Stephen DeSalvo was off-campus in his Syracuse home when he learned he would be comptroller of Syracuse University’s Student Association’s 56th session.

DeSalvo, a commuter student and sophomore chemical engineering and math major, serves on the Student Association Finance Board and general assembly for the 55th session. DeSalvo, who ran unopposed for comptroller, spent the evening with his parents and campaign manager, Brad Monroe.

Shortly after the results were tallied, DeSalvo was emailed a news release around 12:50 a.m. detailing the results that said he garnered 2,805 votes. Though he ran unopposed, DeSalvo said he didn’t expect to automatically receive the position, as there were rumors of write-in candidates, he said.

‘I definitely smiled when I read the results,’ he said.

After receiving the news, DeSalvo said he called to congratulate Dylan Lustig, sophomore international relations and economics dual major, who amassed more than half of the votes to beat out Taylor Carr, a junior public relations major, for SA president. A phone call from P.J. Alampi, chair of the Board of Elections and Membership Committee, followed the initial email DeSalvo received, he said.

DeSalvo’s campaign centered around bringing transparency to the student fee. He said he would like to change the financial vision of SA, through better educating SA members on the financial process.

‘By informing them better, student groups can have their questions answered even when the comptroller isn’t around,’ DeSalvo said.

Being on the other side of SA excites DeSalvo the most, he said. Instead of solely providing his opinion on financial matters, he’s excited about acting as a ‘moderator of debate’ as comptroller.

DeSalvo said he’s optimistic going into next semester.

Said DeSalvo: ‘I’m pretty confident if I set my mind to it … that I can certainly meet the demands of the students.’

dbtruong@syr.edu 

Published on November 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong