To help students prepare for the upcoming Student Government Association (SGA) elections, the Paisano has contacted each student who has registered to run for a position on the Executive Board. Each candidate was asked the same questions:

1.) What experience and qualifications do you have that you believe will help you succeed in the position you are running for?

2.) Do you see any challenges ahead for SGA, and if so how do you plan on confronting them?

3.) If you could accomplish only one thing in your election position what would it be and why?

4.) Are there any major issues that need to be addressed in the upcoming year, and if so how do you plan on undertaking them?

Below are the responses for the candidates for Treasurer, in alphabetical order.

Amber Cotten

I believe I am more than qualified for Treasurer of SGA because I have held this position in several other organizations such as HOSA, Student Council, Band and National Honor Society. My previous experience in several different environments will bring knowledge and innovation to this position.

I think the biggest challenge for SGA is just getting our name out there. We consistently have open seats in the Senate, and that’s a problem. I plan on actively trying to recruit people to at least come to our meetings to see what we’re about. We’re always trying to make UTSA better, and who better to include than the students?

If I am elected, I plan on putting a bigger emphasis on LeaderFund. It’s an amazing opportunity, and every organization on campus has access to it. Having the funds to hold events is crucial to organizational growth, and I would love to be able to provide that.

The biggest issue for students seems to be parking, or the lack of. While I can’t build a parking garage or create more land, I can work toward making parking a less inconvenient experience. I’d like to try to lower the cost of parking passes and create some type of organization in the parking lots, like labeling each lane so we aren’t wandering around trying to remember where we parked.

Jaswanth Kintada

Hey everybody! My name is Jaswanth Kintada, and I am running to be the treasurer of the student body. Over the past year, I have gained valuable skills and experience working as the chief of staff alongside the student body president, Zack Dunn, and everyone on the Executive Board. Transitioning from being Chief of Staff to the role of Treasurer will be a huge responsibility, but it will afford me with the opportunity to oversee the monetary spending of the student government, develop an efficient budget and allocate funds appropriately towards LeaderFund to ensure that students can make the most of the opportunities presented to them. Having served as the SGA’s representative on the University Center Advisory Council (UCAC), I have a solid understanding of the budget and student fees for an important part of our campus: the University Center. Although there are still many things I have yet to learn, I believe that I have a solid foundation to serve as your Student Body Treasurer.

Student Government is a service-oriented entity where individuals have a civic duty to act on the interests of the faculty and student body. Moving forward, my number one goal for student government, as treasurer, is complete utilization of the Leaderfund. This student fund reimburses UTSA’s registered student organizations up to $750 per academic year. I strongly encourage every RSO to utilize this fund because it is designed to provide financial support for your organization, facilitate student leadership and contribute to an increased sense of campus community. I believe that by promoting leadership and service at UTSA, we can identify our strengths as independent RSOs and come together as a collective student entity.

SGA is strongly tied together as an organization, but a there is slight disconnect with our constituents. We are transparent with our initiatives and want the student body to be informed and understand what we do for our campus. I want to address this problem by developing a well-organized website where students can see what projects Student Government has worked on and is currently working on, as well as, the details on how money is being allocated in the budget. Ultimately, we want to bridge the gap by engaging our student body into taking an active role in expressing their voice and addressing issues related to student life, academics, health and safety. Help us, help you! Go Runners!