The Campus Conservative

 ("mathcamp" by Simon Fraser University - Communications and Marketing Department via Flickr) New Student and Family Programs (NSFP) will launch applications for orientation and camp leader Monday, NSFP Coordinator Korbin Hamner told student government Tuesday. Hamner said orientation and camp leadership is a great opportunity to meet and welcome all incoming students.  Requirements: Leaders only have to work four of eight orientation sessions, Hamner said. For orientation sessions, the pay is $250 per session. There are three Swoop Camp sessions available for work at $250 per session. (Swoop Camp sessions are not required.) There are also three transfer sessions available to work at $100 per transfer session.  “Whether you had a good or bad camp experience, you can apply to make it whatever you want,” Hamner said. ”I did not have a good camp experience and now I run camp. So, you know. You can have a full one-eighty.”  See NSFP's Instagram page for a link ...

(Source: via Flickr) Roll Call  Speaker’s Podium: Korbin Hamner, New Student and Family Program Coordinator Korbin Hamner oversees all freshman and transfer orientation, all Swoop Camp and first-year experience programs.   NSFP Announcements New Student and Family Programs (NSFP) Instagram page will launch applications for orientation and camp leader Monday. Hamner said orientation and camp leadership is a great opportunity to meet and welcome all incoming students.  Requirements: Leaders only have to work four of eight orientation sessions, he said. For orientation sessions, the pay is $250 per session. There are three Swoop Camp sessions available for work at $250 per session. (These sessions are not required.) There are three transfer sessions at $100 per transfer session worked.  “Whether you had a good or bad camp experience, you can apply to make it whatever you want,” Hamner said. ”I did not have a good camp experience and now I run camp. So, you know. ...

("DXO Newspaper Collection" by Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr ) On Tuesday, I distributed flyers for my startup newsletter across the street from UT-Tyler because a new university rule prohibits me from distributing anything other than “not-for-profit” literature on-campus. According to The Manual of Policy and Procedures (MOPP), “No person…may distribute…on campus any publication operated for profit.” (MOPP 6-402) Now, my new publication has no revenue right now, should my circulation grow large enough, then I definitely hope to support it with paid advertising just as every other news publication has done from the dawn of time. So, though my publication does not produce a profit, my way of operation is definitely not “not-for-profit”. So in this case, the university bars me from distributing literature by this definition.  In 2019, The 86th Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 16 which affirmed a public university as a traditional public forum. Though I can still speak in...

(Source: "Dayton 06-20 19 38 - Dayton Police Department Police Car" by David Ellis, via Flickr) Here are the recent crime reports for UT-Tyler's main campus according to UTTPD's Daily Crime Log. For more information, visit UTTPD's Daily Crime Log webpage . Accident Motor Vehicle - Hit and Run - Police received a report of a hit and run incident involving a motor vehicle in Parking Lot E (HSC North Campus) on Sept. 28 at 10:24 a.m. This case is open. Stalking - Police responded to an incident of stalking at The Herrington Patriot Center that occurred on Sept. 28 at 5:15 a.m. Authorities issued a criminal trespass warning and closed this case. Terroristic Threat - Police responded to an incident of a terroristic threat at University Academy - Tyler on Sept. 26 at 1:20 p.m. This case resulted in a criminal arrest and is closed. Disturbance, Resisting Arrest - Police responded to an incident of disturbance and resisting arrest at Liberty Landing Apartments on Sep...

Sign to event parking at The University of Texas at Tyler. (Source: James Hescock)  UT-Tyler plans to build two new parking lots by fall 2024, Director of Emergency Management and Safety Robert Cromley announced to student government on Sept. 19. “We have engaged some engineers to build two new parking lots,” he told the assembly. According to Cromley, the university will restore the lot that was the former faculty parking lot, the lot between Ritter Tower and The Patriot Plaza (roughly 110 spaces) and it will also build a second parking lot in the wooded area adjacent to The Patriot Walkway and Liberty Landing Apartments (roughly 246 spaces). "So we're going to try to increase [parking by] at least 350 spots by fall of next year," the director said. "That’s a great deal. We’re excited about that." However, he said meeting the fall deadline will be "a challenge", but communicated that executive university leadership realizes that parking is a priori...

(Source: via Flickr) Here is a recap of The Student Government Association at UT-Tyler's Sept. 19 meeting.  Speaker's Podium: Mr. Robert Cromley, Director of Emergency Management and Safety Mr. Robert Cromley spoke to student government this week about the on-campus parking situation. Director Cromley is the former Chief of Police for UT Healthscience Center (served for 20 years) and has 35 years in law enforcement, he said.  Cromley took his current role in December 2022 after the merger and ceded his position of Chief of Police to UT-Tyler Police’s longtime police chief Michael Meddars who now oversees all of the UT-Tyler’s merged campuses as chief.   Cromley spoke to SGA about six topics during his presentation, including an announcement of plans to build two new parking lots by fall 2024. The topics were: changes to parking operations, a summary of the parking situation, a new parking shuttle program, plans to construct two new parking spaces coming ne...

  Sign to event parking at The University of Texas at Tyler. (Source: James Hescock) This week, UT-Tyler Emergency Management and Safety Department launched a shuttle program for student parking. The shuttle will transport participating students to and from a new remote parking location at the abandoned behavioral health building on University Blvd. The shuttle offers routes to current parking permit holders and runs every 20 minutes, starting from remote parking, then traveling to on-campus stops that include Soules College, RBN and others.  While this may seem like a helpful option, the shuttle program will eventually fail and students will still be stuck in their current situation: scarce parking with no relief I say this because the previous shuttle program the university ran in 2017 also failed and this program is no different. Like the new program, this previous shuttle ran throughout campus and stopped at designated locations every 10 minutes. The university eventuall...

("Money - Savings" by 401(K) - 2012 via Flickr) I praised Chairman of The University of Texas Board of Regents Kevin Eltife this month for working to reduce higher education’s costs on Texas students. Under his chairmanship, UT System established new sources of financial aid and won additional state funds for universities' operation. These measures meant institutions were less likely to rely on a tuition increase. This deserves praise.  However, with ongoing student complaints about higher education's cost, higher education's price tag still remains a problem. Now what remains is for student government to accept responsibility to advocate for cost-reducing measures at the local level.  Here are five areas it can target to bring financial relief to students carrying the cost of college.  1. Tuition Set-asides. These represent what now Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called a “secret tax” on students . Set-asides require students to pay roughly 10 percent abov...

  (Source: "Dayton 06-2019 38 - Dayton Police Department Police Car" by David Ellis, via Flickr) Here are the recent crime reports for UT-Tyler's main campus according to UTTPD's Daily Crime Log. For more information, visit UTTPD's Daily Crime Log webpage .  Domestic Violence - Campus police responded to a domestic violence incident that occurred at The Foundry Apartments at 12:03 a.m. on Sept. 19. This case is closed.  Minor in Possession of Alcohol - Campus police responded to an incident of a minor in possession of alcohol at Ornelas Hall at 12:28 p.m on Sept. 19. Authorities issued a referral to Judicial Affairs Office. This case is closed. Previously reported crime in September:  Harassment  - On Sept. 18, campus police responded to an incident of harassment that occurred at Ornelas Hall.  Reckless Driving - On Sept. 14, campus police responded to an incident of reckless driving on the bike/walking trail from Liberty Landing to Victory Village at...

(Source: Unsplash) The following is a excerpt from this week's student government meeting recap .  Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Nathan Fory spoke to student government this week about coming changes to FASFA (The Free Application for Student Financial Aid), a major source of UT-Tyler financial aid. He also askedthe association to help spread the word to students. *** Flory said The FAFSA, a major financial aid mechanism is undergoing a change starting 2024-25. The reason for changes is to simply FAFSA process.  Flory said the FAFSA application will go from 180 questions to roughly 40 with the focus on an online streamlined process.  Coming changes are: October 1 deadline postponed until sometime in December. FASFA Applicants now have to connect to IRS Direct Data exchange instead of manually inputting tax return data. Flory said this change allows for simplification. “Contributors” is a new term. Contributors includes step-parent, parent, spouse or st...

(Source: via Flickr) Here is a recap of The Student Government Association at UT-Tyler's Sept. 12 meeting. In this week's meeting, student government heard from The Financial Aid Office about coming changes to FAFSA. It also adopted its operating budget and a new version of its appropriations committee rules. It held an internal election for its secretary position and announced other changes in its executive board positions. See the full recap below.  Don't forget to sign-up for my newsletter for these recaps and other stories each week. Speaker’s Podium: Director of Financial Aid, Nathan Flory.  Flory: The FAFSA, a major financial aid mechanism is undergoing a change starting 2024-25. Reason for changes is to simply FAFSA process. FAFSA application will go from 180 questions to roughly 40. The focus is on an online streamlined process.  Changes coming are: October 1 deadline postponed until sometime in December. FASFA Applicants now have to connect to IRS Direct Data e...