Transcript: Student Association hopefuls Mackenzie Mertikas, Sameeha Saied sit down with The Daily Orange Editorial Board

Editor’s note: The Daily Orange Editorial Board interviewed the three sets of presidential and vice presidential candidates running for the Student Association’s 63rd session. In an effort to provide transparency in the editorial board’s endorsement decision, The D.O. has published the transcript of each interview. The following interview has been edited for clarity.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board: So to start, what do you believe are the biggest issues facing student life at Syracuse University and how do you plan to address them?

Sameeha Said: Yeah, so one of the biggest ones and one that has been pretty prevalent recently is diversity and inclusion. More specifically the imbalance in awareness and inclusion. A good example would be the fact that Angela Davis came to our campus earlier this week and I didn’t find out about it until the day that it happened. She created intersectionality and it just like wasn’t advertised to people. It’s things like that where like you can see that there in terms of diversity, there’s a very clear divide between how much gets to the student population, which makes it a lot less inclusive and a lot less welcoming for those diverse groups of people because they aren’t getting as much funding, they aren’t seeing as much of their own representation and it makes them feel less comfortable being here and feel less like this university cares about the fact that they’re here. So, I think that would probably be a big one.

Mackenzie Mertikas: Yeah. Obviously with everything going on, especially after the Ackerman incident, it’s super, super important to us to make sure that we’re holding the university accountable. One thing after the Ackerman incident and after the forum that we held, the administration came out with like the list. They sent us that follow up email that detailed all of the things that they were going to be working on doing. We think, you know, while that’s a great step in the right direction. It’s important to be continuing on those things. Like I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago, at the office of institutional research and I found out that, you know, surveys that go out to the most of the student body are only like obviously a stratified samples of three to 4,000 students. So you’re taking the survey data and saying it represents all of the students, but it doesn’t really, so for the DPS survey that went out, that was actually the entire student body. So I think that’s an awesome step in the right direction, but making sure that things are actually being done. So they released that map of the jurisdiction of DPS jurisdiction, but that doesn’t include all of the off campus housing that 47% of the student body is living on. So making sure, you know, that when we’re thinking about all of these ideas representing diversity and inclusion, that we are making steps towards being diverse and inclusive campus. So looking to work with DPS to expand that your jurisdiction, make it, you know, passed Euclid, past Marshall Street, all of those shoots that off campus students are living on.

S.S: So I’m from Florida. I’m from Miami, Miami and Orlando. I really alternate depending on the day, but born in Miami. Um, and I know a lot of POSSE scholars at like on this campus and off of this campus. And last spring I found out that they were taking away Atlanta. There are three different POSSE locations, program locations. There’s LA, there’s Atlanta and there’s Miami. And the only one left on this campus is Miami. And that’s just one example. Another example is SummerStart, which yes, they’re taking it away only for one summer, but that still is one summer that a lot of, you know, marginalized identities come to, to acclimate to this campus because it’s a big culture shock. And so we, one of the really important steps we want to take if we’re elected is we want to make sure that if they’re taking away these programs, if they’re taking away these opportunities for students, they’re putting in something better, something more beneficial and something more inclusive for them so that it does feel like they’re being considered less, you know, and it’s obviously like this whole broad idea of diversity inclusion, but it’s all of these separate parts and facets of it.

The D.O. Editorial Board: What experiences have you both had that would help in leading SA?

M.M: Yeah, so for me, I have served on SA for the past two years. So last year I joined SA as a sophomore as an assembly member representing the College of Arts and Sciences. Through that I served on my diversity affairs committee. I’m the community engagement committee, the student life and the student life committee. And then helped in the creation of the health and wellness subcommittee and served as the internal co-chair of that last year. So, through all of my work with that, last year I worked on the pure listening service report with Angie Pati and Kyle Rosenblum and that became a whole year project. We ended up working on it all over the summer and presenting it to administration last semester. So, I’ve worked on like year-long projects and Mental Health Awareness Week being one of them. That I did as my, you know, co-chair of health and wellness committee, sexual health resource fair planning a lot of events. So, I really have experience, you know, of what it’s like be booking the quad booking rooms, be like organizing events with funding and stuff like that. So, I have that experience, just sort of as a general body member and that’s sort of what I did there. And then I transitioned this year to chief of staff of essay, so decided to apply to be chief of staff because I did learn the ins and outs of the organization last year. Like bylaws, constitution, everything that you kind of needed to know to be able to run the organization effectively. So, I decided to apply because Kyle and Ghufran both didn’t have SA experience before and I thought that I could really help guide them and the ways that they could be effective leaders in the organization.

M.M: So, with that role, I’ve done like a lot, so same thing with mental health awareness week this year and all those kinds of things. But also, I’ve been in, so my role as chief of staff sort of encompasses like the entire organization. So, I’m Kyle and Ghufran’s right hand person and I’d go to meetings with them. I go to meetings for them if they’re not able to attend. And meeting with administration on a constant basis, I’m looped into all the emails, everything that they’re working on. But I also oversee the entire cabinet. So, making sure that, you know, cabinet members know what their role is and what they’re supposed to be doing. I’m trying to hold them accountable, making sure that they’re completing initiatives, especially permanent initiatives, but also being a resource to them with like literally anything that they can need. And then another thing that I do is sort of work closely, um, and something that I’ve really wanted to do this year is work closely with the assembly members because I know what it’s like to be in their position, and I know what it’s like to be in that intimidating space that SA can be sometimes. So, I’ve really made it my goal this year to get to know a lot of the assembly members and make sure that they’re doing things that they want it to do. So, helping, you know, these new director positions that we came up with this year. So like director of student engagement. So, I helped the new director of student engagement, Lily Datz, work with RHA and the office of residence life to put in feedback boxes in all of the dorm buildings this year. And that was something that she was super passionate about and it’s so awesome for me to be able to see her complete that and do that. But outside of SA and off my experience there, this past summer I worked on a congressional campaign and with a series of events ended up being the communications director for the duration of the summer. And for me, being in that position, unpaid position, I also had to work two other jobs this summer, so it was working 70, 80-hour weeks, like three different jobs at one time. And for me it was like a lot of, you know, going back and forth, being constantly busy and I think that’s something that you, you have to be able to do when you’re in this role, this is a full time job and I totally recognize that being able to balance everything SA wise and then your academics and finishing up like, you know, my courses next year. Um, and I think, you know, the communications aspect of the campaign that I learned to like over this past summer and being able to write press releases, being able to deal with like, you know, press contacts and developing statements. And also, just being the person at the forefront of communications for the campaign is similar to what this role would be in a way because we’re representing the entire student body and you should be able to represent all of the student body’s, thoughts and ideas and concerns. Um, so, you know, I learned a lot this summer on that campaign. I’m just really like the ins and outs of, you know, politics, which, you know, definitely doesn’t have to be that essential to this job because you’re dealing with students a lot of the time. But really what it’s like to be constantly working hard and going, running around. And I think that’s something that I really learned to master this summer. Um, but also on campus, I’m a brother of Phi Sigma Pi, so learning how to work, you know, with different Greek communities and, you know, philanthropic organizations and that kind of a thing and being able to give back to the community, something that’s really important to me. Also, as president of Traditions Commission, organizing homecoming, winter carnival and National Orange Day. Reaching out to the campus and being able to like see the campus as like, you know, bleeding orange and you know, not just my, my role in student association as like a student government recognizing all of the amazing facets that this campus has to it as well. I think, you know, I definitely have had my hands full and I think a lot of things that I’ve learned over the course of my three years here so far is how to handle everything and balance everything and to be able to give your all to everything no matter what you have going on at the time.

S.S: So, my spiel’s probably not going to be as long because a lot of that was SA, I don’t really have too much SA experience. I’m in her Health and Wellness Subcommittee and that’s kind of the exposure I’ve had, which I think works to our advantage because it’s sort of, she has the inside perspective. I have the outside perspective. I think one of my biggest strengths is my involvement in the FYTP community. I know freshmen voices are voices that are very often unheard just because they’re too, you know, they haven’t had enough time to really understand a lot of the resources that they have. So, a lot of them don’t even know as they exist. So, I’m, you know, I’m a part of OrangeSeeds, which is a first-year leadership program. I’m an orientation leader, so that very first week, my job is literally making sure that these first years feel comfortable and feel welcome here. But even more than that, I understand the community here. I work in literacy courses, so I teach second grade at a school here. So, I have a lot of exposure with the community outside and how incredible it is. I am on the board for OttoTHON this year. Children’s health is something that’s very important to me. I think my biggest strength is probably sort of the array of things that I do. Not necessarily like one straight focus. Like, I have my hands in a lot of different baskets and I have my hands in a lot of different types of organizations that reach a lot of different people. And on top of that I am a lower middle class, half Indian, half Pakistani Muslim woman. So I have a lot of different parts of my identity that are considered marginalized and I have a lot of different perspectives that aren’t always like super voiced. And I’m a firm believer that because of that, you know, no person is going to understand another person’s experience. And so my understanding is always going to be that if we’re in this position, we’re not here to speak for people, we’re here to let them speak through us. And I think I’m very, very good at letting people speak through me. And that’s something that’s really, really important. Um, yeah, short and sweet.

The D.O. Editorial Board: So, there’s been on a lot of talk of like internal tension within SA this semester and especially recently with a lot of people disagreeing about how Cuse Can! was handled. So, I was wondering how you two would handle that internal tension and also what you think about the Cuse Can! Controversy.

M.M: So obviously being chief of staff, I see all of this firsthand. And being in assembly member, I saw, you know, the tensions that SA could have. And I just remember sitting in that room last year in Maxwell Auditorium and sometimes being afraid to speak because of the environment that SA was. This year things were better, I would say sort of in the beginning of the year. And then obviously tensions arose about a lot of different things. I think a problem, not necessarily a problem, but SA has a lot of loud voices, a lot of people with very strong opinions and come from different backgrounds and different places on campus. And a lot of times they, they do butt heads. And that’s something that, you know, sometimes you can’t necessarily help if you have different people like working with each other. But I think it’s so important that people are respectful of each other. And something that, you know, if we were to be in this position next year, I can already see what I would exactly want to be saying to the organization because a lot of the things that were tolerated this year and a lot of the behavior that happened this year is something that’s to me completely unacceptable. You shouldn’t be like talking down to members like yelling at each other from across the room, but you literally in people. And I think, you know, if you want to be a representative of, you know, this university, you have to learn to be respectful of other people’s opinions and you know, be able to like work with each other even if you don’t necessarily always agree with that person. Um, so for me, I think like, I totally do recognize all of the problems that SA has, especially like being in that role. And I don’t agree with all of the things that Kyle and of Ghufran did to, you know, try and fix things because they did try and fix things, but sometimes it just didn’t work. And I think honestly it’s about how you set up the entire year. So you know, coming into that room in August and making sure that you’re setting guidelines and you’re setting the right example and behavior and just making sure that people are understanding like what you stand for and what you are wanting this organization to become. And hopefully that that’s something that can be respected. I think a hard time that we had this year is we had so many new assembly members coming into the organization and if you’re not setting the right precedent at the beginning of the year, it’s just going to continue to get worse. And that’s something that I definitely saw this year with, you know, assembly members not knowing their expectations and what is expected of them and the rules that they have to follow. So then cabinet members were getting frustrated because they weren’t getting help on the initiatives and the events that they want to be planning. So I think a lot of it happens at the beginning of the year and setting the right precedent and the right ideas and the right background of how you want to build this organization is something that has to be done right off the bat. Um, in regards to Cuse Can!, um, you know, I am Kyle and Ghufran’s chief of staff, um, and a lot of things were done not in the best way. Um, I think obviously like first and foremost, like the tweet that Pusha T like tweeted in 2011, that’s obviously problematic in itself. Like no one should be coming to this campus that has said anything homophobic. And that’s something that like obviously everyone wishes they can take back and we wished that the vetting process was able to like see that and you know, if it can be Googled so then, you know, that person shouldn’t be coming to this campus even if it’s an archive to Tweet. But in my eyes, like for the event that is tomorrow, like there was nothing that can be done other than to move forward and try and make that event the best event that it could possibly be and to embrace the things that we’re supposed to be positive about the event. Like embracing the community, all the different communities on this campus. Um, and you know, talking about all of the things that go on in the surrounding city is something that we want to focus on next year. But the first, first and foremost, like there was problems with the event that was put on last year Cuse for Good. I was in the room and a lot of the same problems that came up this year, our problems that we saw last year. Um, and you know, when Kyle and Ghufran were planning this event. I tried to emphasize to them, you know, you have to be updating your cabinet and you have to be updating assembly because I saw what happened last year when all of a sudden Angie Pati and James made an announcement that we were having this huge event that we were spending so much money on and no one knew about it. So I completely like, I feel like we’re reliving the past because this should have been something that we were learning from the mistakes that happened last year. So for me it is a lot about, you know, making sure that you’re communicating with the people that you’re supposed to be leading. Um, $242,000 is a lot of money. Like everyone totally recognizes and I think, you know, there has to be more rules on rollover in general. Um, Stacy on most this platform of the 60, 40. 60 going back into like student dollars and going back to student organizations in the 40% remaining as rollover in SA. I think that’s like a brilliant idea and that’s something that we would definitely like to see next year. Because you know, student organizations should be getting that money back and two or three people shouldn’t be making the decision to spend $242,000 on their own. So I think that’s something that’s really important but also recognizing the fact that a lot of initiatives and events wouldn’t be able to be put on without that extra money and rollover. So SA should have some access but definitely more oversight into how they’re able to spend that money. There was a lot of things that could be changed and you know, if we were to do this next year, or anything remotely like close to something of this, um, it’s important that you’re involving your cabinet members right off the bat. You’re opening up that room to as many people as possible. So we understand that with everything, with contracts and stuff like that, you can’t necessarily have a million people in the room at one time. However, before you’re even thinking of planning and stuff, then you have to go to all of the different organizations, all the different parts of campus and making sure you’re hearing those voices and hearing, you know, things that they want to be seeing. So going there first and then, you know, bringing it to the room where there can only be a few people in there, like totally understand that for contract purposes. And then once you’re able to be updating people, you have to be updating people, updating your cabinet, making sure that you’re getting everything possible feedback wise from the cabinet members, from assembly members. I think is super, super important. And then, you know, in regards to the panel, um, it’s so important to be having something like the panel. I think how I would see the event sort of going is say, having, you know, Tiffany how to just coming on at two o’clock. Um, having people like becoming at one o’clock for the panels but not, not that they don’t know that, you know, they would be having a panel before Tiffany Haddish but having more of an incentive of people getting there before rather than they have to go to this event afterwards that they’re probably not going to go to because it’s after Tiffany Haddish and there’s no really big incentive other than the fact if you want to be actively engaged in these conversations. Um, I think that’s really important. I know, I don’t know if you have anything to add to that.

S.S: It’s um, yeah, I think just like the price times very hefty, like very hefty and there needs to be a lot of conversation, like you said, surrounding like what exactly is being done if we’re spending that much money on an event. But I think something that this event is going to be really beneficial in doing is bringing together the people that are passionate about social justice and passionate about social change and the people that aren’t necessarily that passionate about it, that know who these people are and want to see these people come. And it gets people involved in the conversation that wouldn’t necessarily be involved in the first place, which is a really, really hard thing to do. You know, that’s why all the liberal arts requirements are so tricky is because, you know, you can get people to be required to go to these classes that are educating them on diversity and inclusion. But if they’re not receptive to it and if they don’t want to be there, how much are they really going to get out of it? So I think that’s like one of the biggest functions of this event and it’s celebrating such a great community of people that aren’t celebrated very often. So like to make sure that, you know, yes, we wish it was done differently, but this is still such an important thing. And it’s still something that should be put on and should be celebrated.

The D.O. Editorial Board: You touched on this a little bit already, but what are some areas that need to be improved in the student association and how would you address them?

M.M: I would say communication is a huge thing that the organization really needs to work on overall, internally, but also externally. We were talking to leadership at ESF a few weeks ago, um, just to sort of see how like their undergraduate student association works. Um, and one thing that they do is they send out all of their bills and legislation that they pass to the entire student body and that listserv. And I know a lot of times we’re working on these bills and this legislation and it’s being gone over in our Monday assembly meetings. And the only people that are hearing about it are us and like The D.O. reporters that are there. And if people aren’t reading the articles that you guys are putting out about those specific bills, but sometimes it’s only like one or two bills that are actually being like written about. So, I think, you know, communication wise, like student association is the undergraduate student government and part of that government aspect is the bill and the legislation. So, making sure that we’re communicating all of those things out to the student body. But also, that we, an important part to us about this entire campaign is we don’t want to be pushing forward our specific agenda. We want to be pushing forward, things that the student body wants to see. Um, so that’s about like going to organizations like we have been over the past few weeks hearing what students want to hear. I’m getting feedback and concerns and you know, different ideas and making sure that we’re focusing on that not so much us and our initiatives that we want to see get done this year. Um, and I think it’s really important to recognize that Kyle and Ghufran have done a lot of amazing things this year. And they’ve done a lot more than people have in the past, but there are just so many other things that could have gotten done or projects that could have been finished this year if, you know, they learned to delegate things. I think that’s a problem that SA faces in general. People in leadership in this organization don’t know how to delegate. So people are working on one huge project for entire year and sometimes it’s up in the air if that’s even going to get finished. So I feel like if we’re focusing more on delegating to the younger members, to cabinet members, more things are going to be productive. We’re going to be able to be working on more initiatives, which is something that I would really love to focus on next year because we’re putting on a lot of events often. But I think, you know, long term initiatives is something that is sustainable and things that you can continue to build on. So I think it’s really important that we’re working on initiatives. Like, you know, the pure listening service is something that we are still continuing to work with the counseling center for. And to be able to see that through since, you know, I’ve been working on that since November of my sophomore year, all the way through this year and to see that certain things are going to be implemented when the Arch opens. I think that’s so important. Like seeing that initiative like through a year and a half and to actually see that be actionable. I think that’s something that we need to work on. Like finishing things like the sexual assault and relationship violence report. If Kyle had more time this year to be able to working on that, that would probably be complete by the end of the year. Same thing with the ASL report that Ghufran has been working on. They have so many things to be doing all the time meetings all the time. I’ve seen their schedule. It’s crazy. I think if they delegated more and had like little things be going out to different members, I think the organization would be so much more effective in general. Um, also on top of that with delegation, we went to an org recently and there was a staff member in there who has been here for a couple of years, but you know, worked, has worked at different other places and he brought it to our attention that a lot of other student associations really integrate the organizations they’re working with in their processes and they really collaborate with them a lot. And so to make sure that, you know, delegation doesn’t necessarily only extend to members of the SA, but past that to different organizations. Like if we’re working on something with the black community, making sure the African student association can be a part of it and can have a hand in it. Like making sure that we’re not the only ones doing these things when it comes to organizations because those are, you know, where resources for them and there are a lot of things that they want to be doing. That’s like very, very, very important.

The D.O. Editorial Board: If elected. How would you approach your relationship with SU administrators to advocate on behalf of students? Yeah, so I think something I’ve definitely seen this year is the great relationships that Ghufran and Kyle have been able to build with the administrators. I think that is key because a lot of times when kind of the front or hearing things from students, they take it right back to the administration.

M.M: And I think a lot of times we have been able to see tangible at the steps that the administration has been able to take because they value Kyle and Ghufran’s opinions and you know, their thoughts a lot. So I think it’s so important that we continue to have great relationships with people like that, especially like Robert Hradsky, like being he has, he cares so much about the students, and building that relationship. He does have access to so many different facets on this campus. So I think doing that, but also not being afraid to, you know, continue to, I don’t want to say badger, but stay on top of the administration if they’re not performing or they’re not producing results that you want to see. Because I know a lot of times like things get lost and you know, they’re so focused on doing things like not by the book and like taking a really long time to be thinking about all of the different ways that you can do this when students need something right now. And I think that’s something that we really want to work on next year, making sure that if you, if you have to like take a long time or the administration has to take a long time to be producing like long term results, you’re doing something in the interim that makes the student like experience here on campus better and makes things that are happening right now better. So I think that’s something that would really want to do. Yeah. It’s about like, it’s about striking a balance more than anything because you want to, you know your first and foremost function in this position is advocating for the students, which was the thing that was brought up at the debate and it was, you know, really contested. But like that is your job is making sure that like the students voices are being heard. Um, but that, you know, you can’t really get much done if you don’t have a good relationship with the administration. So making sure that like you have struck a good balance of assertive but also respectful. Um, because that’s the kind of relationship, you know, once you get old enough that’s also the kind of relationship you might have with your parents. And it makes things better. It makes communication better, it makes things go more smoothly and you know, it’s, it’s less fighting, it’s more, I feel like there’s more empathy built into it when it’s done that way. And it’s also so important that you have like an open, I think relationship with the administration, like Kyle and Ghufran can like shoot someone an email and they’ll get back to them like as soon as possible. And they, the administration want to see that too. If we hear a concern, they want us to be open with them and tell them that as soon as possible so that things can actually be like worked on all the time. And I think if you have that relationship and you’re open with each other and they’re sharing things with you and you are sharing things with them, I think overall, like the experience between the SU administration but also the student body can be a lot better.

S.S: Yep.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Could you describe the SU administration in three words?

S.S: There’s one word that comes to mind: analytical, because they do care about the students and they do want to be making lasting change, but you know, they’re very calculated in how they do that and they need facts and figures and they need full reports and they need to know that every step of the way. Like it’ll be a logical decision. Um, whether that’s because they just want it to be foolproof, whether that’s because of political correctness, like that’s not necessarily to clear, but when it comes to the administration, like calculation is very important and analysis is very, very important I think.

M.M: And I think that’s something that I’ve even seen with like my pure listening service report. I, Kyle and I spent like over a year collecting data from like 10 different peer institutions. And because that’s something that the administration was like, you have to have this, you have to have all of this research and this school is built on, you know, research. We’re supposed to be one of the best research institutions and you know, the worlds. And I think for me it was like, here I’m providing with all of this information, we’ve done all of our research, presented an entire report to them and then you know, them coming back and they’re like, no, we were going to do more ourselves. Um, and you know, that’s, that’s awesome. And you know, that’s them being analytical and I’ve seen them be analytical and like this is a perfect example, but a lot of times you just have to be making sure that, you know, something like I was just saying before, like something has to be done in the interim. If you’re going to take this time to be analyzing everything and coming up with like, you know, your full foolproof plan. Like Sameeha was saying, like you have to be doing something. And I think that’s something that the administration definitely like struggles with is, you know, they’re thinking out these plans all the time. And you know, behind the scenes there are definitely doing things that they’re overall they want, all they want to do is improve the student experience here or they want to be providing the best, you know, education and experience for students here. But I think a lot of times they miss steps because they’re so focused on doing everything like by the book, and analytics wise.

Saied: Yeah. Sometimes cause you know, it’s good to be logical and make sure that every step is being considered and being taken. But like sometimes with human experiences just in general, like humans aren’t completely logical and sometimes people need more than just logical. So like definitely, something we’d want to be working on.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Would you urge the administration to allocate Invest Syracuse funds to specific programs on campus and if so, what programs?

M.M: A part of our diversity and inclusion platform is increasing funding that would go to offices like OMA, the LGBT resource center, the Slutzker center for International Students the disability, cultural center programs like Inclusive U, things like that are things that are also important to us. And I think that the university needs to be putting more resources into these things. Like there was an instance in February where OMA wasn’t going to be able to put on an event because they didn’t have enough funding for Black History Month. And you know, it’s great that they were able to come to student association and we were able to help give them that funding to be able to put on that event. But that shouldn’t be on the students to be doing it. That it should be coming from the administration. All of this money that they’re fundraising to be opening facilities like the Arch and renovating, Schine. Like those things are so important. Like it’s going to be awesome to have all these amazing health and wellness facilities that I’m sure will overall improve the student experience here. And like Schine definitely does need updating. So like great that they’re putting money into that, but you have to be focusing on the experience that students have, like, you know, outside of this campus, like just living here and being able to like feel like they’re included. And providing resources to things that like, you know, would help improve their themselves as like people rather than just as students.

S.S: I don’t know if you also on top of that, probably like I said before, programs and scholarships for diverse groups of people. Because you know, you can funnel as much money as you want into these buildings and into these renovations. But you know, if you don’t have students, if you’re turning down really incredible students on the basis that they can’t afford to come here or they can’t afford to stay here and they have to transfer like I almost did like I almost transferred because it was too expensive and you need to be making sure that some of that money that’s being invested in Syracuse is being invested in the students so they’re able to invest their time in Syracuse. And I read the, the email today or yesterday about like the $40 million that they fundraise to help increase financial aid packages. And I think that’s awesome. And that’s, that’s a great step that they’re using Invest Syracuse resources to be fundraising this money to be helping students here on campus. So I think that’s definitely a great step in the right direction, but it is like creating more scholarships for people of marginalized communities so that they feel like they can come to this school and be accepted here and have a community here. I think that’s so important.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Do you think that the Department of public safety should commit to a review of his policies? And if so, what do you think the review should entail?

S.S: Um, yes. Um, we have like been thinking a lot about this because this is something that SA has been working on is, um, a review of DPS. And I think our biggest thing in that is making sure that when we’re reviewing DPS, it’s not just a one-time thing, it’s continuous. It happens annually or every five years. It’s the thing that continues and it, it just keeps going because if we do it once and that’s it, then if there’s any new DPS officers that are being hired after this, they get off  free. You know what I mean? And even more than that, it’s making sure that, you know, within it where keeping DPS officers accountable for their interactions. Because I have heard like from some of my friends, I’ve heard personal accounts of racially biased interactions that they’ve had with DPS officers and nobody hears about it and nothing is done about it and that officer continues to do the work that he does — or she, I don’t, I don’t really know. But just making sure that, you know, it’s a continuous thing that keeps going and that it’s something that’s causing them to be held accountable for their actions.

M.M: Yeah. And going off of that, like the bill that Torre Jackson has been like working on, like through SA about the DPS review, it’s super important. Like one part of that is that it’s being done by an outside organization. So, sort of like the Greek review. Not that everything that was done like with the Greek review was done like properly in our eyes. But just definitely making sure that we’re doing something similar to that. But once the review is done, making sure that you’re making all of the information that is gathered for this review open to the public. Yeah. I think that’s, that’s something that we struggle with. Like the university is so built on research and wanting always like the statistics all the time. But when students want that data, it’s so hard to find it. Like you can, you can’t find anything on like student, like it’s like the experience here and like DPS website, like you can’t find anything currently. And recently one of like, the people in DPS told Torre that like they do have this review, but it’s not the review that we are looking to do. Um, and you know, the information from that review isn’t available right now because it was done like a year ago and they haven’t uploaded yet. I think it’s making sure that like when this review was done, that that information and that data is available to students because it doesn’t matter if the review is done, if you don’t know what’s coming from it and the information that you can get from that.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Okay. Were you satisfied with SU’s Greek life review and why or why not?

M.M: I’m on the professional fraternity council, so not really like involved like super heavily in the Greek community, cause it’s definitely different for me than anyone else in like say, social, Greek life. I think it was a good step in the right direction. But I think with that there’s obviously a lot of things that can be done differently. We were at a Greek organization last night and speaking to them. And they were just telling us all of the frustrations that they have. Cause it’s a multicultural Greek organization and you know, the fact that they have to have their houses off campus. And there’s the, they’re the parties like that are getting busted and stuff like that when, you know, if you go down frat row, no one is really ever knocking on those doors and telling them to like be closing down their parties. Um, and just like the way that different councils are treated differently. I think that’s something that they brought up to us last night. It’s that the PFC is treated differently than, you know, NALFO and you know, Panhel and PFC, like everyone has different standards and the way that facet is right now. Just from hearing it from a lot of students, it’s just like completely in shambles and you know, things are just kind of all up in the air and no one really knows what’s going on. So I think that’s, that’s something like, you have this Greek review and now it’s like, what do you do to make sure that things are changing. And I think that the like statistics and the data that they released, we’re like, okay, but there needed to be more released to the students.

S.S: Yeah.

The D.O. Editorial Board: The executive summary of the review included the following note: “Although hazing did not seem to dominate the conversation with the affiliated students, there were some underlying concerns shared by them. Some examples included sleep deprivation, extreme exertion/exercise and verbal and emotional abuse.” Do you believe SU releases enough information about hazing incidents? If not, what would you do to address that?

M.M: I definitely don’t think we ever really hear about hazing on this campus unless, you know, it goes viral or something or like you hear that all of these organizations are like being put on probation or you know, they’re going through this or that, but you don’t really know what that’s necessarily for. So I think with that, the university definitely has to do a better job of monitoring that in general because I feel like we know that that definitely goes on a lot more often than we hear about. Just being how prominent Greek life is on this campus. Um, and I think with that, it is coming up with a better structure underneath FASA and more people that are working under FASA because they don’t have a lot of staff members. And I think, you know, if they weren’t being overworked so much that they’d be able to like be performing better and becoming, coming up with better steps on how to be improving Greek life on this campus. So I think it’s, it’s really the first step is to be organizing that office, and making sure that throughout the next few years, like each Greek chapter is understanding what standards are being set for them. Because I think that’s something that’s a little hazy for a lot of people as well.

S.S: This isn’t necessarily about like accountability, but just like going off of, you know, being on probation. Like that was one thing specifically that when we talked to some Greek life, like, you know, if a Panhel Greek sorority or fraternity is being caught for hazing, they got probation. But if someone in the NPHC is caught for hazing, they get kicked off. So it’s also a thing about, because like I, I feel like the most emotionally charged times or when there’s confusion among people and so like making sure that any steps that are taken, like are organized and are consistent throughout all the different councils, um, because that would make it so much easier for everybody to know what to expect and to be able to uphold their standards because they understand that this is, you know, this is the repercussion that they’re going to be receiving if they do step out of line.

M.M: I think it’s like having actual defined standards that everyone has to abide by. It’s the first step.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Do you believe SU has healed from Theta Tau’s expulsion and, why or why not?

S.S: I don’t think that, at least for the students that were here when that happened, I don’t think anyone will ever fully heal just because of how emotional event that was, I remember being at the forum right after that happened and I had to like step out because I had a panic attack because of this like huge mass catharsis of so many people with so many different struggles finally voicing their concerns for what felt like and seemed like the first time. And something like that is really, really powerful and it doesn’t just go away, you know, um, especially when it’s so many different things and so much different adversity being addressed and being scrutinized out in one video, you know? Um, so it’s something and it’s something that I don’t think people should forget because, you know, it reminds everybody that, you know, regardless of like how quiet it may seem right now, like you need to continue to galvanize and you need to continue to be advocating for yourself and for the people around you and like understand that everybody really struggles.

M.M: And I definitely don’t think the campus is fully healed because we haven’t fully seen a lot of improvements that were discussed at the end of last year after that forum. I think, you know, what they did with the email after the Ackerman incident. And I think that is something that’s like, it should have been done like after Theta Tau and coming up with these tangible steps of how you’re going to be improving things instead of like vague ideas of improving the first year forum, which wasn’t necessarily that effective. And I think it’s continuing to like work on things like the first year forum, but also recognizing the fact that there are these problems on campus, and how we’re going to continuously be working on them, throughout like our time here. I think, you know, sometimes like the first step that like people think to take is like, oh, form this committee and like try and work on these changes. But you know, sometimes you have to like be creating tangible things rather than just, you know, sitting, sitting down and like taking the time to me meeting like once every few, few times this semester. Um, I think, you know, there hasn’t been a lot of tangible things improved after the incident, so I don’t know if we fully healed from that.

The D.O. Editorial Board: And then if elected, how do you plan to represent students whose experiences you can’t relate to you, whether that’s with regards to gender, sexuality, race, financial status, etc?

S.S: Like I said before, it’s, you know, the most important thing is understanding and acknowledging that you’re not going to understand everybody’s experience. The only experience that you can fully understand is your own. And especially in this position, we are so, so, so cognizant of the fact that like, we’re not here for ourselves if we’re doing this, we’re here for other people. And so making sure that before anything else, we are getting student association out there as much as we can so that the most students as possible, it can come to us and let us know what they want to see changed and how they want to see that done. And making sure that if there is change going on for a certain marginalized group, people representing them are a part of that change. It’s not just, you know, hearing what they’re saying and then us doing it. It’s allowing them to be a part of the process and to have their input be valued as much as they can be.

M.M: Yeah. I don’t know exactly that. I don’t think we will ever be able to represent every voice on this campus, but it’s, it’s making sure that we’re giving every different marginalized group, every different person that represents this or you know, anything, the platform to be able to do that, the platform to be able to speak up. Something that, you know, I’ve been struggling with like on this campaign is there are other campaigns that are, you know, competing on, you know, sexual assault reform. And to me, unless you’ve been in that position in which I have and I’m a sexual assault survivor on this campus and that is something that I’ve had to overcome on this campus. And you can be an advocate and that’s super important as well. But you have to recognize the fact that if you’re planning to do these things, you have to have input from people that have actually been in that situation. You can’t be advocating for, you know, sexual assault like reporting and you know, things like that unless you understand that and you’ve gone through that yourself. And that’s something that I would love to work on next year is like, there was like, you know, the advocacy center closing, um, a few years ago. And like with the Arch opening, we’ve, I’ve been talking to like Cory Wallack and just other people that are involved in those kinds of things and making sure that there’s like a cohesive sort of like system in place for like sexual assault survivors. And I think in planning that, and it’s something that, you know, the school is already looking to do, but you have to have that student voice, that student voice, that understand what it’s like to go through that in that room. And I think that’s something that’s so important to us next year, making sure that we’re having people that actually understand what it’s like to be in that position representing that group because we’ll never be able to represent something that we’ve never experienced.

The D.O. Editorial Board: What have Ghufran and Kyle done well in the past year?

M.M: So working with them has obviously been like a great experience for me, because I’ve learned so much from them. Their leadership style, how much like they care about the student body is something that I think they’ve done a major amazingly, um, the approachability aspect. That’s something that is so important for us. I’ve like seen like students like come up to them like, you know, whether they’re in Panasci or like we’re grabbing food on Marshall Street and the fact that students feel comfortable enough to go up to them and say like, oh, like here, this is this problem. Like what can you guys do about it? Or, you know, I heard this, what are you guys going to do to like help this? Um, I think they’ve done a really good job of like creating like a system, not even a system, like a place on this campus where students feel comfortable coming to them and feel, feel comfortable coming to them as like your student leadership on this campus. Um, and that’s something that is like something that we think that we do pretty well. Like we’re super approachable. And like we want to have that next year. We want people to feel like they can come up to us and tell us if we’re doing something wrong, which is something that’s has to be done I think. But also what things that they see on this canvas that they want to get done. So I think they’ve done that really well. I think they’ve also done a really good job of like working on different things. Um, so Kyle worked on like a wide range of, um, like initiatives and events this year. Same with Ghufran and I think like in years past presidents and vice presidents, like status specific areas. Um, so like health and wellness or like transportation. I think it’s really important that, you know, you’re focusing on as many different aspects of this campus and many as many different like problems on this campus as you can to making, to be making sure that you’re doing as much as you can in the 30 weeks that you’re in this position because that’s not a really long time. So I think they’ve done that really well. I think they, I mean overall like the organization has done a lot this year, but there are just so many more things that can be done in so many more things that can be completed I think.

S.S: I think also just the sheer dedication that they’ve had to the position that they’re in. Their friends would go weeks at a time without seeing them because they’d be constantly in the office constantly in meetings constantly, you know, trying to do their job to the best of their ability. Obviously things didn’t go perfectly right but like to see that they cared enough about the position that they were in, that they understood the importance of their position as much as they did and that they put so much of their life on hold for. It was really, really inspiring.

M.M: They’re like two of the most hardworking people that I’ve ever seen. Like just being around them and like being there to like support them. Just knowing that they’re literally constantly going and like they can go home at night but it’s still, it does not escape you. Being able to like recognize the fact that they’re students themselves, like 20 and 21 years old, like doing this job that is literally a full time job while still remaining a student and doing like keeping up with your friends and still being involved at other organizations while they’re in this role because they definitely didn’t like put all of the other stuff on hold. Um, because of that, I think that is something that they’ve been able to do. So awesomely like balancing everything that they have to do.

The D.O. Editorial Board: When did you think did not work well with the previous SA administration?

S.S: I think one thing that I noticed didn’t go as well as it could have was communication. Obviously we saw that with the Cuse Can! but I think, you know, a lot of the time both of them feel like they need to be taking on a lot of the things that they’re doing and they don’t necessarily feel like they should be asking other people for help. And that’s something that didn’t necessarily work in their favor. It caused some issues and it’s something that if we’re in this position, like we are going to make sure that we work on understanding like we are not the only people in the organization. We’re not the only people advocating for students and we shouldn’t be the only people who are working on things.

M.M: I think that’s something that’s like so important just sitting in a room with them. And you know, having to remind them that like, oh, this person would be really good for this job. Why don’t you like pass that off to them? Making sure that like you are delegating when you’re in this role because that is like so important because I think that, you know, your overall experience like doing this job would be a lot less stressful if you weren’t doing everything yourself. Um, I also think that a lot of their time was spent working on specific projects that they were super passionate about. And I think that while that is so important and there are a lot of things that we would obviously want to work on that we’re super passionate about. Next year. I think it’s also about making sure that you’re, the members in your organization are able to do the things that they’re super passionate about and making sure that that’s a focus and they have the resources that they need to be able to like see those things through. I think it’s so important that you’re building relationships with the people in your organization. So building relationships with the assembly members is something that like, was so important to me and I wish that they were able to do that more, which I know is super overwhelming because they have a million things to be doing at once. Um, but I think that’s how you produce like the next leaders of this organization. I’m just making sure that, you know, they’re not afraid to be in that room and making sure that you’re doing everything possible to make sure that they’re comfortable and that they know what the, this organization is about. Um, I think that’s something that they could have definitely worked on this year. Um, and yeah, I think just overall like communications in general with like the student body of like making sure that you are literally like the two faces like that students like are supposed to have like representing them. Like you need to be making sure that everything that you’re doing is being seen by the student body. Um, and anybody. Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s just so important.

The D.O. Editorial Board: And just to reiterate, how would you to improve on those faults you just mentioned?

S.S: I think the first step in that is from the very beginning in August, setting a precedent for the people that are in the organization and for the people outside of the organization. Like, you know, letting people know from the very beginning that like, and this is like a huge thing under our transparency and accountability. Things like making sure people know that they can be holding us accountable and if they don’t feel like they’re doing enough, like making sure at the beginning they know they can tell us that they don’t feel like they’re doing it off and then we can give them more. But also just, you know, being able to catch ourselves on that is really important. Self-awareness is probably one of the most important things to have in this kind of position. And to know when what you’re doing is right and when what you’re doing is wrong. Um, is like something that like so important.

M.M: And I think one thing that sort of would make this experience for us unique is that I’ve been through both parts of SA, I’ve seen what it’s like to be an assembly member and you know, be afraid to literally be in that room. And I’ve seen what it’s like to be a cabinet member and kind of like work with everyone and you know, be right there with the president and vice president. And I’ve seen all of the ways that they’ve done amazing things and I’ve seen all of the ways that they haven’t done amazing things. And I think it’s recognizing that and taking, you know, taking that step as soon as you get back and making sure that, you know, I’m saying like they did a delegate and that’s something that needs to be worked on. But making sure that like we’re actually delegating as soon as we get back and things like that I think is super important.

S.S: Yeah.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Could you name three specific projects that you would want to pursue to improve physical accessibility on campus?

S.S: Well first like I um, this, I think I touched, I may not have touched on this actually, but I’m making sure that when it comes to holding, like working with administration to acknowledge formerly off campus housing as being an extension of campus, that’s something that we’re like really trying, we really, really want to implement making sure that that um, extends to plowing because those sidewalks, those streets off of Euclid, they’re not physically accessible for anybody without two well-functioning, well balanced legs. Like they’re very, very dangerous when it’s snowing. And so making sure that plowing is, you know, actually being regulated past our campus cause you, you see like the divide, the second you step off, you can’t really walk. Um, I think it’s a big one.

M.M: Yeah. I think another one would obviously be making sure that all of our buildings here on campus are ADA compliant. I think I recently just heard that there’s, um, something in like, Crouse is like, there’s no ramp to get into like a specific door and like how, how that possible that, you know, we’ve been on this campus for so long and you can like access Crouse if you are not physically able. So I think it’s making sure that every single building here is Ada compliant and it’s something that they definitely worked on a lot last year um, bathroom wise. They have made a lot of improvements with that, but I think it’s making sure that, you know, you’re putting all this money into new facilities like the arch and Schine and I’m sure they’re going to do as much as they can to make sure that those are accessible and those are ADA compliant. But if you’re having all of these old buildings here on campus, making sure that they’re staying up to date and that there are ramps for students to be getting into buildings and they’re like handicapped bathrooms that are accessible in like other places. Like I remember last year I lived in Dellplain Hall. Um, and for an entire semester, the, the bathroom that was for handicapped students was locked, like you could not get into it. Um, and I think it’s things like that that you don’t even recognize. Like if there was a student that needed to use that bathroom on my floor, what were they going to do? Um, so I think it’s making sure that those little things aren’t going unnoticed and that we’re working on things, um, in all buildings on campus. Um, I think another thing, we spoke with SUNY-ESF like she’s had a few weeks ago and one thing that they mentioned was the inaccessibility of their campus. And how if you aren’t able, willing and able to walk on tours, there’s a certain point where you simply cannot continue the tour. And so making sure that, you know, the work that we’re doing to keep our campus accessible. You know, ESF is paying part of our tuition and they are coming over here. So making sure that we’re working with them to make their campus accessible as well, I think is really, really important.

The D.O. Editorial Board: And what would you say sets you apart from the other candidates?

M.M: Something that’s really important to both of us is that we’re both women. And that’s something that you haven’t seen in this position since before I even got to this campus. Um, it was the year before I got here when Aysha and Jane were President and vice president. I think with the political climate of today with things like the #metoo movement and just everything that’s going on, all of the adversity that we’ve overcome as women, I think it’s so important that you know, this, this is represented. And that we can be representing everyone here on campus in ways that like, you know, other people may not understand. Um, so that’s definitely one thing that makes us stand out I think. And then also the approachability part. Um, we are, I think something that’s really what we’re friends and I think that’s so important. You have to have a good relationship with the person that you’re doing this with. And while it is important to have like a professional relationship with them, you also have to be able to like be yourself around them because you’re spending so much time with them. And I haven’t, like I can’t go 12 hours like seeing her now it gets really bad. So it’s like being able to like lean on that person and you know, have them like see all of your flaws and you know, call you out on those things is something that’s really important. Um, and just making sure that you’re comfortable with that person because you’re going to be spending so much time with them, but also when you’re out and about in this, you know, so at Syracuse University that we are approachable to the student body. Um, that’s something I think we’ve already done like really well. Like people are already like coming up to us and they’re like, wow, like we heard about this and this, like we have this idea. Um, and I think, you know, that’s like a step in like the perfect direction, making sure the students are already seeing our faces and already feeling comfortable enough to come up to us and tell us what they see wrong on this campus. I think that’s something that we’ve already done pretty well.

S.S: Yeah. I think, I think the reason that where, you know, we do that so well is because we’re not really that afraid to show our flaws. When it comes to speaking, we know that we’re not necessarily the best speakers, so we just kind of embrace it and we, you know, try and make jokes out of the mistakes that we make when we’re talking like it. Things like that where you can like at the very beginning, like established the fact that you’re a human being just like the person you’re talking to is a human being. And then it makes the conversation and it makes the space immediately more open. And I think that’s something that we’re really, really good about doing.

M.M: And I think we have, we touch a lot of different parts of campus. So I’ll say, yeah, we touch every single part of campus because we definitely don’t, but we bring a lot of different backgrounds from all the different organizations we’ve been a part of, um, in different like friend groups and stuff like that. And it’s so important to be focusing on like the entire campus as a whole rather than just one group. Um, and I think that’s something that we are able to do pretty well. And we trust each other.

The D.O. Editorial Board: And what are your plans if you’re not elected?

M.M: So, for me, um, student association has been a huge part of my life these past two years. So, there’s no way that I would be able to like step away from the organization at all. So I don’t know if that’s me joining like the next person’s cabinet or applying to be a part of the next person’s cabinet or just going back to being an assembly member, just being represented in the organization in some way because I do have a lot of experience in the organization and how things work and I can definitely be an asset to whoever is elected. Um, but also definitely staying involved with health and wellness. Um, planning, mental health awareness week is something that we’re already doing for next year. So that’s something that I still want to be working on, something that’s super important to me. And I’d still stay active in like all of my other organizations here on campus. There’s a lot of things that I actually have been able to do. And you know, running for this position you have to like think about the things that you would have to give up. Um, so I would like, this is, I’m not kissing up to you guys, but like I was have always wanted to like write for The Daily Orange and like, I’m like, if I don’t like when like that is something that I would like, want to like pursue, like, like writing. Like I love writing. Um, so it’s like that like being a senior intern with the admissions office. Like, there are a lot of things that like I would still want to do on this campus that I would be giving up to do this role. So like definitely what it like go into hiding for my senior year like would be like finishing out the year strong and you know, still being very happy to be orange. And no matter who wins this, like the school is going to be represented in a good way and I’m sure that everyone is going to do like the best job that they can to represent the student body. So just like sitting down with whoever’s elected, um, and like talking them through everything that we did over this process and all of the ideas that we heard and making sure that they, if they weren’t reaching out to this new body that they have the feedback that we got. I think that’s so important. But like definitely like I could never leave SA.

S.S: Become more involved. I think I would probably join assembly, um, because you know, just being a part of the organization I think puts you in a position where you can help make lasting change. And I think especially if we’re communicating with the people that do win about like a lot of the things that we’ve been hearing, a lot of the thought processes that we’ve had do, you would be able to, even being an assembly, you would be able to have a larger role and you’d be able to make a lasting impact. And so I don’t think, I don’t think I’d turn away from it if I didn’t, but like just like you said, there are a lot of things that I would have to give up. You know, I may not be able to teach second grade if I get this. And you know, I, I might not be able to apply for steering for OttoTHON. Um, and so like all of these incredible opportunities I think I’d try and pursue.

The D.O. Editorial Board: And a final question from our end, unless there’s any follow-ups from anyone. Um, on SA’s website right now, there’s only two files uploading the documents section for minutes this semester or academic year. And I was just wondering what your thought process would be if elected and would you make sure those are being uploaded?

M.M: Yeah. Um, so that’s something we’ve definitely struggled with this year with our director of technology. And I think it’s so important to have someone in that role that can be gating a lot of time to that position. Um, and the website was just revamped, so maybe not revamping the website, but I think you have to be uploading those minutes every time that we have a meeting. So it would have to like wait one week to make sure that it’s approved at the next meeting. But making sure that the recorder is sending, you know, the minutes to the director of technology to upload to the website. Um, I don’t necessarily think that it should be done through, um, a Google drive. I think that’s what’s linked on there now because it’s confusing and it’s like really out of like yeah, like date. And it’s really confusing to like see what this meeting actually was. So I think there’s a lot of things that can be done on that end, but if we want this organization to be transparent, um, and we want to be constantly be communicating to the students, it’s obviously like that’s a first step. Putting our minutes there and like having students be able to see you exactly what happened at that meeting. So I think, yeah.

S.S: Yeah. You got it.

M.M: Thanks.

The D.O. Editorial Board: Thank you. Any other questions? Great.

M.M: Okay, thank you. Have a good night.