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A Primer to University Governance - Part One

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  ( Photo : ''Court Gavel - Judge's Gavel - Courtroom'' by wp paarz via Flickr ) The following is a primer to internal university governance. When you're a student, it is easy when you want to do something for yourself. Want to drop a class or change your majo r ? That's no problem. Yet, the moment you want to do something for the student community, say end a student fee or save the mascot from extinction, then you enter the realm of campus politics. Reforming campus policy requires you engage with the structure of university governance and that you participate in a democratic process. For this, you need to understand the university’s governance structure and how the powers that be set university policy. To the average student, all of this can be quite foreign. So to help students understand university governance, here is a primer to university governance. Everyone can have an introductory understanding of university governance if they understand th...
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OPINION: SGA's Inaction On Student Issues Not For Inability To Act

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    (Logo. Source: Student Government Association at UT-Tyler.) Student government elected a new chief of staff this week in a special meeting at the end of the semester. Senator Jennifer Chandler won the assembly's vote in a three-way race among two other current SGA members, Allison Schwartz and Tyler Paige. Student members spent nearly an hour both investigating and discussing who should be the next officer in the association's executive board. That members take such an interest in their organization's affairs is commendable. However, given that the assembly displayed how it has the capacity to both investigate and deliberate over a subject matter with rigor, then I ask, why it could not also demonstrate this same rigor in matters that are undeniably of popular student concern, such as unavailable parking space and advisor shortages? The assembly's ability to both convene a special session and to debate the issues at length demonstrate that members have the ability t...
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OPINION: SGA Election Awards Residential Students More Representation

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    (Logo. Source: Student Government Association at UT-Tyler.) Student government elected a new chief of staff this week in a special election at the end of the semester. Senator Jennifer Chandler won the assembly's vote in a three-way race among two other current SGA members, Allison Schwartz and Tyler Paige. In her campaign pitch to the assembly, Chandler championed her priority for inclusion and accessibility in SGA as well as her three years of experience as resident advisor (RA) in Ornelas Hall student housing.  With Chandler's election, Student government advances yet another residential student to a position of power. There is nothing is wrong with this in principle. After all, all students, both residential and commuter, have the right to participate in student government. However, given the obscurity with which SGA operates to most commuter students, it is mostly residential students who know about its activity and therefore stand the most to benefit from their ...
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