Hawks elect Student Government Association representatives for 2019-2020

UPDATE: 4/15/19 – The article has been updated with an extended quote from Mohamed AbdelGilil that was not in the original published article.

Voting for the 2019-2020 Student Government Association Executive Council was recently held March 19-26. This election was the first to utilize the GetInvolved platform for voting purposes.

GetInvolved is a web-based application introduced by UHCL’s Office of Student Life for student organizations, programs and events. PeopleSoft, UHCL’s official student information system, was used to create an eligibility list within GetInvolved. All students registered or enrolled for the spring 2019 semester had access to voting.

The SGA Executive Council includes four officers that are elected by students. The officers are officially sworn in at the annual Student Life Banquet usually held in late April. Officers then serve a one-year term.

This year Mohamed AbdelGilil was elected president with 177 votes. Ximena Flandes was elected VP-Committee Coordinator with 256 votes. Ashlyn Vaughn was elected VP-Outreach and Communications with 148 votes. Hiba Loya, who ran unopposed, was elected VP-Administration with 322 votes.

Archives show that in the spring 2017 SGA elections 106 students, or 1.28 percent of the then student population, casted votes. This year that number rose to 442.

“[Voting] improved over the years and with a platform like UHCL GetInvolved, we are moving in the right direction making the election ballot secure and accessible to the student body,” said Patrick Cardenas, interim director of student life.

SGA is composed of the elected Executive Council, the Senate and representatives from all recognized student organizations. It is UHCL’s official student government body.

SGA states it’s four main purposes as: advocating for the student body and speaking on it’s behalf, communicating with university administration on issues students and organizations face, electing and appointing students to university committees, and allocating funds to recognized student organizations.

This year’s voter turnout may have been higher because of pre-publicity. Joseph Riley, communication major, said he voted because he cares about the future of UHCL and wants to do his part in making sure student voices are heard. He wants to see the issue of on-campus recycling addressed during this SGA term.

“I didn’t vote because I saw an election flyer and before I knew it the new SGA group were having their first meeting in the Student Life Office,” said Andy Robb, graphic design major.

“I think this election could have used more coverage,” said Morgan Follis, history major “I didn’t hear much about it or how to vote until it was over. Maybe next year there should be an event where students can meet candidates and vote.”

Newly elected 2019-2020 SGA president Mohamed AbdelGilli said his plans for the upcoming term will work to improve campus conditions overall. He hopes to make students more familiar with who their representatives are by becoming more involved with the student body and sharing information about issues and events.

“Students don’t know who to go to and who to bring their concerns up to and it’s time for the students’ voices to be heard,” AbdelGilil said.

The new SGA Executive Council plans to communicate with orientation services in an attempt to join their program and introduce themselves to incoming students. They will hold coffee meetings where they offer students free coffee and an opportunity to speak with them. They will also travel on campus and visit classrooms to give presentations on SGA’s members and goals.

AbdelGilil also hopes that during his term he can efficiently address issues that he finds students commonly report on such as parking issues, a lack of on-campus daycare, a shortage of professors available for specific courses and class scheduling conflicts.

“Certain classes are offered during certain semesters and students have to prolong their stay at UHCL,” AbdelGilil said.

Some other plans mentioned include smaller changes that aim to benefit students and make the campus more convenient. These changes include: making phone chargers available for check out from the library, installing various charging stations across campus and adding an entrance to the second floor of the library on the third floor of the Bayou Building.  

AbdelGilil stated that he wants to spend his term implementing changes and not “just talking about them.”

“I would like to emphasize that we are not promising anything,” AbdelGilil said. “We are going to put full maximum effort in discussing certain things just due to the school’s financial state. All of this goes up the chain between the current chancellor, state representatives, and the federal government. We also need students to step up and take initiative and join us. Like I said, it’s not just us four, it will require more than that!”

Also, we can’t do anything without the help and support from student life, OSDEI, Orientation, Dean of students, and other offices at our campus!

Students may attend the weekly open SGA meetings held every Tuesday of the fall and spring semesters at 11 a.m in the SSCB Lecture Hall, room 1103.

Students may request to speak at an SGA meeting by submitting a request to speak form at: https://www.uhcl.edu/student-affairs/student-engagement/student-life/student-government-association/speaking-request

The submission deadline for the Request to Speak form is at least two weeks before the desired speaking time. If permitted to speak, students are allowed a three-minute runtime.