SUNY Oneonta senior baseball player Michael Losak (Merrick/Sanford H. Calhoun) has been named to a new SUNY-wide student action committee.  Losak is one of only 27 students added to the group from the entire SUNY system that includes more than 60 campuses.  In addition to his involvement with this committee, Losak also serves as the President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for both SUNY Oneonta and the SUNYAC.

"I am honored to have been selected for this group," stated Losak.  "We have had one meeting already and I was taken on how everyone in the group wants to be there and be a voice for their school and the SUNY system itself. Over the course of the next few months, this group is going to tackle different topics that have been deemed as important. Two of which are social justice and mental health. We have been granted the opportunity to represent all of the students across the SUNY system and be their voice. I know I can speak for everyone in this group in saying that we are all ready and excited for what is to come next."

State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras made the announcement to create the SUNY Student Voices Action Committee on Monday, Oct. 26 just before noon. The committee will help focus on issues and challenges it faces across the education system.  According to SUNY, these students will help to amplify a collective student voice and expand representation in key discussions and decisions.

"We are striving to be a more student-centric SUNY and to achieve that goal we must open up additional venues to listen to our most important voices: our students," said Chancellor Jim Malatras. "Amplifying that collective student voice allows us to adequately and proactively respond to students' needs and give them the tools they need to succeed and feel fulfilled in their college experience."

The first virtual meeting of the SUNY Student Voices Action Committee was held on October 22, 2020. Members were chosen by SUNY Student Advocate Dr. John Graham.

"It is a privilege and an honor to bring together this magnificent group that will represent students from across the SUNY system," said Dr. Graham. "It is so refreshing to work with Chancellor Jim Malatras, whose actions from day one illustrates his commitment to making students his top priority. In this especially challenging COVID-19 climate—this committee will harness students' wisdom, imagination, and experience to truly tackle the biggest challenges that exist at our colleges and universities."

Members of the committee include students from across the SUNY system, including one member from SUNY Canton.

SUNY Canton Junior and Committee Member Kwame Flora stated, "we're very excited to get started with this important work to better ensure that the voices of each person in our student body are heard and represented. This semester has been full of challenges, with the current civil rights movement and pandemic the world is experiencing, but I'm looking forward to continuing to represent my fellow classmates so that we can further develop a sense of equity during a time where togetherness is so needed to have a successful rest of our semester."

SUNY Student Voices Action Committee members include:

Mildred Adjaero, State University College at Plattsburgh

Christian Guity, Monroe Community College

Shonte' Anderson, Sullivan Community College

Sallie Haas, Fashion Institute of Technology

Kaitlyn Bertleff, State University College at Geneseo

Bradley Hershenson, UAlbany

Lindsey Boody, College of Optometry Neuroscience

Brian Higgins, Suffolk Community College

Lexi Chipules, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Ahad Ikram, Farmingdale State College

Sarah Conticello, State University at Fredonia

Shaheer Khan, Stony Brook University

Kinsley Cruickshank, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Collin Lacki, Niagara County Community College

Kristin Lasker, State University College at New Paltz

Cindy De La Cruz, SUNY Empire State College

Mike Losak, State University College at Oneonta

Justin Downey, University at Buffalo

Katherine Prior, Fashion Institute of Technology

Jacob Eckhaus, Binghamton University

Cadet Ahdiyah A. Robey, Maritime College

Suleyman Eminov, Jamestown Community College

Rebecca Rose, Education Opportunity Center

Kwame Flora, College of Technology at Canton

Nii Tetteh, College of Technology at Delhi

Jasmine Nichole Garcia, NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University

Leysha Velez, Buffalo State College