Beginning the second part of the State of the Association address, SA President Takeena Strachan reminded the senators that the organization is deeply in debt and urged them to make sustainable, fiscally responsible decisions. 

“The current state of the Student Association is not doing OK. We are at the point now that if we do not make change we are going to struggle and crumble the governing body,” Strachan said. “Our organizations are going to face severe hardships, and the student body of our school will never be the same again.” 

Tension rose as the senators feel not only economic pressure from over 150 clubs on the Oswego State campus that they support, but the pressure to reduce spending from financial advisors and the president of the organization herself. 

“Our organization has experienced years of fiscal irresponsibility and administrative neglect,” Strachan said.

As a result of multiple meetings with the 63 presidents of the SUNY campuses, Strachan expressed her responsibility to ensure the sustainability of the non-profit organization that is the Student Association.

“I am asking for all student associations to understand that lack of transparency on this issue is not from the current administration but dating all the way back to 2014.” Strachan said. “This year’s administration has not done what past administrations have chosen to do which was to ignore the underlying issues. We solved problems, we hit the ground running, expressing that change was on its way.” 

Strachan went on to stress to senators, guests of the senate and students in attendance that it is necessary to take appropriate steps in order to avoid “the current outcome of the student association; which is either going to be bankruptcy, facing issues of liability or governmental collapse.” 

Transitioning focus onto the club formation process, Strachan said that the executive branch has reformed the old organization creation process into a multi-step process in efforts of removing implicit bias, club duplication and the possibility of accepting a club that is either economically inept or has the ability to sustain themselves via introducing membership fees.

Rather than a club approaching the Rules and Judiciary Committee for approval, prospective organizations would go through a standard application process in addition to submitting a one-page letter of intent.

With this new process, Strachan stressed the importance of diversity in efforts of eliminating bias in approving new clubs and organizations, and ultimately strengthening the organization as a whole. 

With the address coming to an end, the board of directors gave a brief recap, outlining their accomplishments and goals, as they did in the first half of the address last week. 

Then, Vice President Matthew O’Donnell opened the senate to ask Strachan questions. Many senators questioned and asked for feedback on revising the recently vetoed pizza bill, which was a largely debated bill within the senate that intended to penalize a club’s ability to host catered events after failing to do so effectively. 

Strachan said that the largest issue with the bill is the language. The senators, the president and her executive board interpreted the bill differently. Strachan suggested that the senators assemble to discuss exactly what they would like the bill to express and to add an alternative for struggling clubs. 

Strachan said that the pizza bill in its current state was like dropping a class without adding another as she urged her peers to think critically and find another solution that would be less detrimental to organizations and the student body.  

Photo provided by Takeena Strachan