SA commits to a $20,000 donation to Hendrick’s Chapel Food Pantry to combat food insecurity

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Syracuse University Student Association President David Bruen announced during its Monday meeting that the organization is committed to donating $20,000 to the Hendricks Chapel Food Pantry.

SA previously donated to the food pantry — which serves students who experience hunger or food shortages and facilitates longer-term solutions for food insecurity — in 2022 and 2020. Including the $20,000 2022 donation and the $10,000 donation in 2020, SA funds have covered all the pantry’s fruit purchases over the past few years, Bruen said.

“It’s sad that frankly this has to exist, but it does, and that’s the situation we’re in,” he said. “There’s a lot of work around basic values that we’re going to need to engage in with Hendrick’s Chapel, but in the time being, it’s important that we support this great initiative and continue to offer relief to students.”

With finals week approaching, SA is planning to host tabling and other events aimed at reducing stress like the Food for Finals initiative. In the initiative passed Monday, SA will distribute free food to students throughout finals week from Tuesday through Friday. SA will also hold tutoring sessions geared specifically toward first-year students during finals.

“This is really about being there to show students that the Student Association is doing this and to be there to listen to them whenever they have a complaint or want to talk about it,”SA President-elect William Treloar said. “The real important thing here is that we’re just providing food to students and that we’re able to support them through finals, which can be extremely stressful.”

SA also passed a bill to support the University Senate’s resolution calling for SU and the Department of Public Safety to release monthly statements about incidents in and around campus. Jordan Beasley, SA’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said the change would create more awareness surrounding threats and dangers around campus by increasing transparency between DPS and SU students.

Other Business:

• Bruen also spoke about the SA Alumni Council, a network of alumni of SA in which current members can connect to receive support and feedback regarding recent and ongoing SA efforts. Bruen said that many members of the group’s alumni pool, which includes Gov. Kathy Hochul, can provide constructive criticism and create career connections, even for students who don’t want to work in government.
• SA passed a bill to amend the election codes to lower the signature requirements for the finance board from 75 to 40 signatures.
• SA will extend its Spring Into Action community service initiative until this Sunday. The Career Closet event, which works to provide professional clothing donations to undergraduate students, will happen Wednesday.