Now, newly elected President Benjamin Rizk is laying out his plans to build a solid foundation for many administrations to come. | Anh Le/The Cougar
In a contentious race, the 60th Student Government Association election saw Students Unite defeat incumbent party For the Students by a landslide.
Now, newly elected President Benjamin Rizk is laying out his plans to build a solid foundation for many administrations to come. The first step, he said, is drafting a planning document he called an executive agenda.
“We are the first admin in a while to put together an executive agenda,” Rizk said. “I think it is really important to have an agenda because it allows for us to divide and tally everyone up on the team to attack a specific issue, which will allow us to tackle more issues more efficiently.”
Inspired by former Presidents Cedrick Bandoh and Charles Haston, Rizk hopes to follow in their footsteps by setting concrete goals for his administration and organizing it in a way that it can achieve them.
“SGA can have a huge impact on campus if things are done right. If a president raises the bar high, we can accomplish great things,” Rizk said.
While Rizk has set the bar high for SGA, he has also set the bar high for himself. Rizk prides himself on his ability to follow through on the things he sets his mind to.
“I make sure not to promise things or push things that I don’t think are going to happen because being transparent is very important to me,” Rizk said. “Changing things is an uphill battle, but I believe it is necessary. I want my administration to be the pillar for changing the tide.”
With that in mind, here are some of the goals Rizk has set out for his administration to accomplish this year.
Increasing campus wages
Support for working students was a key talking point in Rizk’s election campaign. To do this, Rizk said he’s starting by working toward a new campus minimum wage of $10 an hour.
“Considering that staff counselors are also striving to raise their minimum raises to $15, it is a ripe time to raise campus minimum wage as well,” Rizk said.
The current minimum wage for student employees is $8.25 an hour, well below that of many other entry level positions which typically hire around the $10 an hour range.
Safety
Safety was another pillar in Students Unite’s election campaign. To fulfill this promise, Rizk said he’s exploring the possibility of bringing Cougar Pack back to campus. Cougar Pack is a service that will provide transportation to students who feel unsafe crossing campus at night.
While the University already offers rides through its Cougar Ride program, the Cougar Pack will operate using golf carts which will allow students to be transported directly to their destination as opposed to the closest street.
Culture
Another key priority for Rizk is campus culture. He said that while UH may be considered tier-one in areas like research, the experience on campus has failed to keep pace with the University’s academic and research achievements.
A major point of concern for Rizk is the University’s recent decision to cut Cub Camp, which was a three-day orientation where new students could learn about UH’s history and traditions.
“Some programs at UH have been cut, like Cub Camp, and as I have gotten into office I have realized that this is a problem, as it has caused campus culture to decline,” Rizk said. “I plan to do as much as I can to increase campus culture and presence.”
Sustainability
Though safety and culture are key priorities for Rizk, he also wants to explore reducing the campus’ environmental impact. The first step, he said, is reducing the amount of plastic waste produced by the University.
“I want to initiate a partnership with Precious Plastics, which is a network of campus chapters who promote education about the various types of plastics,” Rizk said. “The organization separates plastics into various groups and processes the plastics that do not release toxins to become new products.”
Beyond waste, Rizk said he wants to explore the idea of weening the University off of fossil fuels by working with the administration to install solar panels around campus.
Time will tell
Politicians, whether they be SGA, local, state or federal, are well-known for promising more than they can deliver. While Rizk seems to have a strong understanding of SGA’s limitations and the feasibility of some of his goals, it has yet to be seen whether his administration will be able to accomplish them.
