Aiming to reinforce the relationship between the Student Association (SA) E-Board and groups on campus, the Black Student Union (BSU) held a town hall-style question-and-answer on Wednesday in the New University Union.
Brandon Jenkins, a member of BSU and a junior majoring in economics, said that it is necessary for students to feel comfortable approaching the SA.
“The most important thing is to have common ground between the SA and students,” Jenkins said. “We want to build a friendly basis so that students feel they can freely ask for help.”
Anonymous questions submitted by the audience prompted members of the SA to discuss its plans to match Binghamton University’s goals for expansion.
“In the last three or four years, Binghamton University has transformed,” said Alexander Liu, SA president and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law. “As the Student Association, we have to follow that trajectory and make sure that if the administration wants 20,000 students by 2020, we’re ready for that.”
Chris Zamlout, SA executive vice president and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said that his office will benefit from the University’s changes.
“With more students coming to the University, it brings more money and more infrastructure to the SA,” Zamlout said. “With that comes the opportunity for more student groups.”
He added that while many organizations will be added to benefit a growing student body, attention must be paid to existing groups to make sure they are not lost in the changes.
“What I really want to focus on is that we don’t grow the student group number to a size that is unsustainable,” Zamlout said.
Liu said that the University’s plans also give the SA an opportunity to be introspective and evaluate its current performance.
“We have to look at where our strengths are, look at where our weaknesses are and see how we can build on our infrastructure moving forward,” Liu said.
According to Don Greenberg, the vice president for academic affairs and a senior triple-majoring in computer science, finance and mathematics, his office has many resources to offer the student body that many are unaware of, such as help with class registration and dealing with conduct violations.
“This year our goal is to define ourselves as an empowering office,” Greenberg said. “We’re trying to advertise to students that any and all problems can be brought to our office and addressed by an advocate.”
While the meeting offered students an abbreviated look into the future plans of the SA, Jenkins said that it was a step in the right direction and helped to open lines of communication.
“I feel like the students on campus need to be more aware of the SA and what they do,” Jenkins said. “Many students have different ideas and concerns, but don’t know where to go or how to address them. With this forum, we helped get questions answered.”