The Campus Conservative

(Image used with permission.)  The Student Government Association (SGA) at UT-Tyler took formal action Wednesday to confront university administration over what it described as "inadequate student input" during the institution's rebranding process. The assembly unanimously passed a motion to "draft a resolution regarding inadequate student input concerning rebranding and [to] also provide a standard for future student input." According to SGA Treasurer Jacob Mcleod who made the motion, he and other members of the SGA Executive Board "have concerns regarding whether or not [administration] took our concerns into consideration" during the rebranding process. Mcleod did not give specifics, but Parliamentarian Sean Coplen, also an executive board member, spoke up to underline this point to the assembly. "It seems like people have been noticing it, not just in student government but all around campus, how things happen," he said. ...

(Source: Student Government Association at UT-Tyler's Facebook.) The Student Government Association (SGA) at UT-Tyler met Wednesday for its weekly meeting. Here are the highlights. STUDENT VETERANS SEEK HELP Josh Kasino from the Student Veterans Organization (SVO) at UT-Tyler spoke to SGA and asked the body to do something about university restrictions on on-campus fundraising. Kasino said it is difficult for SVO's UT-Tyler chapter to raise funds to send its members to a veterans career fair because university rules prohibit student organizations from raising funds on-campus for anything or anyone other than a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The SVO representative said it is too hard for a student organization to obtain the 501(c)(3) status and so raise money for themselves. Sen. Robert Camarillo (Soules College of Business), a member of Greek fraternity Delta Sigma Phi, told Kasino that partnering with businesses like Chipotle and Panada Express has helped...

(Source: DVIDSHUB via Flickr) The Student Veterans Organization (SVO) at UT-Tyler approached student government Wednesday to "open a discussion" on how student organizations can do more fundraising on campus. "Just as far as student groups being able to raise funds, I think it is something we should looking into," SVO representative Jack Kasino told the assembly. Kasino said his chapter would like to send as many student veterans as possible to his organization’s national conference in Orlando, FL on Jan. 3-5. Kasino said the total cost to attendees is roughly $1,500 and university limitations regarding on-campus fundraising make it difficult for student organizations to fundraise on-campus. Currently, a university rule prohibits registered student organizations from fundraising for any organization is not a recognized 501(c)(3) entity. Many student organizations do not have tax-exempt status and therefore cannot raise funds for themselves on UT-Tyle...

(Source: Flickr) Last week, the Student Government Association (SGA) at UT-Tyler voted to approve a rule change in the appropriations committee’s guidelines that excludes semester-long requests, explicitly targeting student groups who meet throughout the semester. SGA Treasurer Jacob Mcleod said the new rule is to prevent student organizations who provide pizza at their weekly meetings from tying up SGA funding. The two-time Treasuerer said these groups prevent the Student Government Appropriations Committee (SGAC) from issuing funding grants to student groups who come to the committee later or near the end of the semester. “We will not approve semester-long funding requests,” Mcleod told the assembly, reading the new rule aloud. “If an event is reoccurring, the committee encourages student organizations to submit a funding request for each event. Funding will be determined on a case-by-case basis,” he read. However, according to Mcleod, of the student organizations wi...

(Source: Student Government Association at UT-Tyler Facebook) The Student Government Association (SGA) at UT-Tyler met Wednesday for its weekly meeting. Here are highlights from this meeting. BIKE SHARE UPDATE The bike sharing vendor VeoRide has logged over 1,400 rides to date since its launch on Aug. 27, according to Chris Thompsen who oversees the program. He said the service has over 400 registered users and that VeroRide's regional director said UT-Tyler is "outperforming expectations" compared to other city locations. Thompsen shared a heat map of bike routes from users' activity. Many travel to a nearby shopping center on Hwy 110 where SuperOne Foods store is. However, the exact store or location they visit in that shopping center is uncertain. VeoRide is currently working with the City of Tyler to implement its service city-wide, Thompsen said, and will add over 20 new bikes to its UT-Tyler fleet in the near future. Since its launch, VeoRid...

(Source: Awaken The Dawn Facebook.)  Student group Tent America - UT-Tyler will host 50 hours of Christian prayer and worship songs at UT-Tyler’s outdoor amphitheater next Friday. “Tent America is really about exalting Jesus and the presence of God, extending an invitation to men and women to have a revelation of him and encounter him,” Tent America at UT-Tyler Campus Coordinator Karen Miller said in a video on the group’s Facebook page. The event will occur simultaneously with identical meetings at state capitols in all 50 states, as well as at universities throughout the nation. Groups at Texas A&M, University of Houston and University of Texas at Austin will also simultaneously participate on their campuses. “There’s just something very non-threatening about a tent,” Miller said in a Facebook video. “It doesn’t have walls, it’s not a flashy stage. It’s just simple. And I believe it’s going to help people understand the simplicity of Jesus.” The event starts...

(Source: Stock Catalog via Flickr)  Candidate for Freshman Senator Jimmy Counihan ridiculed men in a series of tweets on Friday. Counihan tweeted "The only way to truly make women and men equal in America is to suspend men's voting rights for the next 132 years just as women's were suspended." The only way to truly make women and men equal in America is to suspend men’s voting rights for the next 132 years just as women’s were suspended from 1788(ratification of the constitution)-1920(ratification of the 19th amendment) — Jimmy Counihan (@JimmyCounihan) September 14, 2018 He also gave a number of other examples broad-brushing men as women's historical oppressors. We also need to hold Salem wizard trials and burn old men at the stake... Also they can’t get credit cards without female head of house approval... Also women get to decide if men use contraception and viagra and if they get vasectomies... — Jimmy Counihan (@JimmyCounihan) S...

(Source: Marc Verch via Flickr) The Student Government Association (SGA) at UT Tyler's members showed near unanimous support tonight for a possible effort by UT-Tyler to lobby the City of Tyler to construct new sidewalks in nearby neighborhoods. The proposal would ask the City of Tyler to spend its own money to construct new sidewalks so that students who live near campus can walk to campus without having to walk in the street. "The challenge is that we have found that we have 227 of your colleagues who live in that area north and west of campus, between Fifth Street, Varsity, the Loop and Old Omen and that is not UT-Tyler property," Vice President for Operations and Strategic Initiatives Jerry Stuff told SGA Wednesday. Target region in Jerry Stuff's speech to SGA for new City of Tyler sidewalk construction. (Source: Google Maps) "What we’re seeking is sidewalks that would be constructed by the city in that region so that our colleagues, our fel...

(Source: Uthman Badru, Senator Candidate) On Thursday, the Student Government Association (SGA) will open its polls to student in its annual fall elections for new student senators. There are 27 candidates and 25 available seats. Since student government is arguably the most powerful lobbying group on campus, with its positions on official policy going all the up to the Board of Regents desk and it being the official voice of 10,000 UT-Tyler students, The Campus Conservative Blog attempted to contact all 25 candidates via email Tuesday to learn more about who wants to run this powerful organization. Thirteen candidates responded and the Blog includes their responses below. The Campus Conservative is grateful for candidates’ responses on short notice and hopes the information they provided can produce a more educated and empowered student voter. Here are some of UT-Tyler’s Fall 2018 student government candidates. Uthman Badru Q: What seat are you running for?...

The Student Government Association at UT-Tyler held its first meeting Wednesday. Here are some of the meeting's highlights. Highlights from @UTTylerSGA 's first meeting of the semester: -Talon Student Media is rebranding to Patriot Student Media Productions. Editor-in-Chief said will "revamp" newspaper, intro podcast and continue TV broadcasts. Editor's new focus is on reporting accuracy. /1 #SGAUTT — James Hescock (@JHescock) September 5, 2018 Also said outlet will aim to cover "every side of every issue." (We shall see....) -VP of Communications' new focus is SGA's social media presence. Said accounts have now received noticeable increase engagement. -Next week, SGA will vote on new changes to SGAC policy. /2 #SGAUTT — James Hescock (@JHescock) September 5, 2018 - @KatieHicken and @TreasurerMcleod will represent UT-Tyler at UT System Student Advisory Council this weekend in Austin. -Bike Share Program received 20...