Transparency and campus engagement are what Student Association Director of Technology Ross Lazerowitz hopes to achieve through new online software that would allow Syracuse University students to monitor SA initiatives and activities.

Lazerowitz made this announcement at an SA meeting in Maxwell Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

“We will be one of the most transparent student governments in the nation after this,” Lazerowitz said. “I’ve looked around and I haven’t really seen anyone else sourcing their internal operations on the web.”

The online software would function separately from the SA website. SA members would be able to document their initiatives by posting calendars, documents or simply an update on the site. Students would be able to log in to the software and see everything posted and uploaded, Lazerowitz said.

“People will be able to go in and see progress and see where everything is moving — or not moving,” Lazerowitz said.

He compared the new social interaction to sites like Gmail and Facebook. However, students cannot leave comments or make suggestions online because it would “mess up the process,” Lazerowitz said.

There is no definite completion date for the software, but Lazerowitz said meetings start this weekend. The project is a much-needed technology update for SA, he said.

“We need to redo what we are doing because it’s not necessarily the best, and we need to have the best,” he said.

But as this new project begins, initiatives for current SA President Dylan Lustig are coming to an end. With elections for the next SA president coming up this November, Lustig announced he does not plan to run for re-election.

He did not comment on the members who will be running for the position this fall, but said more information will be available soon.

“We’ll see them turn up within the next few weeks for sure,” Lustig said. “Things are going to start to happen pretty quickly.”

When assessing his own presidency, Lustig said he is most proud of his collaboration with local charity organization Vera House and promotion of student engagement with the White House.

He said he wishes he could have accomplished his “Keep the Change” initiative, a program through which students could choose to donate extra change from purchases at SU food centers to local charities. But Lustig said he still has hope for this initiative.

“You don’t necessarily have to be the SA president to get things done around here,” Lustig said.

Lustig also addressed possible business concerns from Acropolis Pizza regarding an email he sent out with the Department of Public Safety, warning students about walking near the Marshall Street establishment late at night.

“No one’s saying to stop going to Acropolis to buy things,” Lustig said. “We are saying be careful after it gets dark.”

In the email, Lustig and DPS officers said a non-SU student was stabbed near Acropolis last week and suggested “avoiding this establishment late at night, as it has been the center-point of these activities.”

Lustig said he has not received any direct complaints from businesses near Marshall Street, but SU parents have expressed concern.

“(Violence) rumors like this need to be addressed as soon as possible; otherwise, we could find ourselves in a lot more panic,” Lustig said.

He described the rumors as “inaccurate and scary,” and said students need to relax and follow DPS safety suggestions.

“Nothing good ever happens after 2 a.m.,” Lustig said. “People should know that.”

In other business, two new candidates were elected into the general assembly at Monday night’s meeting. One from the College of Visual and Performing Arts and one from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Board of Elections and Membership Chair Jennifer Bacolores said this puts GA representation at 78 percent.

Published on October 2, 2012 at 12:58 am

Contact Anna: aegiles@syr.edu