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Syracuse University’s Student Association plans to change its name to the Student Government Association after a revision to its constitution that was initially introduced in March 2021. The revisions will be on the ballot for the upcoming elections, which begin Monday.

The revisions, which SA’s current assembly passed during its March 4 meeting, will need to be approved by at least 10% of the student body during its upcoming spring general elections, which run from April 1 through 5. If approved during these elections, the updated constitution will then also need to be voted on by the newly-elected assembly.

SA President William Treloar said the revision, which he introduced at a Feb. 26 meeting, aims to better represent what they do as an organization and be more “in line” with other student governments around the country. Other revisions include adding a SUNY ESF Mighty Oak Student Assembly (MOSA) liaison, removing the unique population representative — someone who represents a student population unrelated to class or school — and adjusting the judicial structure, SA Vice President Yasmin Nayrouz said.

Nayrouz said the adjustment to the judicial structure requires judicial codes to be approved by the assembly before they are updated. The new constitution also includes smaller revisions, such as the ability to veto changes with a two-thirds majority vote, removal of verification from candidates’ respective colleges and a higher percentage requirement for impeachment. Under the revision, the impeachment process could start with a minimum of 25% of the deputy executive officers’ constituency as opposed to its previous minimum of 10%, Treloar said.

“(The changes) increase organizational efficiencies, and really try and fix some of the issues that we’ve seen throughout the (organization) since we had that new constitution put in place in 2021,” Treloar said.

Apart from the name change, Treloar said the largest addition to the constitution is the MOSA liaison, which he said he is most excited about. He said this addition will create better programming coordination between student governments as well as a better understanding of students’ needs.

Nayrouz said improving representation, such as through the MOSA liaison, is “always a benefit” to the student body. She also said internal revisions, like eliminating verification from a candidate’s respective college, help functionality within the organization itself.

“It’s just making it easier to run, improving representation and improving accountability,” Nayrouz said.

German Nolivos, SA’s vice president of community and government affairs and unopposed presidential candidate, said he hopes the new name of the organization will give incoming students at SU a better sense of what the organization is and persuade them to join.

“When I was a freshman … I couldn’t tell what Student Association (was), and so I feel it’s a lot better for freshmen and it’ll promote them to actually be excited to go into (the organization),” Nolivos said.

With the voting period beginning Monday, Nolivos said he is 100% in support of these revisions and wants to implement these changes as he transitions into his role as president.

“I’m very excited to be able to start this new chapter for student government and I feel it’s kind of like a new opportunity for my administration to rewrite a story,” Nolivos said. “It’s kind of like a blank page for us … if we actually accomplish this new change.”

Published on March 31, 2024 at 11:15 pm

Contact Roxanne: rmboychu@syr.edu