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As spring break approaches, Syracuse University’s Student Association is gearing up for assembly elections and Multicultural Week to finish out the semester. In the final months of his term, SA President German Nolivos is focused on supporting students on campus impacted by new federal efforts to limit diversity, equity and inclusion and target immigrant populations.

The assembly is in the process of establishing new protections to ensure student safety and understanding as SU officials prepare for possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence on campus. Nolivos said SA will continue working on its ICE Resources Bill, hoping to get more resources for students about their legal rights when interacting with federal agents.

“We will work in the next couple weeks with SU administration on (the) federal legislation,” Nolivos said. “To make sure that Syracuse is safe, and they understand that we’re here to prepare all students, no matter what.”

The bill was directly implemented after Trump’s slurry of executive orders calling for the mass arrest of undocumented immigrants in his first days in office, Nolivos said. One of these orders rescinded a former policy that directed ICE officers not to carry out enforcement actions at vulnerable locations like schools, hospitals and churches.

Moving forward, Nolivos said SA will continue to strengthen its response efforts and have continued dialogue about ways to protect students’ rights.

“(SA) hopes to ensure students feel safe,” Nolvios said. “And that they understand that we are here to protect all students no matter what.”

SA is currently developing new initiatives to directly address Trump’s administration by having open conversations about what it can do to help students. Nolivos said it’s important for students to apply for SA’s elected positions to exercise their right to vote and participate in upcoming elections.

Despite a tense political climate, Nolivos said SA’s upcoming Multicultural Week will honor the lived experiences of students on campus, with programming running from March 22–30. SA plans to host multiple events and is partnering with other organizations to foster an environment empowering the diverse culture of SU students, Nolivos said.

The association is also working on coordinating a locally supported farmers market in April, but remains in the planning phases of the project. The market would offer students an opportunity to engage with the broader community, Nolivos said.

In the future, Nolivos hopes the market will become a regular tradition on campus.

As election season begins, Nolivos said SA has been working to expand its influence and educate the student body on the importance of the association and its functions. As a test of these efforts, SA hopes to see increased campus engagement in the election from previous cycles, where the association was unable to achieve 10% student body participation in both spring and fall 2024.

This 10% voting benchmark is also important, as it marks the threshold SA needs to pass its constitutional referendum, which would add new seats to the assembly and rebrand the association as the “Student Government Association.” SA has been unable to pass the referendum in its previous two attempts.

Students have been advocating for the name change, pointing out that the current name does not accurately reflect the government functions of the organization.

“Communication and transparency of us as a government should be as clear as possible,” Nolivos said. “We’re always working to maintain things and make better and have better vision for communication with students.”

Additionally, Nolivos said he hopes for an efficient advanced allocation process with the proposed Review Board Committee. The committee would mitigate over-allocation and ensure effective use of semester budgets.

By the end of the semester, SA also intends to establish a New York State Student Government coalition. The coalition would connect New York state colleges’ student government bodies.

“We want to make sure we are always thinking ahead and not thinking at the moment,” Nolivos said. “This is something that the administration should always do. We need to always be thinking about the bigger picture.”

Published on February 23, 2025 at 9:52 pm