The Syracuse University Student Association on Monday planned out hurricane relief trips to Puerto Rico and Houston, in partnership with Hendricks Chapel.

Over Winter Break, at least 15 students will take a trip to a base 30 minutes outside of San Juan to help with hurricane relief efforts. Applications will open in early November for spots on the trip and there will be a selective interview process, said Angie Pati, vice president of SA, at Monday night’s meeting.

She added that flights and travel logistics are still being finalized, but the Puerto Rico trip is scheduled for Dec. 16 to Dec. 22.

Students will volunteer through Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, but the trip does not exclude people of any specific religion or faith, Pati said.

The second relief trip to Houston will occur over Spring Break. Details have yet to be announced on that trip.

SA on Monday also passed a motion to spend $3,000 on busing to run an apple picking event, organized by the Student Life Committee. The apple picking event will be held on Oct. 22. Two accessible buses will go to and from the apple orchard — once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

President James Franco also said all 1,000 tickets SA purchased for the SU-Clemson football game were claimed. He said more than 200 students lined up before the giveaway.

The first 250 students who arrived also received free T-shirts and pizza, as a donation from Syracuse University Athletics. Otto’s Army assisted in handing out the tickets and merchandise, Franco said.

Franco said SA has not had a partnership with SU Athletics in the past. Now the organization has a relationship to potentially organize more events in the future, Franco said.

“It was really cool to give 1,000 students an opportunity to have that magical experience,” he said.

Some SA cabinet members also met with Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado last week to discuss possible education programs on what DPS’s role is on campus, Franco said.

He said cabinet members spoke about a “positive ticket” initiative, a program including a form of reward system for students who perform “good deeds,” which have yet to be specified, Franco said.

Pati also updated SA members on the planning of long-term mental health initiatives, including a peer-listening service. SA, at present, is in search of an adviser and a space to conduct the listening service. Pati is also researching and reaching out to other universities who currently have a similar type of program in place, she said.

Published on October 16, 2017 at 11:28 pm

Contact Catherine: ccleffer@syr.edu | @ccleffert