Student advisory council shares concerns

Allowing University of Texas System institutions to independently increase tuition was one of the major topics discussed

during this month’s UT System Student Advisory Council meeting in Austin.

More than 20 student representatives met Sept. 11 and 12 for the first UTSSAC meeting of the academic year. They also

discussed student concerns for their individual institutions such as the campus carry law, maternity leave and daycare programs

for students, transfer scholarships, campus safety and student health insurance rates.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley representatives on the council are Student Government Association President

Alberto Adame and Kathryn Brough, a public relations and marketing junior.

The Legislative and Financial Affairs Committee, which Adame chairs, weighed the tuition proposal.

“Students at many, at most, institutions that are academic want those increases because they want to fund additional

activities,” Adame said in a telephone interview with The Rider last Tuesday. “They want the fees to increase so they can

accommodate more students, they can help out more students and they can see their services increase.”

Students in other system schools passed tuition referendums but they were rejected by the board of regents, Adame said.

“Even if the student bodies were behind it and the community was behind it,they were just denying everything,” he said about

the board of regents.

During the meeting, student representatives presented issues on their campuses.

Adame and Brough presented problems that the consolidation of UT Pan American and UT Brownsville has brought.

“The transition has been shaky, hasn’t been great for everyone,” Brough said, adding that students reported having problems

with services at both campuses. “A lot of students were having trouble with financial aid and the paperwork getting lost. …

Another one was the differences between the campuses, especially in smoking policies. They’ve been having two different policies

for years and now we’re going to incorporate that into one.”

Issues presented at the UTSSAC meeting were based on concerns students voiced through social media.

“We used a lot of social media, a lot of the complaints and we also took a look at, naturally, what were the combinations, you

know, we are two campuses getting together,” Adame said.

Criminal justice corrections senior Isabel Moreno, said one of her fears during the transition was having her classes dropped.

“That was one of my main concerns,” Moreno said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what if that happens to me?’ I was asking

about it and it has happened to the students that their classes get canceled the last minute or they have a different professor.”

Students with concerns about UTRGV may email Adame at sgapresident@utrgv.edu or Brough at

kathryn.brough01@utrgv.edu. The next UTSSAC meeting will take place Nov. 14 in Austin.