Representing the student body

Regardless of their race, gender identity or political view, newly elected Student Government Association President Alondra Lisset Galvan wants students to feel welcomed and safe at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Galvan, a criminal justice junior, served as the Brownsville SGA vice president this academic year.

Peter Averack, a communication senior who serves as the current Edinburg SGA vice president, will remain in his position, and Gabriela Castorena, a political science junior, will serve as the Brownsville SGA vice president.

The winning executive ticket received 765 votes in an election conducted April 4-6. The executive race was uncontested.

“I know people will probably say, ‘Oh, Alondra got lucky,’ or ‘The team got lucky because they were the only ones running.’ I don’t believe in luck,” Galvan said. “I think it was a blessing, a miracle. … We live in a world that keeps surprising us. Anything can happen, especially in an election.”

She said the SGA will continue to work with Academic Advising to improve its services and accessibility.

The organization also plans to focus on the university’s graduate students.

“We have never truly worked or focused so much on our graduate school or our graduate students,” Galvan said. “We tend to focus more on our undergrads. In other universities, there is housing for grad students but in our school, [there isn’t].”

Online students are also among the concerns of the Student Government Association.

“I want to make sure that any online student is able to get the same resources and the same quality work done regardless if they’re an online student or a physical student that goes to campus,” Galvan said.

The proximity of the Brownville campus to the U.S. and Mexico border encourages the SGA to continue to work on the development of security on campus. The organization is in close contact with University Police to ensure the safety of the UTRGV community.

“Security is one of our top priorities at our university and making sure that our students feel safe … in Brownsville and in Edinburg and on all UTRGV campuses,” Galvan said.

Maintaining equal amenities on all campuses and ensuring the communication between students, faculty and staff are areas the SGA is looking to focus on this coming term.

A total of 2,967 votes were cast in the 2017-2018 UTRGV SGA election.

Others elected to the 2017-2018 UTRGV senate are as follows:

–Alejandro Saldivar, senator for the Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship

–Cyana Arredondo, Samantha Garcia and Raul Ordonez, senators for the College of Health Affairs

–Nayla Paredes, senator for the College of Liberal Arts

–Joshua Balladares and Deyanira Verdeja Sosa, senators for the College of Sciences

–Ingrid de la Torre and Ernesto Farias, senators at large (Brownsville)

–Louay Bachnak, Carlo Flores, Francisco Torres Diaz and Erik Webster, senators at large (Edinburg)

“This past election was a special one because there were not many people that applied to be part of SGA and to run for office and maybe the reason is because a lot of people don’t know what we do,” said Ernesto Farias, senator at large for the Brownsville campus and a political science junior. “People see us as a government club and they don’t really understand what the student government does for the students and for the university and how we represent their needs.”

Farias said the election ran smoothly due to the experience that the SGA has gained through previous elections.

“Very few, if any of the seats were actually contested,” said David Marquez, assistant director of Student Rights and Responsibilities and SGA co-adviser. “The students who did run are very highly qualified, very energetic and very motivated to do well.”

Asked why the seats were uncontested, Marquez replied, “Most of the time, what we hear is there’s many students who want to participate. It’s just that they do recognize that it’s an important commitment and it’s going to require their full attention. The task is important, representing the interest of the student body.”

Though elections are now done, Marquez encourages students who are interested in joining the SGA to contact current members to ask for a list of positions that are available.

Vacant positions in the SGA will be announced in the near future, Galvan said.

The vacancies will be filled by appointment of the president, subject to a two-thirds approval of the senators present and voting, according to the SGA constitution.

Any student interested may apply for appointment to a vacant position on the SGA V Link page.

“I am really thankful for all the opportunities that the university has given me and being able to represent the entire student body,” Galvan said. “I started off as a freshman senator, then I started going up the scale and all these years that I’ve dedicated to student government have truly allowed me to see different ways how a person can truly make a difference.”