Communication between students and college administration is on the top of the agenda for the newly elected Student Government Association senators for the College of Education.
Education junior Mike Harding, education and interdisciplinary studies senior Brittney Jones and Nina Flores will be the representative senators.
“I saw a lot of things I wanted to change,” Harding said. “When I see something that I want done, I do it myself. I joined an organization where I can act and get things done.”
Jones hopes to create a fair system for students in the college.
“I ran for SGA because I want to make a change for the better,” she said.
Harding, the sole returning senator for the college, cites a lack of efficient advising and a degree plan that forces education students to be in school more than four years, as the main issues affecting the college right now.
“I want to create better communication with the Dean’s office,” he said. “So that we can have more walk-in counseling and more efficient advising.”
Jones, a first-term senator, also sees a need for a system of communication that differs from the trickle-down way of spreading information that’s being used at the moment.
“Our program is very different from other colleges and it is hectic trying to find out the different requirements,” she said. “(Students and administration) need to be at the same place and students need to know about things first hand.”
The senators are also emphasizing the need for the campus to be more green.
“I want to look at ways to reduce the carbon footprint on campus,” he said. “Maybe using student fees to help pay for green appliances or for solar panels on buildings.”
Jones hopes that students will become more aware of the campus. She hopes to create better communication within the different student organizations as well as the Third Ward community and Texas Southern University.
“UH prides itself as the most diverse campus, but students need to be more aware of the different cultures on campus,” she said. “I also think there is a lack of outreach to the immediate community around us in the Third Ward.”
Harding, who is active in five different committees and five different student organizations, including the Metropolitan Volunteer Program, the largest fee-funded organization other than SGA, said he hopes to use the contacts he has made with administration over the past two years to implement his agenda.
“We need to start at the top and work our way down,” he said. “We need to build on the positive connections we have that can help us achieve our goals.”
The senators are eager to have more students become active with SGA, to step forward with any issues they may have.
Students who attend SGA meetings for the first time usually end up surprised. One student told Jones that the SGA meeting was “so real” and she couldn’t believe they actually debate.
“(SGA is) a very diverse group of people but we’re very proactive,” Jones said. “We’re here to serve the students. Just come to the meetings.”
Harding has also been elected chair of the Student Life committee, which he hopes will become the proactive entity of SGA.
“I hope UH students are ready for the committee,” he said. “(The students) on this committee are the most committed and ambitious people I have ever worked with.”
Harding also looks to the previous administration for inspiration.
“The last administration made an effort to tackle as much as we could, and I want to do better,” he said. “I want to build on our successes and learn from our failures.”
