Efforts have been made to improve the office of vice president of multicultural affairs, a position which, in recent memory, has been under constant fire in the Student Association.
SA President Matt Landau proposed several changes to the SA constitution this semester. Some of these changes are specifically meant to strengthen the VPMA position, and to add more duties and responsibilities to it. There will be a total of six duties added to the position if the amendments are passed.
“The recent constitutional amendments passed by the Assembly go a long way toward strengthening the role of the position on the executive board, which makes it imperative that people vote ‘yes’ on the changes,” said Ricky Da Costa, a candidate for the VPMA position. Yadin Herzel, the other VPMA candidate, could not be reached for comment.
Landau said he believes the position has had a big improvement from last year’s problems with then-VPMA David Redbord, but that it could improve more. According to Landau, if the constitutional amendments he proposed pass, the position will be stable.
“The VPMA needs to not just work with cultural groups internally,” he said, “but on promoting culture and diversity throughout campus using all student groups and all campus resources.”
Maryam Belly, the current VPMA, explained the position is viewed as unstable because it’s the most vulnerable in the constitution. According to Belly, the past VPMAs were people pushing their own agendas instead of serving those who voted for them.
“The position wasn’t created to shove culture down the throats of students,” she said. “Rather, it was created to allow representation for underrepresented students, to unite campus through a variety of events and forums focusing on culture and to prevent the type of assimilation that stifles people’s culture.”
If the amendments do pass, Da Costa believes the changes will only go as far as the person who is elected takes them.
“If elected, I will bring communication and leadership skills to the position, as well as experience and accountability,” Da Costa said.
He plans to build bridges among all the cultural groups throughout campus.
Belly’s advice to the future VPMA is simple.
“Don’t be phased by the ‘pettiness’ that calls itself the SA,” she said. “Focus on your true objectives and remember that as long as you keep an open mind and are altruistic in your endeavors, the attacks will be unsuccessful.”
Kristen Carr, SA program coordinator, said that this semester the SA tried to get the VPMA to “show what they really do.” Carr said she believes there is a need for this position and that the new amendments will help to bolster the position.
“We’re trying to bring it back up so that it’s no longer in limbo,” Carr said.
Landau shared similar views as Carr on the need for the position. The VPMA position, Landau said, is crucial in the SA.
“It is my hope that this referendum will show support with the position,” Landau said.
Belly seconded that and added that “the harder students fight for the position, the harder a select few attempt to remove it.”
If anyone has any questions or are opposed to the VPMA position, Belly welcomes them to come and talk to her in order to avoid “underhanded attacks.”
While the amendments have already passed in the SA, they still need to be voted on and passed by the student body. This will take place next week during elections.
If you want to learn more about the amendments, visit the SA Web site at sa.binghamton.edu.