Let’s be honest: Many Syracuse University students don’t know about the services they’re entitled to. We know when parties at Castle Court are happening and where to get chicken tornadoes at Mayfest, but students haven’t gotten the reality check when it comes to student services.

We hear our college tuition costs more than $45,000 a year, and we wonder, “Where does that money go?” Instantly, we’re filled with frustration, speculating what the university does with its tuition revenue. But for Joseph Zavaglia, one of the lawyers employed by Student Legal Services, the question isn’t what the university’s not doing, but what students aren’t aware of.

“They don’t know what they don’t know,” Zavaglia said.

For example, a recent Student Legal Services meeting was held to discuss the office’s annual budget. Many students are unfamiliar with the fact that the office’s funding comes out of the student activity fee included in tuition costs. Nearly $280,000 in funding for employee and operating expenses were proposed for the 2018-2019 budget, per the proposed expenditures plan.

And yet there were only 1,245 cases opened by the office last year, said Christopher Burke, director of SLS — a small number considering the more than 22,000 students enrolled at SU. Burke said students don’t utilize these services and those like it because of the business of their academic and social lives, paired with a general lack of awareness.

By no means does SU perfectly advertise and educate students on the abundance of services available to them. The university may rather have students sit in on Syracuse Stage plays and freshman orientation forums than introduce them to department chairs and center coordinators involved in on-campus organizations. But students are equally to blame when it comes to their ignorance of services they can utilize.

Students may not care about certain issues until they’re personally affected and are faced with the task of actively searching for assistance. And unless they’re involved in certain campus organizations — such as Student Association, like I am — or serve as orientation leaders or resident advisers, many won’t know about available services.

There’s no simple solution for this. But what students must realize is how much the staff who run these departments care about them and their success. They work hard, doing a necessary but thankless job while understanding they face an uphill climb with every initiative they start.

I also believe positive changes are on the way. Through projects like Invest Syracuse, SU has committed to making facilities like the Counseling Center and the LGBT Resource Center more accessible. But these services won’t have their desired effect if students don’t promote them.

With more than 300 registered student organizations on campus, sharing knowledge is a simple but effective way of incentivizing students to use the resources best suited to them. Because in actuality, there aren’t two sides. There’s one side, painted orange. We all want an amazing student experience for every student who calls this university home.

And we want to qualify for the ACC Tournament. And jobs post-graduation. And Kimmel burritos. Or maybe that’s just me.

Obi Afriyie is a senior cultural foundations of education and history dual major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at ooafriyi@syr.edu.

Published on March 5, 2018 at 9:26 pm