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Student
Govt. makes campus life worthwhile
By
Shawn Finer
Staff Writer
Every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. the voice
of the entire student body can be heard. The Student Government
Association comes together as a student-led, adviser-guided
organization to hear and discuss issues and events as
well as encourage active university participation.
The House of Student Representatives sanctions the voice
of the students to establish a constant exchange of ideas.
“We go through each officer,” said Jay Zeidman.
“They give a brief report, discuss legislation, followed
by announcements.”
Zeidman said SGA hosts a guest speaker every meeting,
such as Chancellor Victor Boschini and Don Mills, vice
chancellor for student affairs.
“Students ask questions, voice their opinions and
present campus issues at House meetings,” Zeidman
said.
The House of Student Representatives oversees about $112,000
to support student projects and make improvements on campus.
Several projects are created at the beginning of each
semester and are followed through until they can be finalized
at the end of the semester.
The House meetings are open to all students.
Laura Taylor, a junior history major, said she has never
attended a House meeting but feels SGA works hard to make
life on campus enjoyable.
“Student Government allows for all TCU students to
participate in legislation and also allow concerns to
be heard,” Taylor said.
The Programming Council plans campus events, reviews and
represents programming needs for the TCU Community. These
promoted events are entertaining as well as educational
for students.
The Council works to plan TCU traditions such as Family
Weekend, Howdy Week and Homecoming. Concerts, festivals,
programs and speakers are also sponsored by the Council
throughout the year.
Roughly $140,000 a year is managed by the Programming
Council to improve campus life at TCU.
The Programming Council meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m.
and is also open to all students.
Along with dealing with campus affairs, SGA’s stability
must be maintained. A misunderstanding of the campaign
codes caused four candidates for president, including
Zeidman, to be reviewed and the codes to be questioned.
SGA took this opportunity to edit the codes to reduce
loopholes, Zeidman said.
The student body did not allow the stability of SGA to
be hindered as nearly one-third of students voted this
year, he said.
“It was great to see that 30 percent of our campus
came out to vote, which is unheard of in other college
elections,” Zeidman said. “I will say that everybody
involved turned out to be great friends and we have put
the past behind us.”
Zeidman said he joined SGA and ran for president because
he wanted to make a difference on campus and encourage
all students to become involved in some of the hundreds
of programs TCU offers.
Larry Merkley, SGA adviser, said one of the biggest strengths
of SGA is its diversity. Having such diversity has created
a good cross-section of campus to get feedback, he said.
All students can come to the House of Student Representative
meetings which meet in the Student Center, Room 222 and
Programming Council meetings in the Student Center, Room
211. Students can also visit the Web site — http://www.sga.tcu.edu
— or get in touch with SGA recruitment chairs: Trevor
Smith and Jennifer Noy. |
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