Having spent most of the past week completing interviews to fill his cabinet, Eric Evangelista said he cannot wait to get started as president of Student Association’s 60th Session.

He and his vice president, Joyce LaLonde, have been moving forward and preparing for their roles as the top of the student body since their victorious emergence in the April 15 election.

While they have yet to be officially sworn in, Evangelista has already begun the process of implementing what he plans to achieve during this session.

“Between us, we are looking to accomplish a whole spectrum of new initiatives,” Evangelista said.

The first meeting of SA’s 60th Session will take place on Monday in Maxwell Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., where Evangelista and LaLonde will be sworn in as president and vice president, respectively. They also will confirm the appointment of their seven cabinet members.

Evangelista spent the past week interviewing potential candidates, saying he and LaLonde worked hard to make sure the positions are filled by the best applicants.

Evangelista, a senior history and political science dual major, approached LaLonde, a senior policy studies and public relations dual major, about being on the ticket together in January.

After discussing whether LaLonde would be interested in running as Evangelista’s running mate and their goals and plans for the university, the duo announced their candidacy for president and vice president on Feb. 29.

As the longest-serving member of the organization, experience is something that he is able to bring to this session. For Evangelista, his time in SA began during opening weekend his freshman year.

Seeing Allie Curtis, who served as president of SA’s 57th Session, speak about her affection toward Syracuse and an ability of SA to make the university even better at the class of 2017 convocation, Evangelista applied and was elected as an assembly representative the following Monday. He has been a member ever since and served as the recorder last year under former SA President Aysha Seedat.

While Evangelista has a lot of experience within SA, LaLonde joined the ticket without any prior experience being part of SA. She said she hopes to promote the possibility of a fluid transition for undergraduate students to graduate programs through SU.

Evangelista said he believes this partnership can work extremely well together.

“I think that this experience, combined with Joyce’s outside perspective, makes us a unique and singular team that has access to an unlimited variety of viewpoints and resources,” Evangelista said.

Evangelista said he believes they have formed an excellent partnership due to being different leaders with different interests but the same goal: to make the university better.

“(LaLonde) is very keen on promoting more social issues, like mental health, while I plan on answering more of the academic side such as making sure that students get what they are paying $60,000 a year for,” Evangelista said.

Evangelista also said he believes student safety and security is something that must be addressed.

Evangelista intends to continue the work that his predecessor, Seedat, and her cabinet led during the 59th Session. Referring to them as “very effective and tangible leaders,” Evangelista listed their work in improving the Chat & Dine program between students and faculty, adding heat lamps to bus stops throughout campus and implementing a director of diversity affairs.

Seedat said she believes this partnership between Evangelista and LaLonde will move SA and the university forward.

Published on August 28, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Contact William: wgmuoio@syr.edu