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NEWS
| JAN. 29
Student Governance
SC hopes to fill 4 senator seats
Student Congress officials say
they hope all seats stay filled throughout the semester.
by Josie
Garcia
Contributor to The Shorthorn
Student Congress swore in eight senators during its second meeting
and will continue its effort to fill four empty seats as soon as
possible, representatives say.
Seats are open in the College of Engineering and schools of Social
Work, Nursing and Education, after congress received a letter of
resignation from former engineering Senator Samuel Padilla before
Tuesday’s meeting.
SC Vice President Aris Freeman said all the seats, with the exception
of engineering, are tough to fill.
Some of these schools may offer evening classes during the weekly
meetings, he said. These schools tend to have older students who
commit to jobs and families, he added. SC meetings are at 6 p.m.
every Tuesday.
Senators sworn in during the general meeting Tuesday include Obi
Oji and Usman Tareen from the College of Engineering; Liz Leal and
Georgette Tattey from the School of Education; and Judson Meeks,
James Urban, Cara Cameron and LaSha Benett from the College of Liberal
Arts.
SC President Chris Featherstone said some of the senators were sworn
in Tuesday because they were either absent from the first meeting
or were filling recently advertised open seats.
“I wouldn’t say that’s normal (swearing in eight
senators), but I wouldn’t say that is abnormal,” he said.
SC Secretary Josh Warren said filling all the senator seats is a
goal for the executive officers. It is difficult to fill all of
the seats because representatives may encounter conflicts into the
semester and need to resign, he explained.
Three absences can also remove a senator from congress, Warren said.
Freeman said last night’s meeting produced a good turnout and
that he hopes attendance will remain high through the semester.
“We want every seat filled,” he said. “I haven’t
seen a congress meeting full in I don’t know how long.”
Benett, liberal arts senator, was sworn in during the Tuesday meeting
and said she was absent from the first meeting because of a family
emergency.
She said she would like to see more opportunities for the Communications
Department. There is a lack of internships, workshops and seminars
for that department, she said.
She said raising awareness of congress and increasing student involvement
are on her agenda for the semester.
“I am for the betterment of the student body,” she said.
Each senator represents 600 students from his or her academic unit.
The number of students a senator represents will change to 750 following
SC elections in April, Warren said. He said the change reflects
recent enrollment increases.
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