in different facets of campus life — whether it would be protest life or actually involved in cultural organizations like Hillel or different things like that — I feel like this is the perfect time for us as a team to be taking this role,” Santos said. “We are more than prepared to do the job and I’m ready to hit the ground running. I think we can accomplish almost any goal.”

Bruen recalled when he ran unopposed for president in 2021. He said he felt he was the right person at the right time since no one else stepped up running for president at the time. SA is still facing consequences of the pandemic, he said, and challenges such as low student engagement still remain.

“Now that we are coming out of tough times, engagement is still low, people are not as informed. There is still a lot of progress we have to make and try to change the culture, which is not easy,” Bruen said. “The key is to keep the progress moving, and we are easily the best equipped team to do that.”

Santos also said that their combined experiences will allow for a better future for both students and the wider Syracuse community.

“You can’t beat David’s experience,” said Santos. “To have already had that role and also work with someone such as myself who is really really impassioned and cares so deeply for not just the SU community but the Syracuse community in general … it creates kind of an unstoppable duo.”

Published on April 3, 2022 at 11:36 pm

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