Student Government Association announced the resignation of two senators and appointed a senator to fill the No. 2 seat for the College of Education at their first meeting of the fall semester Wednesday.
CLASS Sen. Hillary Sotello officially stepped down because she is no longer a UH student, and Natural Science and Mathematics Sen. Melissa Howard renounced her seat because of schedule conflicts.
The departures leave the Senate with five vacancies: one in business, two in NSM, one in Hotel and Restaurant Management and one in CLASS.
The Senate unanimously appointed Michael Harding to represent the College of Education, joining Sen. Quione Cooke and Sen. James Gwosdz.
Harding, an education junior and president of Metropolitan Volunteer Program said he is passionate about working with SGA and assisting students.
‘I wanted to run because I really wanted to get involved,’ he said. ‘With (Metropolitan Volunteer Program), we help the community ‘hellip; so (by) joining SGA I am not only helping the community, but also the students.’
Taylor Kilroy, CLASS senator and chairman of SGA’s Internal Affairs Committee, interviewed Harding before the meeting and said Harding will ‘make a great senator’.
Harding said his agenda includes improving the College of Education’s advising and curriculum.
‘I am going to try to implement a system with either a grad student, or maybe four- or five-year students from the College of Education (who would) advise students. Basically, students advising students,’ he said.
Harding wants to create a student advising arrangement because the College of Education does not have enough advisors.
‘We are one of the largest colleges on campus. Why should we have to wait in line to get advice? There are thousands of students in the college. Three advisors are not enough.’
Harding wants to reform the curriculum for education majors who have to enroll in courses that are repetitive or are not relevant in the area of specialty.
Harding elaborated by saying that education majors who want to teach fourth through eighth grade have to take courses that focus on teaching preschoolers. He said students who choose this concentration, including Harding, have to teach younger students (preschool through fourth) during their field experience.
He wants to ensure that people who select the fourth through eighth concentration are gaining experience in their desired domain.
Punitive code proposed
Two bills were introduced during Wednesday’s meeting, including one that would act as a punitive code.
Kilroy, who authored the legislation, said he believes the code is a ‘big step forward.’
SGA does not have the word ‘ethics’ listed in its bylaws, which are available on its Web site, making the code overdue.
The Senate also unveiled a ‘paperless act,’ which will help UH in its mission to go green. Because the bill has only been proposed, details concerning the legislation are still in the works.
Both bills were tabled by members and are scheduled to receive a vote at SGA’s next meeting, Sept. 16. Those interested in voicing their opinion can attend the meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. inside the Mediterranean Room of the University Center.
Kilroy, who also authored the paperless act, said he is happy to see the senators exercise patience, instead of rushing to a vote.
‘I’d rather have the senators take the time to really read through (the punitive code), because this is going to be what they are asked to abide by.’
