Syracuse University’s Student Association is working to fix its internal culture after months of growing tensions and several Judicial Review Board reports.

SA held an executive session to discuss problems concerning its internal state after a meeting earlier this month. Multiple members voiced their thoughts on the productivity and safety of the current environment. Out of three Judicial Review Board reports so far this semester, two were for behavioral issues.

SA Vice President Kyle Rosenblum said after the meeting that the session was a necessary dialogue because the nature of the organization often leads to internal tensions being overlooked.

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“In SA, it’s really easy to get caught up because we’re always looking at what’s next,” he said. “Today was a really important reminder brought up by a lot of our members that some internal issues are not dealt with and we should take a step back to have these conversations.”

Both Rosenblum and SA President Ghufran Salih have been working to fix SA’s internal culture. After the Feb. 11 meeting, Salih said much of the growing tension was due to the fall semester.

The focus on transitioning into their positions led to a lot of missing accountability in the fall semester, Salih said, and those issues can be better addressed now that SA members have transitioned into their roles.

Board of Elections and Membership Chair Sophia Faram said an organization as large and diverse as SA will always have internal issues. It can be hard to manage the many different personalities in SA, she said.

“It’s a lot of moving pieces, and not all are going to fit perfectly all the time,” Faram said.

Still, SA has begun to address those problems and is now the most productive she has seen so far, Faram said.

As a result, SA cabinet members are providing members with various platforms to voice their concerns, Salih said. She said that SA leaders will to try to meet with more people individually in an effort to make SA more transparent about the roles of individual members.

Salih also said she has been holding more people accountable for the amount of work they do. Many internal problems stem from people doing more work than others, she said.

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“We need to be more cognizant of who’s doing the work that they’re supposed to do and who’s not. Such as who’s pulling the weight of three people and who’s not doing work at all,” she said.

Salih said she and other members also try to have individualized meetings to get students’ perspectives.

In addition to office hours, the cabinet will hold meetings every Friday at 4 p.m. to discuss how to improve internal problems and listen to student concerns. These meetings will include Salih, Rosenblum, Faram, Chief of Staff Mackenzie Mertikas, Judicial Review Board Chair Vishwas Paul, Parliamentarian Drew Jacobson and Speaker Will Pritchett.

Pritchett said he recommends that future leaders continue the transparency and active communication that Salih and Rosenblum have initiated.

“During one election when people were being rude, Ghufran immediately put her foot down and people responded very well to that,” he said. “She’s gone out of her way to listen to people’s concerns because there are some moments of tension that are unjustified and don’t follow the purpose of the organization.”

Pritchett also said that mutual respect is important because everyone has the same goal of enacting positive change.

“You have to tell a person, ‘I disagree with you, but I still respect you as a person,’ and that’s key to any debate,” he said.

— Asst. News Editor India Miraglia contributed reporting to this article.

Published on February 27, 2019 at 8:54 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21