Applications for the Student Government Association Senate elections are available to students today. Now is the time for students to take advantage of their ability to be involved in the decision-making process at UH.
During their two, four or, in some cases, seven years at UH, students shouldn’t just sit back and complain as they’re faced with the ever-rising cost of tuition, the never-ending parking situation or PeopleSoft woes.
While administrators make decision after decision about what’s best for UH, students continue to take a back seat and feel as if they have no weight in the grand scheme of the University’s decision-making process.
It has become a trend for student nominees to run uncontested for SGA Senate positions. In 2005, 19 of the 33 races were unchallenged with one at-large position uncontested. In 2006, six out of seven at-large positions were unopposed and 22 out of 27 people of that SGA administration were elected without opposition. In 2007, five out of seven at-large positions were unopposed, including all three executive positions, and 25 out of 32 people were elected without opposition, The Daily Cougar reported.
The current SGA Senate passed a bill Friday to amend its Election Code to ban University party labels to help increase the number of students running for Senate chairs.
As the one group elected by students to represent students and serve as spokespeople to UH administration, students should take SGA and its elections more seriously.
To strengthen democracy at the University, students should not let the SGA Senate seats go uncontested. After all, every enrolled student is already a member of SGA whether they like it or not, so they might as well make the best of it.
Rather than shrug off the elections as an attempt by a student group to gain recognition on campus, students should exercise their rights to run for a seat and have their voices heard. The SGA Senate serves a vital role in not only representing student interests to UH decision-makers, but the body also appoints student representatives to some of the most powerful committees on campus, such as the Tuition and Fees Review Committee, the Student Fees Advisory Committee and the Food Service Advisory Committee.
Applications are available today at Campus Activities, the Dean of Students office and the SGA office in the University Center Underground. For an online version of the application and a complete listing of available seats and positions, visit www.uh.edu/sga. The deadline to submit applications is 5 p.m. Feb. 27.
