The Student Association’s efforts to properly address mental health on Syracuse University’s campus are admirable, especially considering the mental health of students is a topic student governments are very equipped to address.

An SA committee is currently crafting a report about campus mental health to send to SU administrators. Through the report, the Mental Health Action Committee aims to present accurate and comprehensive information about mental health resources on SU’s campus, clarify misinformation surrounding these resources and develop “feasible and impactful” policy recommendations that SA could help the committee.

Because mental health is a student-centered issue, the information and recommendations presented in SA’s report hold a lot of weight. While it is ultimately up to the university to decide whether more money and resources should be allocated to the Counseling Center, this report should be strongly considered by the SU administration.

Mental health was one of the main components of SA President Eric Evangelista and Vice President Joyce LaLonde’s campaign in the spring 2016 semester. Their SA session hosted the university’s first Mental Health Awareness Week in the fall 2016 semester, but since then, mental health has not been as prevalent. It’s refreshing to see Evangelista and LaLonde address an issue they campaigned so heavily on.

Considering the amount of effort put into the report, it’s important that the assessment is sent to SU administrators sooner than later. The semester is almost halfway over, and if the report is sent during the next SA session, it may be lost underneath the high turnover of cabinet and assembly members.

But regardless of the timetable for the report, it’s impressive and equal parts encouraging to see SA putting work into an issue that is important to the student body. Mental health is one of the most significant topics facing college campuses today, and SA has the power to truly make a difference in the lives of students through this report.