SA connects with Academic Strategic Planning Committee on its DEIA plan

Members of Syracuse University’s Student Association shared feedback on funding and enrollment with members of the Academic Strategic Planning Committee at Monday’s meeting.

The Academic Strategic Plan is a process that outlines the university’s academic plans for the next five years, according to its website. SA members discussed issues related to the different topics in the plan, such as research or student success, as well as global engagement, enrollment strategy, budget resources and diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility.

Will Treloar, the speaker of the assembly, raised concerns about the university over-enrolling students in the class of 2026, and asked how the university plans to ensure all SU students receive an optimal education. Vice President Adia Santos also offered ways to reinvest money from athletic programs into research endeavors.

“This is what teamwork looks like,” said Malique Lewis, SA’s chief of staff. “When I first joined student government, this was my vision for what I wanted to see (on) our campus.”

Santos also said during the meeting she will be meeting with Mary Grace A. Almandrez, SU’s vice president for diversity and inclusion, and Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives, to discuss the expansion of excused absences. She said the expansion will include mental health, racial fatigue, imposter syndrome, having to adjust as a first-year student, among other reasons.

She said the usual limits of one to three excused absence per course each semester is not realistic for most students.

“That’s really just not enough to sustain yourself as a human being,” she said. “Everyone encourages you to separate your personal life from your academics, but that’s not really possible when you’re a human being.”

Other business:

• SA Comptroller Nyah Jones presented the semester and advance allocations to the assembly, which are the proposed budgets for registered student organizations
• SA President David Bruen said SU Chancellor Kent Syverud agreed with SA that SU should move up its Carbon Neutral Goal to 2030 instead of 2040, a goal included in the organization’s Green New Deal