SGA eligibility rules up for vote by student body

Sol Garcia | THE RIDER

The Student Government Association passed a bill Feb. 12 that would put SGA eligibility rules up for vote before the student body. 

As previously reported by The Rider, the bill includes changing the minimum credit hours to six for undergraduate students at the time of application and during terms of office. For graduate students, the hour minimum was changed to three credit hours. Exceptions to this rule depend on how close to graduation the members may be during the last semester of their current term. 

For the Eligibility Requirements Bill to be implemented, the student body must vote for it in the next SGA general election from March 22 to 31. 

“It still has another step to go, which will be the student body referendum through the general election that’s upcoming,” Carlo Flores, vice president for the Brownsville campus, said during the virtual meeting,  

Jose Rojas, director of the First Year Internship, introduced a bill on student advisory councils that was worked on by senators from 2017 and 2018, last semester’s first-year interns and Rojas.  

The Collegiate Advancement Student Advisory Council Program Bill calls for establishing student advisory councils per college or campus that would address “all matters concerning their specific college and increase their outreach and impact on Rio Grande Valley scholastic communities,” the bill states.   

“To summarize, it is a bill to enact a new system of representation for student organizations and their respective colleges,” Senate Chair Yahia Al-Qudah said. 

Rojas also showed a frame of reference when creating an advisory council’s constitution. 

All organizations housed within colleges or the university are included in this bill, as well as Greek Life organizations or other organizations that are “not catered to specific factions of students” with a representative from SGA or Dean of Students, the bill reads. 

The Internal Affairs Committee will review the bill. If the committee passes it, the bill will be then presented to the Senate for voting procedure. 

In other news, SGA senators are no longer hosting office hours. Instead, the SGA is working on another way to interact with students. 

“A few ideas are appointment only,” Al-Qudah said. “By appointment, senators can meet with their constituents or on their own free time. Another way is to basically make an event … maybe once every month, or during a semester to promote interaction between senators and their constituents.” 

The next SGA meeting will be at 6 p.m. today via Zoom.