SA Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate Speak to CitrusTV

By Chilekasi Adele

SYRACUSE N.Y. —  “Change starts with all of us.”

That’s the message David Bruen and Darnelle Stinfort are running on in their campaign for Student Association President and Vice President.

The ticket has four main campaign pillars —Financial Accessibility, Health and Safety, Academic Advancements, and Community and Inclusivity. 

On the issue of financial accessibility, Bruen and Stinfort call for a fixed tuition program that would freeze rates for undergraduates through their SU tenure.

Bruen said the school needs to be more upfront about what he sees as an underlying problem — student homelessness and poverty.

“Part of this is calling on the university to be more transparent on this issue… and tell us the facts — how many students are homeless, how many students are at risk of being homeless… and what we can do, substantively, to help them,” added Bruen.

Stinfort was asked about her plans to enhance resources for sexual assault victims. The Massachusetts native said it’s important those students feel comfortable sharing their stories. 

“After going through something like that, you don’t want to feel unsafe or [gaslit] for your experience, because it is valid,” Stinfort said.

On the issue of voter turnout, Bruen said SA needs to be involved more in students’ lives.

“A lot of people, rightly, figure out that the reason a lot of people don’t vote in SA is because they’re not informed — they don’t know what SA does, they don’t know who’s running, they don’t know what they are talking about…” added Bruen. 

While the candidates will run unopposed in the upcoming election, they stressed voting is still important despite having only one ticket on the ballot.

“Just because we are running unopposed… does not mean that this is a guarantee, and it does not mean the things we are talking about are a guarantee,” Bruen said.

The election is set for the week of April 26th. Students will be able to vote through their MySlice accounts.