Members of the Student Government Association welcome new appointees, Kimberly Moran and Mariana Estevan during the Nov. 16 senate meeting on the Brownsville campus. Moran will serve as senator-at-large for Edinburg, and Estevan (seated, third from left), as sergeant-at-arms. Valeria Henderson/The Rider
The Student Government Association has proposed a resolution calling for greater security measures on all campuses, especially at night, amid recent incidents of sexual assault, burglary and aggravated assault by deadly weapon.
During its Nov. 16 meeting on the Brownsville campus and via Zoom, the senate said it would send the resolution to the Campus Life and Community Affairs standing committee for review.
Senate Resolution 06 Security Measure notes that the SGA has received concerns from students about safety on campus, and cites:
–the UTRGV Annual Security and Fire Safety Report of 2020, which documents an increase in rape, burglary, and robbery cases, and a 150% increase in stalking incidents on the Brownsville campus. On the Edinburg campus, the report documented incidents of rape, fondling, dating violence, an increase in burglary, motor vehicle theft and an 83% increase in stalking incidents
–the City of Edinburg has a crime rate that is statistically higher than 89% of the Texas cities and towns of all sizes according to the FBI crime data found in Neighborhood Scout
—one in five female undergraduates have experienced some sort of sexual assault while in college
The resolution will address a lot of the safety concerns that students have at UTRGV, Senator-at-Large Kimberly Sandoval said.
In other business, the senate conducted a first reading of Legislative Bylaws Amendment Bill 01, which proposes reducing the number of hours allotted to an SGA member in notifying the sergeant-at-arms of a planned absence from 24 to 12. The amendment cites a decline in membership due to senators not providing a notification of absence within the allotted 24 hours.
The senate sent the amendment to the Internal Affairs standing committee for review.
Under unfinished business and new business, the senate approved the following appointments:
–biological sciences sophomore Kimberly Moran, as senator-at-large for Edinburg
–nursing junior Mariana Estevan, as sergeant-at-arms
The next SGA meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
