As I sat at the end of the third row in the Joyce Hergenhan auditorium during the Student Association Presidential Debate, crossing my legs — legs that were “decently” covered by opaque tights that extended past an “appropriately” long black dress — I clenched my blazer shut and watched a man diminish my extensive on-campus leadership and broad academic experience; exhaustive malaria research and medical work in India; and nonprofit work in South Africa as “not real experience.”

As I sat at the end of the third row, attempting to exude professionalism with my opaque tights, long dress, blazer and overall demeanor, I watched one man falsely accuse me of incompetence and another man — a caring and compassionate man, who I am proud to call a dear friend —defend me.

As I sat at the end of the third row, I realized I was powerless. I realized that a man could destroy the significance of my accomplishments by a simple subjective classification of their irrelevance, and I could do very little about it.

Tyler Rossi’s comments about me during the Student Association’s Presidential Debate were problematic for two main reasons, one of them specific to this campus and another one much larger than this incredible Orange community I love dearly.

Rossi’s comments, which he apologized to me for, were specifically problematic to this campus because he employed personal attacks to a Student Association election without regard for their detriment to Student Association. By making the comments he did, Rossi did not promote the trustworthy Student Association he has been advocating for, but reduced the seen effectivity of SA and the importance of this election. The way to bring back trust is not to insult others.

Rossi’s comments also had implications beyond the realm of this campus — they’re reflective of the fight women, especially women of color, continue to battle to be seen as equal—both equal in experience and equal in importance. His comments remind us that we’ve come far, but we have much further to go.

I value the experiences that Tyler Rossi and Roy Tin have, and I believe they make valid arguments as Student Association’s Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, respectively. I strongly believe that although our experiences are different, theirs are in no way less important than mine. I look forward to future collaboration of our varied experiences, a true reflection of what makes Syracuse University so special.

Angie Pati

Syracuse University, Class of 2018

Neuroscience and psychology double major

Vice presidential candidate, Student Association 61st Legislative Session

Published on April 3, 2017 at 10:23 pm