Dylan Lustig, vice chair of the Student Engagement Committee, will run for president of the Student Association with the slogan: ‘We are giving the Student Association back to the students.’

The sophomore international relations and economics major decided to run for president because he disagrees with the way SA is currently being administrated, Lustig said.

‘This is not functioning as a student government anymore,’ Lustig said.

If elected, Lustig said his goal will be to better unite SA assembly members with the students each member represents.

Lustig said he has already written a bill to begin amending the issue. The bill requires each member to be on a committee representing their home college, enabling them to keep in touch with constituents.

To bring the student body together, Lustig’s solution is to create a campus-wide day of community service, Lustig said.

‘I think that as student leaders, as student government, it should be our duty to give back,’ Lustig said.

One of the largest problems in SA is the title of the organization, Lustig said. People do not realize SA means ‘student government,’ and he is open to making changes to the name, he said.

Lustig joined SA during his freshman year and is now the vice chair of the Student Engagement Committee. He conducts town hall meetings in residence halls to get students’ perspectives on issues, Lustig said.

He helped form the Dean’s Team in the College of Arts and Sciences, which unites college ambassadors, student peer advisers and first-year forum mentors, Lustig said.

Ian Ludd, a sophomore and undergraduate student representative for University Senate, will help manage Lustig’s campaign and will enlist the help of assembly members. Lustig plans to spend about $300 on the campaign.

Lustig also said he hopes to work with the graduate and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry student bodies because of the shared campus.

Lustig will speak more about his announcement Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the Schine Atrium, he said.rebarill@syr.edu

Published on October 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm