In Aysha Seedat’s first semester as Student Association president, she has put an emphasis on increased communication with outside groups as she has worked on different initiatives.

In particular, she has often consulted with student governments at other colleges for assistance on those initiatives, and has made an effort to garner and consider feedback from Syracuse University students. Next semester, Seedat plans to focus on initiatives that fall in line with the pillars of safety and support that her spring 2015 campaign was built upon.

Throughout this semester, Seedat worked to draft an “Uber letter” to send to the New York State Assembly arguing for the legalization of ride-hailing services in the state. To pen the letter, she worked directly with the student governments at other schools in New York state, including Le Moyne College, the University of Rochester and schools in the State University of New York system.

Last month, the SA assembly voted to approve sending the letter to the state assembly.

“That in particular makes me really happy,” Seedat said.

Seedat has also been working to implement a $100 student athletic fee, which would replace the way students purchase season tickets for football and men’s basketball games.

As she has considered how to propose the fee, Seedat has reached out to the student governments at other schools that compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference — a number of which have their own versions of student athletic fees.

While consulting those schools, Seedat compiled research to present to SU Director of Athletics Mark Coyle and Deputy Athletics Director Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick. Seedat then sent that research to Coyle and Keenan-Kirkpatrick after meeting with them last month.

Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, senior vice president and dean of student affairs at SU, has worked closely with Seedat throughout the semester. She said working with other student governments to make progress on legislation could make for an interesting blueprint for SA in the future.

In addition to working with other student governments, Seedat has also looked to increase communication between SA and non-SA students at SU. To ensure that students have a better knowledge of SA, Seedat has sent out frequent “SA Update” emails to the entire student body — something former President Boris Gresely did in the spring. Seedat said those emails have been averaging “about 2,000 clicks.”

“I think she uses that email wisely,” Kantrowitz said. “She’s very thoughtful about the messages that she sends.”

SA Vice President Jane Hong said she’s noticed an increase in the overall student awareness of SA’s role on campus this semester. Recently, a student walked into Hong’s office in the Schine Student Center to thank her for all that SA does at SU, Hong said.

“It was so unprecedented and I didn’t expect it,” said Hong, who added that when she was a freshman, she had friends who didn’t know what SA was. “But I think more people are starting to realize what we do.”

Seedat has also tried to improve communication through the use of surveys. In September, SA sent out a survey asking students whether they would utilize a program allowing them to access syllabi before course registration.

That survey got about 500 responses in 24 hours, Seedat said. Though a final resolution for that initiative has not been drafted, Seedat said the student response will ultimately benefit SA as it tries to pass the legislation.

“(The students) showed a clear need for this program,” Seedat said. “And now it’s on the administration’s radar.”

Seedat said she will revisit the initiative in the spring semester if SU hires a provost by then. She also plans to launch the Mental Health Awareness Campaign and pass legislation for an undergraduate research grant program during her second semester as president.

The Mental Health Awareness Campaign would be a weeklong campaign meant to address and reduce mental illnesses, falling in line with the safety pillar. Seedat said mental health is an issue that is particularly important to her because her mom suffers from schizophrenia.

The undergraduate research grant program, meanwhile, would supply students with $1,000 stipends to conduct research over the summer, falling in line with the support pillar.

SA launched a pilot program last summer, which Seedat said was successful. She added that it’s important that students have the means to conduct relevant research and hopes the administration will fund the program. A portion of the university’s budget already goes toward research, but it is not for undergraduates, Seedat said.

“There’s not as much of a stable support system for undergraduates doing research here,” she said. “So that’s something I’m really going to be pushing forward.”

Published on December 8, 2015 at 10:38 pm

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu