The upcoming town hall is an opportunity for students to meet their senators. A basketball signed by the Rockets is among prizes available to those who attend. | Photo courtesy of the Student Government Association
The Student Government Association is hosting a town hall for all students to attend on Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 1 to 3 p.m.
This is an excellent opportunity for students at the University of Houston to meet members of student government and also learn about the services that SGA offers.
Along with opening up a forum for students, SGA is giving away prizes to students who attend. The biggest prize is a basketball signed by members of the Houston Rockets.
It is easy to say that political events, at any level, can be boring to attend and sit through — especially as a spectator with no obligation whatsoever to be there.
SGA has made a good choice in utilizing prizes and other freebies to encourage students to attend.
However, town halls are different because their main purpose is to provide a forum for everyone to speak to the senators and executives.
Town halls are excellent opportunities for Coogs to meet their student leaders and develop relationships with the senators who represent them, as well as voice any concerns that they have with the administration.
It is also good practice for the real world, where there are no incentives to participate in or keep tabs on governing bodies. We have an obligation to the people that we elected, as well as our peers, to participate in our government in all capacities that citizens are meant to partake in.
The easiest capacity is voting (although, when you look at the percent of people who vote in elections, voting would actually appear to be a difficult process).
The next step, which is a little more time consuming and difficult, but just as necessary, is attending local government meetings and learning about what your representatives are trying to do.
Honestly, even reading The Cougar for news about SGA or the Houston Chronicle about local government would be an okay substitute for sitting in on meetings.
But this time around, there is an incentive — free shirts and the basketball — to come and voice your concerns. This is the perfect time to cultivate that civic involvement, while there is still something that you would not typically get out of it.
Go once, just so you can see what it’s like. Then go on Wednesday to see what a typical meeting is like and whether or not your interests line up with SGA.
You can find a directory of all SGA senators here.
Opinion editor Thomas Dwyer is a broadcast journalism sophomore and can be reached at [email protected].
