SGA prepares for elections

Seventeen candidates will begin campaigning March 27 with hopes of being elected or appointed to the Student Government Association for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The SGA Elections Committee conducted two mandatory candidate meetings on each campus March 9 to inform students of the campaign guidelines and election timeline.

Peter Averack, this year’s SGA vice president on the Edinburg campus, said going over the timeline with the candidates gives them a better understanding and more confidence.

“It is important to understand the timeline and now that I have a better idea of what that timeline looks like and how we should invest our resources over the election period, there’s more confidence going into this,” Averack said. “It’s always about the students. I think it’s always about communicating with the students and letting them know that the elections are happening and that we do have their interest and their concerns as our top priority.”

Ten students attended the sessions in Edinburg and seven in Brownsville.

Failure to attend the mandatory meeting without a good cause results in the candidate not being placed on the ballot, according to the SGA election guidelines.

As previously reported by The Rider, there are 43 positions in the executive and legislative branches of the SGA available.

SGA advisers David Marquez, assistant director of Student Rights and Responsibilities and head of the election committee, and Delma Olivarez, interim associate dean for Student Involvement and director of Leadership and Mentoring, conducted the meetings, going over election guidelines with the candidates.

The elections committee is made up of Marquez along with one student representative from Brownsville, Alexander Pepping, and one from Edinburg, Paolo Ferrel. The committee establishes the guidelines and oversees the election to ensure it is fair and runs smoothly.

Marquez said having a combination of returning members and fresh faces is critical to the SGA’s work.

“You want to have a balance between seasoned, experienced students and those coming in so they can pass on the torch,” he said. “Some of the initiatives they work on spans over years. It’s critically important that you have a good fresh batch of faces so they can work with the veterans and that’s a healthy cycle. The good thing is that there’s always students’ wanting to take part in SGA.”

Online voting will begin at 8 a.m. April 4 via myUTRGV and will close at 11:59 p.m. April 6. Election results will be announced April 7.

Students, however, will only be able to vote for certain candidates depending on their corresponding campus and college, except for executive tickets.

An executive ticket consists of the candidates for president and a vice president from each campus. All students are able to vote.

A Meet the Candidates Fair is scheduled from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. March 28 and 30 on Brownsville’s Main Courtyard and the Edinburg Student Union Commons.

Olivarez said election time brings a sense of renewal and energy to the SGA and future members.

“There are new incoming leaders that we have the opportunity to work with,” she said. “The onboarding and training period is very important, so when they take office in May, they’re more prepared and understand the responsibilities that come with their new positions. So, I always see the students with new energy and they always have new ideas, so I’m in a position to support them with those.”

For more information regarding SGA, visit its V-Link page or on Facebook at UTRGV Student Government Association.

–Jesus Sanchez contributed to this report.