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Syracuse University’s Student Association gathered on Monday night with hopes of convincing the university to be more accommodating to students in regards to navigating COVID-19. 

Prior to the meeting, SA President David Bruen and Vice President Darnelle Stinfort met with Allen Groves, the new senior vice president for the student experience at SU, to discuss how the university is addressing COVID-19. 

SA drafted a letter requesting hybrid options in classes for students in quarantine or isolation. Many students have been placed in quarantine or are isolating with no access to Zoom or recorded lectures and are expected to catch up in the class on their own, Stinfort said.

Despite SA’s push for more hybrid options for students, Groves seemed hesitant about the letter’s proposal, Stinfort said. She said Groves responded that students would simply rather be in person with no virtual option, and an opportunity for students in quarantine to have a virtual option could be a slippery slope to more students not attending class in person. 

“Because he’s (senior) VP of student experience, this is not his area of expertise and not an area that he makes a decision on,” Bruen said. “Ultimately, we have to go through academic administrators.”

Groves was weary about a hybrid option for those in quarantine because he does not want mass panic to spread around campus about COVID-19 and the vaccine, Stinfort said. She said Groves felt it would be demanding to ask professors to teach in person and on Zoom.

SA plans to push for more COVID-19 accommodations from the university.

“I think ultimately a lot of us might be disappointed by what decisions are made and what people say to explain those decisions, but we’re student leaders,” Bruen said. “We can still lead on these issues. … We can still encourage our peers to follow university policies.” 

The meeting also included a confirmation of a student representative for SU’s Board of Trustees. Amaar Asif took the stage and explained to members why he deserves the position. 

“I think it’s important to get to know the Board of Trustees,” Asif said. “They hold so much power. … They are not students here.” 

After deliberation from the room, he was selected as the new representative.

Published on September 14, 2021 at 12:25 am

Contact Hannah: hcferrer@syr.edu