Nearly 200 students attended the 2018 State of the Student Body Address to learn how the Student Government Association is dealing with student concerns.
The event took place last Tuesday in Salón Cassia on the Brownsville campus and last Thursday in the PlainsCapital Bank Theater on the Edinburg campus. Fifty-two students attended in Brownsville and 125 in Edinburg.
On the Brownsville campus, Viviana Garza, a member of the UTRGV Street Team, moderated the discussion with the SGA executive officers: President Denisce Palacios, Vice President in Brownsville Ingrid de la Torre and Vice President in Edinburg Alejandro Saldivar.
The purpose of the event is to update the student body on the effort of the SGA to better serve the students, Palacios explained.
“[Students] need to be informed,” she said. “They need to know how they can get involved because their voice matters.”
Janett Sarmiento, a criminal justice sophomore, and Angela Hernandez, a marine biology junior attended the event looking for information on sororities on the Brownsville campus.
“We were looking online to get more information, but we can ask them, too, and they can probably help us out,” Sarmiento said.
The executive officers detailed past accomplishments that have benefited the students since the opening of UTRGV.
De la Torre explained that previous SGA executives worked with the Parking and Transportation department to help students who have classes after 5 p.m.
“A lot of students don’t know that after 5 p.m. any student with a parking permit can pretty much park at any parking zone,” she said.
The senate is working on several initiatives, such as improving interactive television (ITV) and online courses, addressing students’ mental health and supporting veteran students.
Palacios said the SGA is also working at the University of Texas System level to solve problems, such as homelessness, addiction and underrepresented populations.
“It’s trying to see how these are problems in all of the other 14 institutions and how we can address them by talking to students here, and looking at what other universities are doing,” Palacios said.
Rebecca Gadson, associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students, attended the event and mentioned the importance of establishing a dialogue between the SGA and the students.
“I really hope that this inspires other students to get involved in the campus community, understand that they have a voice and a say, and positively impacting the student experience for all,” Gadson said.
Also present at the event were Monika Garza and Kevin Martinez, senators at large for Brownsville; Steven Hughes, senator for the College of Fine Arts; and, Aldo Rios, senator for the Robert Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
