Karla Hernandez/THE RIDER
The Student Government Association gave updates about previous proposals and how they will be implemented throughout the spring semester, along with a new opportunity to provide a voice for the student body.
Juan Espinoza, SGA president, told The Rider on Jan. 26 the association came together to discuss and recap what has happened in prior semesters.
“We are gonna have to start having Saturday meetings again,” Espinoza said. “This upcoming Friday at 2:30 p.m., it rotates every other week at the same times on Friday.”
He added the association is working with both senators At-Large and college senators to obtain a student appointed to the Edinburg Downtown District Steering Committee.
“A committee within the Edinburg City Council that kind of oversees a particular part of the city, the student government member isn’t appointed as a voting party, but they are appointed as sort of voice and representation for the students to give their input on different developments within the downtown district,” the SGA president said.
On Wednesday, Matteo Garza, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts, was appointed as the student representative for the city committee, according to an SGA Facebook post.
Espinoza said the position was a major movement because of their main purpose of extending the government reach, not only in the university but the local community as well.
Alexis Uscanga, senator At-Large for Edinburg, mentioned the student government is working in its entirety to get ready for election as well as fixing internal working of SGA.
Uscanga said a lot of the proposals have to do with the internal functions of the association to make it more transparent.
He said SGA is working on introducing a bill to make its website more accessible.
“Other ones, such as [the University of Texas at] Austin, [have] a very interactive website that lets you see their student body senate,” Uscanga said. “… I want to bring that to UTRGV.”
Espinoza added SGA will participate in several on-campus events, such as the Vaquero Boots and BBQ at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Quad on the Edinburg campus.
“We will continue to represent the student body to the best of our abilities,” he said. “We are going to do several town halls, and we are excited to bring students the elections that are coming pretty soon in February.”
For more information about the Student Government Association, visit its website utrgv.edu/csi/student-government-association.
