All students now eligible to vote SGA Elected Council into office
The UHCL Student Government Association (SGA) recently passed a new amendment to the SGA Constitution that extended voting rights for the entire student body to elect individuals into the SGA Executive Council (EC).
SGA is composed of internally selected representatives from each of the student organizations on campus and speaks on behalf of the student body. SGA also is in charge of allocating funds to the student organizations and electing/appointing students to university committees.
Up until the recent amendment’s passage, SGA representatives were the only ones allowed to vote for SGA EC officers. On Oct. 11, the new amendment was passed and now all students will be able to vote in SGA EC officers in the spring.
“The amendment that allows every student to vote for their next executive council is a great step toward a student government that is inclusive and reflective of the entire student body,” said SGA President A.J. Johnson. “Every student pays student service fees that fund SGA and its purpose to advocate for student issues on campus. Therefore, every student should have the right to cast a vote to determine who their next representatives will be.”
The amendment passed with two-thirds of SGA support.
“I am for every student voting for the SGA EC,” said Jose Martinez, SGA representative.
Not all members, however, are happy with the decision to pass the voting amendment. The decision to allow all students to vote for executive officers is causing concern for some SGA representatives who worry that students without SGA experience will not be eligible to vote.
“In regards to the most recently passed amendment of which allows campus-wide voting for future SGA Executive Councils, I feel that this amendment has been written very broadly,” said Tri Nguyen, SGA representative for Legal Studies Association and SGA Director of External Affairs. “Prior to the passing of this amendment, voters of incoming SGA Executive Councils would have likely witnessed their running candidates grow and prosper each week at out Tuesday SGA Meetings throughout the academic year, but with this new amendment, voters would be lacking this knowledge and first-hand experience with running candidates.”
There is an ongoing discussion about altering the amendment, which will carry into the spring semester because a new amendment has to sit on the floor for 30 days, and there are not enough meeting days left in the current semester to address potential changes.
“A few students opposed the amendment, seeing as the vote to approve the amendment passed by more than 2/3rd vote,” Johnson said. “As with any change, there will be those who are for it, those who are against it, and those who are unsure. This was a massive move for SGA, and many discussions were held for almost two months. Student organization representatives discussed this amendment in depth and this resulted in most representatives in favor of the amendment.”
“From this point, every student needs to strongly consider restructuring their SGA. We are striving to build an SGA which reflects the four-year university and its entire student body. This change will be difficult because our SGA is the only SGA that students have known or have been exposed to,” Johnson said. “Unless they have transferred from another four-year university and was involved in that SGA, the students will not understand how a true student government operates. Nevertheless, SGA needs to change for the benefit of future students that will be attending UHCL.”
