During UT San Antonio’s Student Government Association’s 49th general meeting, the SGA’s Head Commissioner presented the spring election processes and student engagement. The Business Affairs Committee Chair Ryan Endsley presented disability parking improvements, dining committee initiatives, the University Life Awards and the Late Night Breakfast event at the meeting.
Campus wide voting for the SGA elections took place from April 20-24 via RowdyLink. However, the elections were supposed to occur before spring break, as SGA’s by-laws detailed.
SGA’s Head Commissioner, who requested to remain anonymous, presented that 350 student votes were cast in the election. Voting closed the next day, and no results have been posted online to date. According to a statement sent to The Paisano, the highest voter count for the past six years was during the spring 2020 elections, when 3,848 votes were cast. During last year’s spring elections, approximately 1,034 votes were cast.
The Head Commissioner stated that there is not a set number of votes that need to be cast for someone to be elected to an SGA executive position.
Senior English major Cruz Delgado directed a question to the Head Commissioner on how the SGA made student ballots more accessible. Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Students LaTonya Robinson answered how the SGA is navigating that initiative.
“With every election comes new [officers], and those new officers, along with any students who are interested in the growth of this organization, will have the ability to work with us on strengthening election processes,” Robinson explained. “There are some strategies that we have been working through based on how things have been occurring so far that we think will be very successful in the improvement of election participation for the student body in the future. We look forward to working with all of you, if you are returning to us, so that you can help us with making that happen.”
Regarding how UT Health students can vote for the SGA and how their votes are collected, Robinson stated that UT Health students’ votes would be ineligible for this election.
“There is an SGA discovery group that had been meeting to identify what the next steps will be,” Robinson said. “So some of the recommendations that are being provided by that group will be looked at by the provost and our health campus partners to identify what will be the next steps. So, as of this election, they would not be eligible to vote. However, there may be a completely different process in the future.”
During the meeting, Business Affairs Committee Chair Ryan Endsley addressed disability parking improvements and his experience working with the UT San Antonio parking and traffic committee. Endsley reported that UT San Antonio conducted a partial mobility assessment last semester. Campus Services is working to promote a similar system practiced at other UT System universities on the Main Campus.
“They have proposed rough drafts report to university for review, but obviously there’s a bureaucratic process that they committed, but that is on their agenda, and they are working with such universities, whether it’s UT Austin or UT Arlington, to ensure that this matter is resolved and that we are more disability friendly on this campus,” Endsley said.
Endsley also announced that 1,046 donations were made for the initiative Swipe Out Hunger. Swipe Out Hunger is an initiative to minimize food insecurity among students on campus. Students with meal plans can donate unused meals, allowing others to receive a meal from the Roadrunner Café.
For SGA’s remaining events, the Late Night Breakfast event will occur from 5-11 p.m. on May 5 at the Roadrunner Café as a free event for all students. On the same day, the University Life Awards and SGA’s inauguration will take place.
